Can Dogs Eat French Toast? Vet Reviewed Facts & FAQ

Dogs can eat eggs and are fine with a bit of bread and milk every now and again—so what about when you put those ingredients together? If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you usually have to watch what you share with your dog because a lot of desserts and sweet snacks contain ingredients that are toxic to dogs. However, French toast is one of those tasty meals that you can slip to your dog as long as it’s fed to them in moderation and without sweet toppings.

Too much French toast consumed too frequently isn’t a healthy snack option for your dog as it will cause them to gain weight due to its high-calorie content, fats, and carbohydrates. Some French toast recipes contain extra ingredients that aren’t safe for dogs, so if you do decide to offer your pooch some French toast, make sure that the French toast you give your dog is homemade and contains only safe ingredients.

What Ingredients Should I Watch Out for?

French toast is usually pretty easy to make and only contains a handful of ingredients, such as bread, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and milk. But sometimes French toast isn’t quite tasty enough on its own, and adding chocolate spread, syrup, nutmeg, and raisins can bring out a bit more flavor and sweetness. However, it’s these extras that you need to keep away from your dog.

Chocolate

Chocolate and chocolate products contain theobromine and caffeine, two ingredients that are toxic to dogs. Depending on your dog’s size and how much chocolate they ate, signs of chocolate toxicity can vary. The milder symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting, while more severe symptoms are seizures, tremors, heart problems, and internal bleeding.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg can be just as dangerous to dogs as chocolate, depending on how much is consumed. This spice contains myristicin which can cause your dog’s blood pressure to go up, increase their heart rate, and cause hallucinations, abdominal pain, tremors, confusion, and seizures.

Raisins

Raisins are also a big no-no for dogs. Just like grapes, raisins can cause kidney damage or kidney failure in your dog. However, raisin toxicity usually starts with vomiting and diarrhea, excessive thirst, loss of appetite, weakness, bad breath, and dehydration.

Xylitol

One of the less obvious ingredients that are often found in the toppings of French toast, such as flavored yogurt, chocolate, and syrup, is xylitol. It is a sugar substitute that is found in a variety of food products that should never be given to your dog. Xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs and can cause their blood sugar to drop. Signs of xylitol poisoning are vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, tremors, seizures, and coma. Sadly, it can lead to liver failure and death.

If your dog has consumed any of these dangerous ingredients, contact your vet. You’ll need to inform them on how much your dog ate and when, as well as any symptoms they may have. Your vet will give you instructions on what to do and whether they want you to bring your dog in for observation and care.

Cow’s Milk

Know if your dog is lactose intolerant. If they are, stay on the safer side by not giving them cow’s milk or food with this ingredient. This may cause gastrointestinal upset, bloat, vomiting or diarrhea.

What Toppings Can I Add?

Dogs can taste sweet things, so adding a few yummy ingredients on top of the piece of French toast you give them could be a nice treat. However, these toppings should be natural and safe for dogs, such as fruit. Remember that not all fruit is safe for dogs, it should be given in moderation, and it should always be cut up first to avoid choking. Below are some fruits that aren’t toxic to dogs that you can add to their French toast:

Conclusion

Dogs can eat French toast in moderation as long as it does not contain toppings such as chocolate, nutmeg, raisins, and products made with xylitol. French toast does contain a lot of calories and can lead to weight gain if your dog eats too much of it. If you want to add a topping to your dog’s snack, stick to chopped-up, non-toxic fruit such as blueberries, cranberries, and bananas.

---

Featured Image Credit: SherSor, Shutterstock

The post Can Dogs Eat French Toast? Vet Reviewed Facts & FAQ appeared first on Pet Keen.