Can Dogs Eat French Toast? Here’s 10 Essential Safety Tips
Your Guide To: Can Dogs Eat French Toast?
Fact checked and reviewed by:
Dr. Joseph Menicucci, DVM, MBA
Soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, French toast blends the sweetness of bread, richness of eggs, and warmth of cinnamon and vanilla into a delicious thoroughfare. People prefer French toast as an indulgent comfort food for a classic breakfast or brunch.
You can easily personalize this versatile food to suit your preferences. Some like plain, while others love toppings such as powdered sugar, fresh fruits, syrup, chocolate, or whipped cream.
The wafting aroma when making this culinary delight will likely send your canine friends into the kitchen begging for a piece. But should you share your toast bread with your fur baby? Dig in to find out – Can Dogs Eat French Toast?
Can Dogs Eat French Toast? Can Dogs Have French Toast?
Dogs can eat French toast—in extreme moderation.
If it contains dog-safe ingredients. Besides the bread, a traditional French toast recipe includes eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.
Cooked vanilla extracts and cinnamon are relatively dog-safe in small amounts. While this French bread contains dog-safe ingredients, you should only offer it in moderation.
Dogs should only eat small amounts of white or brown bread as an occasional treat. While plain wheat bread is generally safe for dogs, it’s a filler food laden with carbohydrates and offers little nutritional value to your pooch. Dogs that overindulge in bread will likely experience digestive distress in the short term. If you make bread a regular diet item, you’re setting your fur baby up for obesity-related complications.
Dogs don’t do well with bread because it’s high in starch and will likely overwhelm their digestive systems. As facultative carnivores, dogs are built to survive on meaty diets and small amounts of carbs.
Their digestive tracts produce limited quantities of amylase, an enzyme that digests starch into simple sugars for absorption by the body. If a dog eats too much bread, digestive distress sets in, leading to diarrhea, vomiting, and bloating.
However, your pup could become obese and struggle with weight maintenance if you frequently offer bread. Bread is a calorie-rich food that’ll have your dog piling on the pounds quickly. Obesity is a dangerous condition for dogs because it may lead to health complications such as canine diabetes and arthritis
Can Dogs Eat French Bread with Cinnamon?
Dogs can eat French bread with cinnamon in moderation.
In small amounts, about a teaspoon or less per serving, cinnamon is okay for dogs. However, in large quantities, the spice may irritate your dog’s stomach, plummet blood sugar levels, or even cause liver disease.
You may safely offer your dogs a small piece of French toast with cinnamon, but only if you’re sure it doesn’t contain harmful ingredients. Popular French toppings such as chocolate, raisin, and nutmeg are a no-no since they are known toxins for dogs.
Can Dogs Eat French Toast Sticks?
French toast sticks are not recommended for dogs.
While they’re not inherently dangerous, they’re highly unhealthy. French toast sticks are slices of bread dipped in an egg custard mixed and then pan-fried in butter before being tossed in sugar and cinnamon. Although sweet, flavorful, and crunchy, toasted French sticks are an unhealthy and calorie-dense food.
The process of making French toast sticks adds unhealthy fats to an already unhealthy doggie treat. Making them a regular diet item may cause your pooch to gain unhealthy weight due to the high carbs, calories, and fat content.
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Is French Toast Bad For Dogs?
French toast isn’t inherently bad for dogs, but it is not an ideal dog treat.
For starters, the bread may contain many harmful ingredients. Commercial bread varieties contain artificial additives and preservatives that may trigger allergic reactions and sensitivities.
Such bread varieties remain a health risk for your pooch even if you use dog-safe ingredients to make French toast. Worse still, some prefer buying ready-made French toast, which may not always contain dog-safe ingredients.
As such, it’s best to avoid feeding your dog French toast if unsure of the ingredients. Homemade French toast is preferable if you make the bread from scratch and only use dog-friendly toppings. Even then, you should only offer your pooch a small piece.
Can Dogs Eat French Toast with Syrup?
Dogs shouldn’t have French toast with syrup.
While a drizzle of maple syrup turns your French toast into a delightful treat, it only spells trouble for your pooch. The syrup is high in sugar and will likely trigger digestive distress since a dog’s digestive tract can’t handle too much sugar.
In the long run, offering your dog French toast with a syrup drizzle can lead to dental issues, obesity, and diabetes. If anything, adding syrup to French toast doubles the health risk for your fur baby.
What Health Benefits Does French Toast Have?
Unfortunately, French toast has little to no benefit for dogs.
As a calorie-dense, high-carbohydrate food, French toast has no place in a dog’s diet. It doesn’t provide anything your pooch can’t get from its regular, well-balanced diet.
While French bread is primarily made with bread and rich in carbohydrates, dogs don’t exactly use starch as a primary energy source. Dogs can burn fat and proteins for energy and are just fine without having bread in their diet.
Whole wheat bread is a rich source of dietary fiber, but these benefits hardly trickle down to your four-legged friend. A dog is unlikely to eat enough bread to benefit from the dietary fibers without triggering digestive distress. In this regard, the risks of feeding bread to your dog outweigh the benefits.
Since French toast is made by dipping bread in eggs, one may be tempted to consider it a protein source, but that’s hardly the case. The egg content on each French toast slice is negligible, and your dogs would have to eat a considerable amount of toast to benefit from the egg protein.
What’s the Best Way to Serve My Dog French Toast?
The best way to serve your dog French toast is to ensure it contains no harmful ingredients. Ideally, you should only serve French toast made with homemade bread. That way, you’re sure the bread only has dog-safe ingredients.
Use an ingredient-limited dip to make the French toast. While cinnamon isn’t inherently toxic to dogs, it’s not necessary. Avoid using vanilla extract because it contains alcohol, which is dangerous for dogs. Milk and eggs are safe if your dog has no known allergies.
Once your French toast is ready, slice it into bite-sized pieces and add dog-safe toppings such as fruits or plain yogurt. Avoid maple syrup because too much sugar can endanger your dog’s health and well-being.
How Much French Toast Should I Give My Dog?
Only offer your dog a small piece of French toast as an occasional treat.
In most cases, there’s no upside to adding French toast to your dog’s menu.
French toast adds little to no nutritional value to your dog’s diet and may significantly endanger their health and well-being. Instead of French toast, you may consider healthier dog treats such as plain yogurt, blueberries, and bananas.
Can Puppies Eat French Toast?
Puppies can eat French toast, but there’s little upside to offering them this calorie-dense food.
Bread provides no nutritional value while infinitely increasing the risk of digestive distress.
Offering French toast denies your puppies the chance to enjoy a well-balanced nutritious meal they need to grow healthy and strong.
Looking For Some Healthy, Homemade Dog Food Recipe Inspiration?
So, Can Dogs Eat French Toast? What’s the Verdict?
Dogs can eat French toast in moderation, but it’s a filler food for them. There’s no upside to making French toast part of your dog’s diet. The toast is made from bread, which offers no nutritional value to dogs while significantly increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, and joint problems.
Some bread varieties may contain unsafe ingredients or toppings that harm your pooch. Unless you’re using homemade bread to make French toast for your dog, you better offer your dog healthier alternatives.
If you’re looking for more nutritional advice for your pet, The American Canine Club is a great starting point for all things canine health.