Can Dogs Eat Garlic Bread?

No, dogs should not eat garlic bread. Garlic is poisonous to dogs, and it can damage their red blood cells. Butter and oil add fat on top of that. If your dog eats a slice, call your vet for advice.

Why is garlic bread bad for dogs?

Garlic belongs to the allium family, along with onions, chives, and leeks. Pet Poison Helpline says all of these are poisonous to dogs. In a large enough amount, they damage red blood cells. That can lead to anemia, which means the body doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen. They can also upset the stomach.

The Merck Veterinary Manual says garlic is about 3 to 5 times more toxic than onion. It also says cooked, dried, and powdered garlic can all poison animals. Garlic bread is baked, so cooking does not make it safe.

The amount of garlic in a slice is hard to know. The sources we read give no safe amount for garlic in cooked food.

What about the bread, butter, and cheese?

The bread itself is not the main problem. The AKC says plain white or wheat bread is generally fine for dogs in small amounts, but it adds calories and little else.

Garlic bread has extra problems:

• Fat. Butter and oil add fat. The Merck Veterinary Manual says eating table scraps or other wrong foods is believed to be a common risk factor for pancreatitis. That is a painful swelling of the pancreas, an organ that helps digest food.
• Salt. The ASPCA warns that too much salt can make dogs very thirsty and, in serious cases, cause vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, and seizures.
• Other add-ins. Check the label for onion, which is also harmful to dogs, and for raisins, which are dangerous too.

Signs to watch for after garlic bread

Signs of garlic poisoning often come late. The Merck Veterinary Manual says damage to red blood cells usually begins 3 to 5 days after the dog eats it. Watch for:

• Tiredness or weakness
• Not wanting to eat
• Fast breathing or a fast heartbeat
• Not wanting to exercise
• Yellow gums or eyes, or dark red or brown pee
• Collapse

Vomiting, diarrhea, belly pain, or a dog that is dull after a fatty meal can point to an upset stomach or pancreatitis. Call your vet for those signs too.

What to do if your dog ate garlic bread

1. Take away what is left, and note how much your dog ate and when.
2. Check the label or recipe for garlic, onion, raisins, and other add-ins.
3. Call your vet or a poison hotline. Have your dog’s weight ready.
4. Follow their advice. If your dog ate it recently, the vet may give a medicine that makes your dog vomit. Merck says early treatment for recent eating is the usual first step.
5. Watch your dog for several days, even if your dog seems fine at first.

For serious cases, vets may give oxygen, a blood transfusion, and fluids through a vein.

Other garlic foods

Garlic is also in pasta sauce, soup, seasoned meat, and some broths. For more on this, see our guide on garlic and dogs. To see more things to keep away from your dog, read our list of foods that are toxic to dogs.

What can my dog have instead?

If you want to share a bread treat, a tiny piece of plain bread is okay once in a while, says the AKC. Better still, offer a treat made for dogs. Keep treats to about 10% of your dog’s daily calories.