Can German Shepherds Eat Bread

Can German Shepherds Eat Bread?

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What comes to your mind when you see a German shepherd eating bread? Nothing but this, can a German shepherd eat bread?

Bread is the staple of human food all around the world. Undoubtedly it is one of the most budgeted options considered in human food, can be fed to dogs as an affordable and readily option available.

Bread is safe for a German shepherd to eat. Loaves of bread are usually made of white flour or wheat although both are safe for dogs but make sure you feed them in moderation. Due to dogs’ different digestive systems than humans, bread should be given to dogs in less quantity. Plain well-cooked bread will not cause any health issues to your dog as long as your furry pet is not allergic to grain or wheat.

Similarly, the misconception that wheat causes dogs any stomach issues make pet owners think is wheat bread ok for German shepherd? Both plain wheat and white bread are safe for dogs to eat if your German shepherd is not allergic so these are generally healthy for your dog keeping moderation in account.

While you are giving a balanced diet to your German shepherd checklist and also following their schedule of training/exercise then there will be no harm in feeding bread to your pet as a treat. The big source of carbohydrate, bread contain insufficient nutrient for dogs as it does not add any advantage to their balanced diet. Bread may not be harmful to dogs but like humans, too many carbohydrates can be the reason for obesity even in dogs.

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Can German Shepherds eat Bread? – Safety Study

Bread (white & brown) are although high in calories and carbohydrates with quite less nutrient for dogs – but all safe to feed your German shepherd as a treat. Bread also contains less amount of fiber, protein, vitamins, iron, sodium, and folate. Heavy intake of bread might become the reason for obesity in dogs, which can pave the way for several other health problems.

Also, if you find out your dog is sensitive to wheat so do not even think of feeding him/her bread.  Initially, you need to monitor your dog after feeding them bread to figure out if it is allergic to bread gluten.  Bread should not be part of a dog’s regular diet, it should be given as an occasional treat as a gesture of reward for doing good in training, behaviors or so.

You should completely avoid giving bread dough to your dog as it can cause many health-related issues. Primarily because yeast as it is the main ingredient used in bread dough that is harmful to dogs causing some severe issues like bloating and alcohol toxicity.  At the same time, bread dough without yeast is harmful to dogs anyway, therefore, you should keep it away from your loyal pets.

But what type of bread can German shepherds eat? Let’s have a look:

As different types contain various ingredients so be very careful while taking bread for your dog. Let’s check out some kinds of bread, which can be eaten by dogs:

  • Whole grain bread

Same as white bread, this is the type of bread that contains a few ingredients that are safe for dogs. Further, the high fiber content in whole-grain bread makes digestion easy and swift as well as fights against various health issues.

  • White bread

This is the type of bread that does not contain harmful ingredients for dogs such as nuts, garlic, etc. However, yeast is the ingredient used to make white bread dough but luckily, the harmful effects of yeast decrease to almost end after cooking or baking. That’s how white bread is harmless for dogs, similarly, with very few ingredients this is the safest type of bread you can share with your German shepherd.

  • Potato bread/bun

This kind of bread is prepared with flour, potato starch, water, and boiled potatoes. With all the safe ingredients, you can opt for this suitable kind of bread to give your German shepherd a good and healthy treat.

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Potential Health Benefits of Bread for German Shepherd

  • If your dog has stomach upset or stomach distress or indigestion, bread can be a great help in absorbing acids of foods as well as provide help in passing food by the gastrointestinal tract well.
  • The chances of swallowing edges of bones for a large breed of dogs like German shepherd are likely to be higher whereas bread, in this case, works effectively and helps bone edges pass through the dog’s intestines so that the process of digestion continues.
  • Similarly, bread can be potentially beneficial when your German shepherd swallowed any thread-like substance, which is likely to get caught along with the digestive system, so the bread can help it pass through easily.

Can a German Shepherd eat sweet bread?

A big NO for sweet bread, as sweet bread contains many ingredients, which can be harmful to dogs in different ways.  Bread containing these ingredients should not be fed to dogs, which include:

  • Raisins – Sweetbread is usually baked with raisins, these can be the reason for digestion issues, lethargy, shivering, bad breath, and other severe well-being problems in dogs. Kidney failure is a fatal problem caused by consuming too many raisins in dogs, so avoid feeding raisin bread to your dogs.
  • Nuts – Not all types of nuts are toxic to dogs but high-fat content can be the reason for pancreatic problems and obesity in dogs, while the bread with salted nuts may lead to water retention and other health issues in dogs. Also, the choking risk is connected to the bread containing whole nuts like pistachios, peanuts, etc. Besides, a few types of sweet bread also contain macadamia nuts that are poisonous for dogs.
  • Chocolate bread – Chocolate is not safe for dogs to eat so any bread containing chocolate should not be shared with dogs otherwise causing sheer health concerns as chocolate is hard to digest for canine
  • Artificial Sweetener – it is generally used as a core ingredient in sweet bread, any type of artificial sweetener is toxic for dogs e.g., xylitol is toxic for dogs as it decreases glucose levels in the dog’s body and leads to liver failure.

How much bread is safe to feed a German shepherd?

Although it mainly depends on the weight of your dog, estimated, a slice of bread in a day will not cause any harm to your dog. Likewise, you can share one bite or small piece from your favorite sandwich with your canine (without sauce). You can use yummy bread to make your dog happy but moderation is the key to safety, the less the better.

Source:

Quora.com