Who doesn’t like a good pizza crust? Even the weird pineapple on pizza people can appreciate that last part of that slice where it all comes together.
But although delicious, pizza, and pizza crust, have never been considered particularly healthy or weight-friendly. Someone might start listing 100 new healthy pizza recipes just to prove us wrong.
However, objectively speaking, if you’re eating a pizza, it’s probably from a pizza joint famous for its taste, but not for its low-calorie count.
That being said, what if you don’t like a pizza crust, and you decide to give the remains to your dog?
Well, that’s exactly the question we aim to answer today; can dogs eat pizza crust?
So get ready, dog lovers; let’s see if your pup can binge the same junk food as you do.
Can Dogs Eat Pizza Crust?
Even though we try to give straightforward answers here at petdietguide.com, this one will, unfortunately, be: it depends. Technically, dogs can eat anything; but should they, is a whole other question in itself. The cut and dry answer to that would be NO, they shouldn’t eat pizza crust.
But what kind of a dog you have also played a role in. Before you start banging on your keyboard saying all kinds of swear words at us, let us elaborate.
Dogs are not supposed to eat junk food, but some dogs can have more serious consequences, if they do, than others. To understand this better, let’s break down this topic a little further.
Pizza
| Calorie Chart Of Your Average Pizza Slice | (107g) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 285 |
| Fat | 10,4 g |
| Sodium | 240 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 35,7 g |
| Fiber | 2,5 g |
| Sugars | 3,8 g |
| Protein | 12,2 g |
We can see there are 285 calories in a pizza slice, but how much of that comes from just the pizza crust?
Well, my curious dog lover, there are 60 calories in just the crust. How crazy is that?
Just for comparison, one apple, which is infinitely more nutritious, has less than 60 calories.
But besides basically being a bunch of empty calories, why is pizza and pizza crust so bad for our dogs and us?
Besides this, we have an article just for pizza as well. Click here to see, can dogs eat pizza?
Salt City
Pizza is essentially very salty food. Its ingredients, mainly dough, almost always have extra salt added to them.Since the crust is literally just dough, it makes it potentially harmful for your dog.
When dogs consume too much salt, they start drinking a lot of water to negate any unwanted side effects. If the amount is so excessive and the water they had doesn’t help, the cells in their body start releasing water to reestablish the balance in the organism. This can result in your dog losing brain cells, getting headaches, and even seizures.
If your dog had too much salt, some of the following symptoms might occur:
- Fainting
- Confusion
- Difficulty breathing
- Fast heartbeat
If you notice any of these symptoms, call a vet or go to one as fast as you can. Sodium poisoning poses a real danger to dogs and can even cause death in extreme cases.
Scary, right?
Well, that’s just the beginning.
Just Stuff It With Everything.
As the culinary arts develop and competition gets fiercer, pizza chefs have come up with new ways to make their products stand out. One of those ways is stuffing the crust with cheese.
Hell, I’ve eaten a pizza with not just cheese but extra bacon inside the crust as well. Honestly, one of the best things my taste buds have ever felt. Couldn’t sleep that night from all the calories, though.
A lot of dogs are lactose intolerant. Just like a lot of us, as they get older, they lose a certain hormone responsible for digesting dairy products.
The cheese that is used in pizzas and pizza crusts is ninety-nine percent of the time high in fat and very easy to melt. This can cause your dog some serious stomach ache. Digestive problems, diarrhea, and vomiting are often the result of too much dairy.
Adding to that, processed meats can also pose some serious danger to our pups. (Since we value your time and want to keep this article relatively brief, we suggest you read Can dogs Eat Ham?). It’ll clear up some things you probably didn’t give much thought to.
But the gist of it is:
Processed meats are very high in sodium, which we mentioned can be dangerous to dogs. They are known to cause pancreatitis, a condition where your dog’s pancreas is inflamed, resulting in various issues such as fever, vomiting, dizziness, loss of appetite, etc.
Finally, trichinosis; is a roundworm found in contaminated meat that gets into your dog’s (or yours) stomach. It can move to your dog’s muscles and tends to require expensive treatment.
But the crust torture doesn’t stop there.
It’s Everywhere!
Grease to fast food is what oil is to cars, unavoidable. Letting your dog eat greasy food can result in him/her getting obese.
Dogs can have a much harder time losing weight compared to us. Obesity can be a big problem, and you don’t want your pup struggling with the health issues that it inevitably brings.
Binging
Besides being greasy, pizza crust contains a lot of carbohydrates.
Let’s be honest; even the hardcore dieters like to indulge in some carbs once in a while. And there’s nothing wrong with that; we’re all human.
On the other hand, our dogs aren’t human and can’t always enjoy the same things. Carbs are one of the main culprits for getting yourself or your dog obese.
They tend to spike your dog’s blood pressure, and the more often it eats carbohydrates, the more cravings it will get. Monitoring these things and not just throwing random leftovers on the floor for your pup to chew on would be the responsible thing to do.
Good For Us, Bad For Them
Garlic and onion are considered very healthy for us.
But your dog should avoid them like the plague. They’re extremely toxic for dogs and can do some serious damage.
Since garlic and onions are often used both in pizza dough and in pizza sauce, it’s just too easy for your pup to get hurt in this respect.
When Not To Never Give Your Dog Pizza Crust?
If you have a smaller dog, forget about giving it pizza crust, even occasionally. The smaller the dog, the smaller its intestines.
You can cause some major damage by giving it any kind of dough. Whatsmore, the smaller the dog and purer the breed, the more effort you have to put in their diet. One thing that mixed dogs have over purebreds is that they are relatively more durable due to their larger gene pool.
If your dog accidentally had some bread crust or pizza crust, going to a vet might be a good idea. Clogging up your pup’s intestines shouldn’t be on your to-do list. You can wait a few hours to see how they behave, but we wouldn’t risk it if they had a rather sizable chunk of crust.
When Is It Okay For You To Give Your Dog Some Pizza Crust?
If you have a relatively large dog, it will probably be able to handle some pizza crust once in a while. Dogs are rarely suspicious of food, especially when they see us eating it.
However, in order not to be misunderstood, we feel like we have to make one thing clear: We do not recommend you give your dog any pizza or pizza crust.
We definitely don’t recommend making it a part of your dog’s diet. But just like you weren’t supposed to try that cigarette in sixth grade, it happened; that one cigarette didn’t kill you, though.
A similar concept can be applied here, a few bad things once in a while shouldn’t hurt your dog in the long run.
Conclusion
We get it; it’s not easy eating when your dog is right next to you. If it gives you those puppy eyes, both depicting cuteness and sadness at the same time, you have to budge. But in this case, you have to stand your ground for your dog’s sake.
We’ve bashed pizza and pizza crust quite a bit in this article, and for a good reason as well. Junk food is called that for a reason. Your dog shouldn’t partake in any fast food binging whatsoever.
It definitely shouldn’t eat pizza or pizza crust. Things like too much salt, grease, processed meats, carbs, and pizza sauce are dangerous to your dog’s health.
If you have a relatively smaller dog, refrain from giving it pizza or pizza crust even once in a while; it’s not worth the risk. Bigger pups might get to enjoy it once in a blue moon, but don’t even think of letting pizza crust become a part of its diet.
Although the article is called CAN dogs eat pizza crust, we also have to ask if SHOULD dogs eat pizza crust? The answer to that question is definitely NO; they SHOULDN’T.
Learn More: What Can Dogs Eat? A Comprehensive List Of Dog-safe Foods