Humans love garlic bread. While it’s a simple dish, it’s really tasty. So, not only is this a staple in restaurants, but tons of households serve garlic bread with tons of their dishes. And if you see your dog next to you begging for a bit themself, you may be wondering if a bite will harm them.

While one bite won’t harm your dog, we don’t recommend feeding your dog garlic bread. Almost all the components of garlic bread are bad for dogs, and making a habit out of garlic bread treats can lead to many problems.

So, what’s wrong with garlic bread?

It’s tasty and filling, and there’s a high chance that your dog is incredibly interested in its scent. However, the butter, bread, and garlic in this side dish are all dangerous for dogs. And in this article, we’ll be explaining why.

Keep reading to learn more about what to do if your dog eats garlic bread, why it’s bad for dogs and other garlic products that are bad for dogs.

Should I Call the Vet If My Dog Eats Garlic Bread?

You don’t have to worry if you accidentally gave your dog a bite of garlic bread. While this doesn’t immediately require a visit to the vet, we highly advise against doing this. Eating a lot of garlic bread can lead to many problems in dogs, and if they eat too much regularly, they may require veterinary attention.

If your dog had one bite of the garlic bread, you should tell them to stop immediately and prevent them from eating. From there, you can observe them for the next 24 hours. If they seem fine afterward, then there’s no reason to panic; you can just make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Despite the fact that you may be able to prevent your dog from eating garlic, you should know some crucial facts about his diet, such as food intolerance, dietary indiscretion, allergies, parasites, malabsorption, etc. When you neglect these cares, it can really lead to your dog having dog diarrhea. Despite the fact that our dogs have stronger enzymes and tolerances than humans, you cannot feed them anything.

However, if they show any signs of food poisoning like vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, and lethargy, this could be a sign of something more serious. If this happens, we highly suggest calling the vet as soon as possible.

Why Is Garlic Bread Bad for Dogs

At this point, you may be wondering what’s so bad about feeding garlic bread to your dog. Well, there are a lot of reasons that garlic bread is unhealthy for dogs. And we’ll get into some detail on that in this section:

High in Calories

First of all, while a bite of bread here and there won’t cause any harm, bread has a lot of calories. And while your dog needs calories for energy, eating too many will cause obesity. On top of that, butter tends to have a lot of calories at well, which can put your pet at a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, and more.

Generally, dogs need balanced diets that contain a high percentage of protein. This is to sustain their muscles and keep them active. But if you have an active dog, it may require a higher daily calorie intake to sustain itself.

With that said, if your dog requires a higher calorie intake, that doesn’t mean you should feed them foods like garlic bread. This simply means they need to eat more dog food than other pets to sustain their active lifestyle.

High in Fat

Butter is basically fat. While it tastes great and smells great, that’s all butter is. And just like humans, dogs need some fat in their diet. It gives them energy and offers some benefits if they eat the right fat. However, the type of fat present in garlic isn’t what dogs need; too much of it can lead to many problems.

Aside from obesity, a diet with a lot of fat can put your dog at a higher risk of diabetes and other diseases. Again, one bite won’t hurt your dog, but this could cause you to develop a habit of feeding your dog garlic bread, which is where the problems start to arise.

Garlic is Toxic to Dogs

The last and arguably biggest reason you shouldn’t feed garlic bread to dogs is that garlic is toxic for them. Garlic and other members of the allium family contain compounds known as thiosulfates, which can pose many problems for a dog.

More specifically, these thiosulfates attack a dog’s red blood cells, which are responsible for carrying oxygen to different areas of the body. So without it, your dog could be in some significant danger. Too much garlic can lead to sickness in dogs, and in severe cases, it can cause hemolytic anemia.

Conclusion

If you have an extra piece of garlic bread on the table and your dog got to it, don’t worry about it. Just observe your dog see if they develop any symptoms of garlic poisoning and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

But to be safe, we don’t recommend feeding your dog garlic bread. There are many reasons that it poses some dangers to them, which is very important to consider.