Can Dogs Eat Pizza?

The basic definition of pizza is that it is a flatbread dish made with wheat flour, yeast, water and salt, usually covered with tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings. Although plain cheese, peperoni and vegetables are common toppings, a pizza can be topped with almost any ingredient. Variations in flour for the dough, type of cheese or the type of sauce are also common, especially

With this in mind, we can say that pizza is not a recommended food for dogs. Depending on the ingredients used, eating a small piece of pizza is not likely to cause a dog serious harm, especially in the long term. Regular consumption of pizza will be detrimental to your dog's health and eating a lot at once will likely result in acute gastrointestinal upset.

The level of risk in a dog eating pizza will largely depend on the ingredients. Since the types of toppings are almost infinite, we will look at some of the most common pizza ingredients to gauge its safety:

• Sauce: most pizzas have a base sauce made from tomatoes. While tomatoes are not a dangerous food for dogs in themselves, the sauce which is commonly used on pizzas contains a relatively high level of sugar and salt which are bad for dogs. Some pizzas also use sauces based on cream, barbecue sauce or other ingredients, all of which have high fat and sugar content, as well as other unwelcome ingredients.
• Cheese: fresh cheeses with a low percentage of fat are suitable foods for dogs in small portions. In principle, they should not cause adverse reactions to their health when eaten rarely. Other cheeses can have very high fat contents which are damaging to the dog. Generally speaking, dogs should not eat dairy as the lactose content can cause gastrointestinal upset. This is more acute in dogs with a sensitivity or food intolerance.
• Garlic and onion: these are commonly used as ingredients in pizzas and both are toxic to dogs, especially in high amounts. Discover more with our article on garlic and onion poisoning in dogs.
• Other ingredients: common toppings on pizza include peperoni, salami, sausage, barbecue chicken, bacon and many other meats which are bad for dogs. This is due to high contents of fat, salt and other ingredients. While vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms won't likely cause harm, they are not needed and the other ingredients cancel out any potential benefit.

Due to its popularity, many people wonder can dogs eat peperoni pizza? As we stated, a small amount won't likely cause serious harm, but they should stay away from it in general. Not only is peperoni high in fat, it contains spices which can irritate the dog's gastrointestinal lining and result in digestive upset.

We need to be especially careful giving any food to our dog when they have a preexisting condition. We explore this in detail with our article on what to feed a dog with liver problems.

After we finish a pizza, many of us leave the crust. We don't want to waste food, so giving our pizza crusts to our dog can seem like a great way to avoid waste. While we should not do this regularly, occasionally giving the pizza crust to our dog shouldn't cause them any harm. In fact, in can be a good way to reward them for good behavior while.

Pizza crust is not a good food for dogs and provides little nutritional benefit, but it can provide some energy and a little enjoyment. If we do want to give pizza crust to our dog, we need to ensure no toppings are left on. We should also avoid giving the crusts to dogs in the following circumstances:

• Obesity: pizza dough is a food rich in carbohydrates and has a high caloric content. It is not recommended for overweight dogs.
• Allergies: there are dogs with allergies or food intolerances to cereals. The consumption of pizza dough could also be harmful in these cases.

Can dogs eat raw pizza dough?

At this point, it is important to mention one very important aspect regarding pizza dough. If you usually prepare pizza dough at home, you must be especially careful to ensure that your dog does not have access to it. This is because raw dough represents a significant danger to your pet's health.

Raw dough contains yeast, which increases the volume of the dough by transforming the sugars in the flour into carbon dioxide (CO2) and ethyl alcohol (ethanol). If your dog were to consume raw pizza dough, it could ferment in their digestive system. This fermentation can lead to gas buildup which can cause blat and blockages. The fermentation into alcohol can also cause poisoning. For these reasons, it is very important you never give raw dough to a dog.

Learn more about the symptoms and treatment of dog poisoning with our related article.

Occasionally eating a small amount of pizza does not necessarily have an immediate negative effect on a dog's health. This will be dependent on the toppings, since they may contain foods which are expressly forbidden for dogs. This is because they contain compounds which cause intoxication and can be very harmful, especially in large amounts.

While a small amount of sugar or other carbohydrates won't cause serious problems, large amounts over a prolonged time can have a seriously detrimental affect on a dog's health. Similarly, high-fat foods such as cheese and sausage can be harmful. They can influence health concerns such as obesity and diabetes. High-salt and processed foods such as peperoni, salami and bacon can be very damaging to the kidneys and other organs.

We must also make special mention of those pizzas that include ingredients that are toxic to dogs, such as garlic or onion. These two foods contain organosulfides that are rapidly absorbed in the intestinal tract. When they degrade, they generate highly reactive oxidizing agents. These agents interact with the dog's red blood cells, causing oxidative damage that ultimately leads to lysis (breakage) of the red blood cells. Hemolytic anemia occurs as a result, leading to acute kidney failure in severe cases.

Learn about what foods dogs with kidney failure should eat in our related guide.

At the beginning of this article, we explained that pizza is a very versatile food which can come in various preparations. For this reason, it is possible you can make a version of pizza which is suitable for dogs. Some brands even sell products which are marketed as such. These not only contain ingredients which harm dogs, they contain foods which are beneficial to them.

Just like how we should eat this food, you can purchase this pizza for dogs if you want to give them a treat. You can even make your own pizza for dogs at home, having complete control over ingredients and ensuring it does not cause them any harm.

Take a look at our article on homemade food for dogs to learn more.

If you want to read similar articles to Can Dogs Eat Pizza?, we recommend you visit our Homemade diets category.