My Dog Ate A Loaf Of Bread: What Should I Do Now?

Dogs are high-skilled counter thieves that will get their paws on every piece of food they can find.

Some of them are particularly fond of bread, so much that in some cases they even prefer bread to a succulent steak (no kidding!). But is bread good for a dog?

If you find out your dog ate a loaf of bread, be assured that wheat or white bread is not toxic for them.

However, other types of bread and the size of your dog can play a role in the consequences that this stolen snack has on your pet, and in some cases, a medical examination may be required.

What Should You Do If Your Dog Ate a Loaf of Bread?

One of the most common lines our dogs hear from us every day is “Leave it!” and there is a good reason for it.

Dogs will get their pretty muzzles on everything they can find, whether it’s to explore the world or just because they’re hungry.

Sliced loaf of bread

A common situation among dog parents is leaving the table unsupervised and coming back to find your dog eating bread at the speed of light.

Luckily, if your dog ate bread most of the time the situation can be solved at home without expensive medical check-ups or procedures.

However, there are a few factors to take into consideration, like the size of the dog and the presence of symptoms or lack thereof.

Big Dogs vs Small Dogs 

Generally speaking, if a big dog ate a loaf of wheat bread or white bread, they should be able to pass it without major problems.

Sometimes a dog can wipe clean the whole counter and eat way more than just bread and still show no signs of discomfort.

Smaller dogs, with their tiny stomachs, may be more at risk in the sense that eating a large quantity of bread could be too much for their small body and could induce vomiting.

That’s not to say it can’t happen to big dogs as well. Vomiting is the most common consequence after a dog ate a whole loaf of bread.

Symptoms to Look Out for If Your Dog Swallowed Bread

After your dog ate bread, you should always monitor them for a while.

Symptoms of discomfort could show up even a few days after the deed.

Puppy feeling sick

Usually, eating bread will make their belly bloat as bread is rich in carbohydrates and also contains a lot of air. These two things cause swelling in both dogs and humans.

Any unusual behavior or symptom should nonetheless be reported to your veterinary.

Within two hours from the “crime”, you could still try to induce vomiting in your dog to get rid of the bread.

However, make sure to consult your vet before proceeding and only do so if it’s strictly necessary and safe for your dog.

If they ingested a large amount of bread, skipping the next meal might be a good idea. Make sure to leave a full bowl of water for your dog, provided they didn’t vomit.

Some dogs pass bread like it’s nothing, so don’t panic if you don’t see anything unusual in their behavior.

Is bread dangerous for dogs? 

White bread and wheat bread aren’t toxic for your dog and in some cases may even save their life.

However, there are many types of bread on the market today and not all of them are safe for our furry friends.

In fact, some types of bread are straight-up toxic for dogs and should never be fed to them.

Types of bread you should never give to your dog

Here is a list of the types of bread that are very dangerous for dogs and therefore should never be given to them.

Raisin bread

Raisins are present in many products we consume every day and in many bakery products such as bread and muffins, which dogs very much love.

However, raisins must be absolutely forbidden to dogs because they’re incredibly toxic for them.

Science is still trying to figure out what is exactly that makes raisins and grapes so toxic for dogs, but it’s enough for us pet parents to know that ingesting even a small amount of this kind of food will put your dog’s life at risk of kidney failure and consequent death.

Raisins should never be fed to your dog, not even a single one as a treat and in the case of products that contain raisins, you must not feed any part of them to your dog, not even the ones that don’t contain them.

If your dog ate raisins bread call the nearest animal hospital and bring them in.

Garlic bread

Garlic bread is delicious for us humans, but it’s a real threat to your dog.

Garlic is dangerous for both dogs and cats, and especially for some breeds of dogs like the Shiba Inu.

It affects directly the red blood cells, making them weaker and more likely to fracture.

As a consequence, your dog might develop anemia, which includes very nasty symptoms such as vomiting, weakness, heavy breathing, and even collapses.

Unfortunately, signs of garlic poisoning can be delayed up to several days, making it harder to intervene in time.

It’s essential to keep garlic and any product containing garlic away from your pets.

If your dog ate garlic bread bring them in for a medical examination as soon as possible.

Also read: What to Do If Your Dog Ate Garlic?

Bread dough

If you’re used to making bread at home and you fed crumbs of bread dough to your dog, you may want to stop doing so.

Anyone who’s ever made pizza, bread, or other bakery products at home knows that dough needs to be left alone for a few hours because it needs to rise, and that’s exactly the problem.

If your dog eats dough, it will continue to rise in their stomach as well.

This will lead to a swelling stomach with consequent abdominal pain, and that’s not even the worst part.

The dough will also release high levels of ethanol into your dog’s bloodstream, which will intoxicate them.

Signs of dough poisoning include bloating, weakness, lethargy, hypothermia, seizures, and even coma.

Do keep an eye out for them, but don’t wait for any of these symptoms to appear. If your dog ate bread dough, contact your vet immediately.

Bread wrapper

One of the most dangerous things for dogs eating bread or anything else that isn’t part of their diet is whatever the food they ate was wrapped in.

Bread usually comes wrapped in plastic or paper, and it doesn’t matter what kind of bread was inside because the bread wrapper is always a choking hazard and worse.

Swallowing the wrapper can be very harmful to your dog as it could cause a variety of problems that could turn into dangerous diseases.

Apart from being a choking hazard, the wrapper could cause a blockage in their gastrointestinal apparatus that may require surgery or it could cause a bad infection that will lead to further medical issues.

If you suspect that your dog might have eaten some kind of wrapping you should call your vet as soon as possible.

Bread that contains Xylitol 

Last, but not least dangerous, you should watch out for the presence of xylitol inside your bread.

We already mentioned the dangers of xylitol in relation to other food dogs’ love, which is peanut butter.

Just like in butter, xylitol is added to a great variety of products in place of normal sugar.

In dogs, it has the effect of increasing rapidly the production of insulin and therefore causing a condition called hypoglycemia, in which the levels of sugar in the blood drop extremely low.

Hypoglycemia should not be underestimated because an extremely low sugar level in the blood can be fatal to your dog.

Given that the popularity of this artificial sweetener is increasing, it’s always better to check the ingredients chart before making a purchase.

If not available, ask your local bakery as they’re obliged to provide you with the list of ingredients used in their products.

Can Dogs Eat Bread? 

White bread and wheat bread are not toxic to dogs.

In fact, sometimes it can be used to help your dog digest or expel other foods or small objects that are dangerous to their health.

Sliced bread

However, there are always exceptions. There are so many products on the market, that it’s hard to always be sure about which ones are safe for your pet.

The first rule to make sure your dog doesn’t eat anything dangerous is to avoid feeding them foods that are not part of their diet.

On the other hand, if you feel like giving them a fancy treat every now and then, but you’re not sure what is safe and what is not, a call to your vet or your local pet emergency hotline is the wisest choice.

Your pet won’t ask you to do sacrifices and to avoid eating the foods you love in order to keep them safe. But you should nonetheless consider their behavior and habits when buying products that you know are toxic for them.

If you can’t keep them in a place that your dog won’t reach, don’t buy them. You can always enjoy them when you eat out!

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