There’s just something about French pastry. A fresh-baked baguette can really fill the room and make you ready for your day like nothing else. So, this begs the question. Can dogs eat baguette?
A plain baguette without any fruits or nuts baked in is fine in very small amounts, as long as it’s not an everyday thing. Baguettes have too many calories and carbs for them to be considered healthy for your dog, so you’ll need to do a little math to avoid any problems in the future.
In today’s article, we’re going to talk about this fine, French staple and what you need to know about it if you will be sharing with your dog. While common baguettes will be fine, some varieties are actually dangerous, so read on and you’ll find out what you need to know about these delicious pastries before you share!
Table of Contents
Plain baguettes are going to be fine
Plain baguettes, without any special ingredients, are going to be fine as long as you practice moderation. The biggest problem is going to be the calories. According to USDA statistics, 100 grams of a French Baguette is about 270 calories, with 56 carbs, 9 grams of protein, and .5 a gram of fat.
Now, let’s consider if 100grams goes against the ‘10% rule’, which many dogs owners use to decide how many treats their dog can have in a day. According to the 10% rule, treats should not make up more than 10% of your dog’s daily caloric intake. Let’s look at some basic calorie requirements by size:
- Small dog (10 pounds) – A small, 10-pound dog needs about 218 calories per day.
- Medium dog (20 pounds) – A medium, 20-pound dog needs approximately 366 calories a day.
- Large dog (40 to 60 pounds)– For our large, 40 – 60 pound dog example, 616 to 835 calories per day are required.
Okay, now that we have a baseline, if you gave a small dog 100 grams of a French baguette, you’ve exceeded their calorie count for the entire day! With the medium dog we’re a little over 2/3’s of their daily recommended intake, and with the large dog they’d be getting around 1/3 or more of their calories in one go.
Whoops! So, as you can see, it’s not so much that the baguette is going to directly hurt them, but if it’s not moderated or worse, becomes an everyday thing, then over time your dog is going to become overweight and that comes with a whole host of health issues that you definitely don’t want for your dog!
Chocolate and Raisin baguettes are POISON
We would be amiss if we didn’t mention the cases where baguettes could be potentially deadly. Some baguettes come with chocolate in them, which is known to be ‘bad’ for them, but it’s actually downright poisonous.
Just .2 ounces of baking chocolate, for instance, can poison your dog, due to a chemical called Theobromine that dogs can’t digest the way that humans do. With dark or semi-sweet, just .5 ounces can be potentially fatal, so chocolate baguettes are definitely off of the menu.
One more subtle ‘baguette pitfall’ is raising baguettes. One popular baguette type, for instance, has ‘golden raisins’ baked into the top, but just 10 to 15 raisins can actually be lethal to a large dog. We didn’t know why for years, until a dog was brought to a vet’s office that had poisoned themselves eating homemade playdoh.
The effects were similar enough to previous raisin and grape poisonings, that further look was warranted, and we found out that they shared a chemical component – tartaric acid. Now that you know, it’s important to keep raisins and grapes away from your dog. As odd as it seems, they’re poison for dogs, cats, and a number of other animals.
Other ingredients to watch for
While chocolate and raisin baguettes are the worst of the bunch, there are certainly other types that make your dog seriously ill. Anything with Allium plants in it, which consist of common ingredients such as chives, leeks, onions, and garlic, are all toxic for your dog.
In powdered form, they are even MORE potent, so this is something that you’ll need to be on the lookout for if you aren’t eating just a plain, ol’ baguette.
Macadamia nuts are another example of something that seems okay but which is going to be toxic for your dog. While it takes 2.4 grams per 2 pounds of your dog’s body weight, any possible toxicity is good enough reason to avoid something.
That said, as long as we are talking about a plain baguette with nothing special baked in or baked on top of it, then you can certainly share a little with your dog and don’t forget a little butter! Just be sure that it’s plain in composition and that this is not something that they are getting every day.
What does bread do in a dog’s stomach?
While we’re on the subject, we should mention that bread is not really the best choice for a lot of reasons. When your dog eats it, the yeast will cause it to expand, which makes your dog feel full but also while it is distending their stomach, ethanol gets produced in the process.
Ethanol is toxic and while small amounts of bread shouldn’t be a problem, if a small dog gets into and eats an entire loaf, then they might get very ill from it. That said, in tiny amounts, it can actually settle a dog’s stomach, so it’s not entirely without merits.
Ultimately, the high calories pretty much sink it as a regular thing, so it’s best to keep the portions small if your dog is going to be getting a little bread on a regular basis.
In conclusion: Your dog can have SOME plain baguette
Plain baguettes without any fruits or nuts baked in should be fine, but you’ll need to really control the portions or you’ll find yourself rolling your dog out of the door for daily walks! Baguettes are delicious, but that comes at a price, and that price is lots of calories and carbs.
Don’t worry – your dog can still have them – but they’re going to need to settle for a little piece with perhaps a little meat to soften the blow. This will help to ensure a better chance at sharing more breakfasts together with your best friend in what we hope are many, many happy years to come.
My name is Ken and I’m one of the staff writers at Petloverguy.com. I’ve cared for pets most of my life starting with hamsters, turtles, and snakes. Then moving up to parakeets, guinea pigs, and even ducks.
I currently live with two yorkies and a chihuahua mix.
