Can Dogs Eat Garlic Bread?

The smell of garlic is irresistible – so much. You’d have to be strong, not say uh-la-la when food is brought to the table after being garnished by fresh garlic slices. All around the world, garlic is a popular spice (like chili) and is used in so many cuisines worldwide. Science has it that garlic has many benefits to the health of humans. However, the more important thing is if it is beneficial to pets or not. This read will talk about garlic bread and whether you should present it before your dog’s muzzle. The quickest answer to the title’s question is yes, but no (confusion). I’ll clear the air in the next section.

Dogs, Garlic, and All The Nitty-Gritty Details

A Tabulated Summary

Type of Garlic	Safe or Unsafe, or Therebetween
Garlic Bread	Unsafe
Pure Garlic	Unsafe
Fried	Therebetween
Roasted	Safe

How Safe Is Garlic For Dogs?

Vets say that garlic is metabolized differently in dogs than it is in humans. You know that, like onions, garlic belongs to the family known as the allium family. The foods that form part of this family have an element called thiosulfate, which is okay for people but not dogs.

The toxicity of garlic is severe – it can cause damage to the dog’s red blood cells, thus causing a condition known as hemolytic anemia. When the condition kicks in, some of the signs that are likely to show include jaundice, rapid breathing, weakness, pale-colored mucus, and dark urine.

Apart from hemolytic anemia, the other condition you need to be worried about is garlic poisoning. It is characterized by diarrhea, depression, dehydration, abdominal pain, and lack of appetite. Let’s talk more about it in the next question.

How Exactly Does Garlic Toxicity Affect Dogs?

Studies done say that the extent of garlic toxicity depends on the dog’s immune system and its weight. The same studies say that the amount of garlic needed in the dog’s blood to cause adverse effects is between 40 and 60 grams per pound of weight. In the supermarket, one garlic clove weighs between 3 and 7 grams. If you multiply here and divide there, you will see that it needs to have eaten a lot of garlic for it to get poisoned.

But that’s not all of it. Garlic toxicity is also affected by a dog’s garlic sensitivity. If a dog has been consuming dog food with some little garlic, it may develop some kind of tolerance. So, it can’t be poisoned as quickly as another that is eating garlic for the first time.

If your puppy or dog comes across some little garlic and eats it, you have nothing to worry about. If the dog consumes lots of it, you have to limit the intake strictly. Do not leave garlic cloves lying everywhere because a dog does not discriminate.

Despite The Negativity And Toxicity, Does Garlic Have Any Benefits?

The age-old, popularly-held belief is that no living thing is useless. The veggies and fruits that we eat have some benefits, however little they are. Humans who love their dogs want them to eat the best, and they may want to know if garlic can be of assistance in any way. And they are.

Garlic provides anti-bacterial benefits to a dog, and it also prevents worms and fleas from attacking it. Moreover, a dog that munches on garlic cloves from time to time enjoys proper digestion. Here are more pluses about garlic:

1. Garlic is highly nutritious, and it has vitamins A, C, and Bs, manganese, Sulphur, zinc, and amino acids.

2. When ingested, garlic provides the body with warmth and improves blood circulation. As it performs those functions, it also helps in detoxification (talk about the confusion!)

3. Garlic eliminates the infectious and harmful bacteria that could be present in the body.

The Specific Ways That Dogs Benefit From Garlic

1. Garlic prevents the development of any type of tumor in the dog’s body.

2. It also takes care of the cholesterol levels in the dog’s system. This implies that it puts the dog at the risk of becoming obese or developing pancreatitis.

3. It gets a dog’s lymphatic system stimulated such that the dog stays free of waste materials.

Garlic As A Weapon For Dog Cancer

This is one of the little-known details that you may love. Garlic helps to boost a dog’s immunity that is suffering from rectum, lung, colon, and stomach cancer. It gives power to the killer cells, which then eliminates the cancerous cells. The National Cancer Institute has it that increased garlic intake is associated with decreased cancer risk.

The Heart Of The Read: Dogs And Eating Garlic Bread

For many kids and even adults, garlic bread is the to-go snack. This makes it very natural for dogs to want some piece of the sweetness, but no – that should not be happening.

Garlic bread is an upgrade of garlic – it also has fats, cheese, herbs, oils, and butter that may bring about GI issues. So, it should be avoided entirely, and dog owners should opt for safer foods for dogs. And if your dog does not react to the garlic vigorously, you may be looking at a potentially obese canine in the near future. Garlic bread has a high-calorie count and should not be presented to a dog.

Case closed.

Can My Dog Enjoy Any Garlic Supplements?

The pet food market is saturated with many supplements. If you go to the dog food section, you will be overwhelmed by the many presented options. But hey, calm down and get informed.

Studies say that many garlic supplements do not react positively when given in large doses. That is something you should have in mind even before you pick a food item from the shelf.

Before you make the purchase, talk to your vet and see what they have to say about the supplement. They can make comments on the brand or even the ingredients themselves. Their opinion should help you decide whether or not you should buy the supplement.

During flea season, you should get garlic to help the dog’s coat build a defense against the parasites.

Remember that the dog needs to feel as comfortable as it can. Do not give it anything that could make it vomit or feel nauseated. By keeping an eye on the dog, you will help it to stay healthy and avoid the effects of garlic poisoning, which may be fatal.

Some of the wholesome, healthy treats you can give include carrots, apples, strawberries, and watermelon. Apart from just treating the dog, ensure that everything you give has some nutritional benefits – high amounts of nutrients and vitamins.

Can Eating Garlic Cause A Dog Fatality?

As compared to onions, garlic has more allium concentration – and dogs or other pets cannot digest allium. So, eating garlic can cause a dog fatality because even the smallest amount can trigger garlic toxicity. However, the probability of fatality shifts depending on the dog’s weight, history, health and immunity levels, and breed type.

Can My Dog Enjoy Eating Raw Garlic?

Many dog owners put across this question before their vets. Like all the other forms of garlic, the raw one should not be given to the dog. This is because the cloves will trigger toxicity issues.

When set side by side to raw onions, raw garlic is highly concentrated and has an intense flavor. This implies that the dog will be affected inside – its stomach may be poisoned or even burned.

Can My Dog Enjoy Eating Fried Garlic?

This one is from dog owners who don’t want to let go of garlic. If you’re going to spice up some healthily fresh meal for your furry canine friend, you can add some cooked garlic. Frying the clovers and pouring them on the dog’s meal makes the food yummier.

However, it is better if you give the dog roasted garlic cloves. Ensure that the roasting does not involve any oil because the dog may get adverse effects.

When Should I Not Give Garlic To My Canine?

Before anything else, you should know that garlic quantities will differ depending on the dog you are dealing with. In that case, therefore, you shouldn’t give your dog garlic if it has any anemia-related condition or if it’s about to go for a medical operation. Garlic may create imbalances that may exacerbate anemic conditions or affect the surgical procedure.

Puppies between 6 and 8 weeks should not get anywhere near garlic. This is because their blood cells are underdeveloped or absent, and thus, they have weak immune systems. 

Can My PREGNANT Or NURSING Dog Enjoy Eating Garlic?

Remember that the flavor that garlic bears is a strong one. Actually, it changes how breast milk tastes and so, you should not give it to a dog that just delivered. If you need to feed a pregnant dog anything, you need to talk to a vet. Before giving any medicine (such as Entyce), food, or supplements to a mother bitch, you should do extensive research.

If you’re dealing with garlic and dogs, you need to know that giving anything in excess is a harmful thing. For example, if salt and water are given in excess, they could kill anyone. So, avoid any garlic or garlic supplements.

Bonus Section: Dogs And Other Types of Bread

We’ve spent most of this read talking about garlic bread, and it won’t be wrong to talk about bread in general. For dogs, bread is a safe type of food, but experts and non-experts advise that they don’t feed on it. As it is the most common food, many dog owners feed the bread table scraps to their pets, thinking they are safe and pose no health risk. However, while bread may not be the most toxic food, it supplies unneeded amounts of calories.

Apart from bread, there are other household meals and foods that will adversely affect our dogs severely. Items like onion, chocolate, garlic, and cake may all trigger gastrointestinal issues. So, we need to be sure of what we give our pets. This section will look at the various bread types and see what is suitable for dogs and what is not.

In some different types of bread, there are ingredients that people don’t understand, and neither are they very famous. So, you can’t know whether they will cause damage to the dogs if ingested.

Now, let us answer some questions about the bread types and see the safe ones for dogs and those that are not.

Is White Bread Good For Dogs?

Also called wheat bread, white bread does not pose any harm to our furry canine friends. If the ingredients used in making the bread are not allergens, they won’t trigger an allergic reaction. 

White bread has a lot of carbohydrate (sugar) and fat content, meaning that it is not the healthiest of snacks. That notwithstanding, you can throw your pup white bread crumbs from time to time.

Is Whole-Wheat Bread Good For Dogs?

This one is as safe for dogs as white bread is. Before you feed it to the pup, you need to ensure that all the ingredients listed do not pose any harm.

For humans, whole-wheat bread (also called brown bread) is considered a healthier alternative to replace white bread. In that case, dogs should consume it rather than the white one. The only catch is that the bread is still high in fats, sugars, and carbs. Therefore, you should only serve them as treats and not part of the dog’s regular diet.

Is Bread, Generally Speaking, A Healthy Food Option For Dogs?

Since bread has a lot of energy (in terms of carbs), the food can only be eaten moderately. As noted in the previous and immediate portion of this read, you should not give bread as regular food. If you do, your dog may develop some health and deficiency issues.

As a treat, the bread will give your dog immediate energy because it has many carbs. Apart from the immediate power, there is what is called stored energy, which can cause problems – it can increase the dog’s weight and bring obesity. Also, it can create joint issues, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

The Risks Of Feeding Your Dog With Any Kind Of Bread

Any type of bread that a dog consumes exposes it to many negative things regarding biological and physical health. Many times, owners are either misinformed or uninformed about the various minuses that come with giving their dogs bread often. Some of the consequences can be long-term, and others brief. The long-term effects can lead to a dog’s death, but everything depends on how much bread gets ingested and the constituent ingredients. Let’s look at the following pointers:

1. Bread Does Not Make Up Part Of A Canine’s Diet In The Wild

Dogs are not obligate carnivores – they are omnivorous. This implies that they can eat veggies and meat, and that is something that they need. But, their diet does not have bread or any other wheat-based, high-carb content. If you study how a canine’s body stores fat, you will pick out that bread is a little low on the list of beneficial foods.

So, a dog’s diet should have veggies and meat and be low in carbs and fat. While a dog can have bread, they do not need it.

2. Bread Encourages Your Dog To Gain Weight

If you carefully study the digestive system of a dog, you will know that it is highly adapted to breaking down high protein, mineral, and vitamin diets. Although there is amylase (the enzyme that breaks down starch), the dog is not used to high-fat or high-carb content from eating bread. That can be justified by looking at the dog’s ancestor, the wolf, who would not have eaten bread in the wild (was it even there?). Actually, when a wolf received any carbs or fats, they got stored.

The dogs that we live with right now will store all the provide fats and carbs, meaning that weight will build up over time. 

3. Bread Inhibits Proper Dental Health

If you’re well-versed in the field of nutrition, you know that sugars are the building blocks of carbohydrates. The sugar stored in carbs can be harmful to your dog’s teeth because of the bacteria they invite. Consequently, the invited bacteria will produce acidic compounds that initiate the rotting of teeth.

4. Bread Triggers Gastrointestinal Problems

If your pooch eats a small amount of bread, it is unlikely to develop any problems. The problem comes when dogs feed too much of it – the enzymatic action triggers GI issues.

This is how things play out. The enzyme presents in the stomach – protease – breaks down protein, and there is little amylase (starch-digesting enzyme). So, too much starch overwhelms the amylase and the protease, thereby creating stomach issues.

5. Bread May Invite Ingredients That Are Potentially Toxic To Your Dog

Some bread types may be potentially lethal to your dog. As mentioned previously, garlic bread can poison your dog, and even the slightest amount can trigger vomiting and diarrhea.

Apart from those common GI problems, other behavioral and biological reactions may come up. They include depression, unsteady gait, weakness, hypothermia, and nerve problems. All those may build up into a coma if not well managed.

The Benefits Of Feeding Your Dog With Any Kind Of Bread

If you give your dog small bread amounts, it could reap some of the following benefits:

1. It Provides Extra Padding To The Dog’s Tract

While dog owners may want to, they won’t be in a position always to watch their dogs. Since canines have very curious minds, they can find small items and end up swallowing them, things like sticks, threads, or bone shards. When those objects are ingested, the experience may be very uncomfortable for the dog. But bread can come to the rescue.

If you feed small bread pieces to your dog together with drinks, you will minimize the pain to prevent damage. The bread will help to give the objects padding and allow them to move smoothly through the tract.

However, you should not engage in that form of treatment unless you get vet advice. The expert needs to assess the consumed item and the specific dog breed.

2. It Mitigates Levels Of Pain

Bread helps in reducing digestive pain, especially if your dog has some pain in the abdominal areas. The nutrients within brown and white bread will help in taking care of the pangs. When your dog is experiencing such problems, dip a small piece of bread in water and feed it.

3. It Helps In Improving A Canine’s Digestion

The type of bread that effectively fulfills this function is brown bread. Because of its fiber richness, brown bread can improve the dog’s fecal matter and add to the healthy, live bacteria in the dog’s gut. The bacteria then help in situations like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) or a churning stomach, which is mainly associated with high-anxiety dogs. In turn, this improves the digestive situation and mitigates the chances of diarrhea and vomiting.

Fiber helps the dog’s fecal matter and the process of excretion easier to bear (constipation, anal tears).

Softened Bread: Is It Good For Pups?

Before I even respond to this question, you should know that compared to adult dogs, a pup’s digestive system is more sensitive. While the same rules and advice apply, you will need to give puppies a lower amount of bread. This will help in the maintenance of healthy digestion and a peaceful system.

Bread Dough: Is It Safe For Dogs?

Bread dough is deadly – that’s it. If a dog ingests dough before it becomes bread, it could face death. Firstly, the dough has yeast, meaning that it keeps expanding until the baking time comes. When the dog swallows the dough, it is likely to grow and cause a blockage. That becomes an emergency that only needs treatment through surgery.

Also, the yeast in the dough has alcohol (or ethanol). Because alcohol gets absorbed quickly into the system, it will move fast and cause alcohol intoxication, which will manifest itself in ways such as muscle tremors, seizures, restlessness, and disorientation. Read more about the human foods that dogs can or cannot eat from here.