Dogs are lovely, intelligent pets, but they lack the discernment of cats when it comes to eating things that may be harmful to them. Your dog could lick up a bag of sugar or lick up garlic aioli mayonnaise if you give them access. This is why it is necessary to take proactive steps to ensure they don’t consume anything that could harm them.
Pan Dulce is a delicious breakfast or dinner hit with numerous types—playfully named after their shapes. These pastries showcase the skills and artistry of Mexican baking, but can dogs have pan dulce? Is it safe? This article embodies all you need to know.
What is Pan Dulce?
For Latin Americans, pan dulce is the name given to pastries, and it is also referred to as sweet bread. They are ruthlessly delicious, typically made with sugar, flour, eggs, and butter, and may contain other ingredients such as nuts, fruits, or chocolate.
Pan dulce has a history dating back to the 18th-century colonial era. The French, Italian, and Spanish bakers brought over their bread recipes, like baguettes used for Banh Mi and brioche.
Just like Korean corn dogs in America, pan dulce is a common street food on corners in Latin America—each offering its own unique regional culinary differences, unearthing a stunner of a pastry. Hence, we have numerous types of pan dulce.
Most commonly, we have conchas, which is a national sweet bread for Mexicans, just like pavlova is a national dessert for New Zealand. This bread is made from enriched eggy dough and crowned with a swirled streusel top with the semblance of a seashell. This is only one, as we still have Churros, Buñuelos, Corbata, Danesa, Empanadas, Palmeras, and so forth.
Can Dogs Eat Pan Dulce?
Pan dulce that does not contain chocolate or nuts is safe for dogs to have a little occasionally. However, some variations, like Orejas de Chocolate y Nuez, Polvorones de Chocolate y Nuez, and dark chocolate conchas contain chocolates or nuts that can be harmful to your dog.
Further, you should be aware that these pastries are made with butter, and while butter is safe for your pooch if consumed moderately and also has a relatively low lactose content in comparison with other lactose sources, it contains lots of fats, and if your dog has lots of fats, they could develop pancreatitis.
Also, sugar is another possible threat; while not poisonous or toxic, it isn’t good for your dog to have so much processed sugar. Natural sugars from veggies and fruits are okay, but processed sugars are just the pathway to diabetes, weight gain, and even digestive issues.
The flour content is not an issue, as dogs can have flour in the form of baked goods like Ezekiel bread, but raw dough is not good at all.
As for the milk content, I assume you wouldn’t be giving your dog the amount of pan dulce that may trigger lactose intolerance symptoms like GI upset. Milk contains lactose, and most adult dogs cannot handle lactose as they lack lactase enzymes to break down the lactose.
Usually, you shouldn’t constantly feed sweet human-grade treats like pan dulce to your pooch, since certain ingredients may have possible long-term effects that are not pleasurable, like diabetes or dental disease, but they are not toxic (except in the case where they contain so much chocolate, xylitol, or raisins) and wouldn’t harm your canine, provided they do make up less than 10% of its daily food intake and are offered once in a while.
Is the Chocolate in Pan Dulce Fatal for Dogs?
This depends solely on the amount of chocolate present in the pan dulce, the type, and your pooch’s size.
According to the Merk Veterinary Manual, dogs could experience mild chocolate toxicity if they consumed 20mg of theobromine (the toxic substance in chocolate) per kg, and they would experience seizures if they consumed up to 60 mg, while they could experience organ damage and death if they consumed 100–200 mg of theobromine.
Usually, the amount of chocolate used in some pan dulce types is capable of causing your dog harm. Two tablespoons or 5 grams of cocoa powder is used for some pan dulce and each gram contains as much as 20mg of theobromine according to PubMed which means giving your dog some of such pan dulce will cause a level of toxicity.
What Would Happen If My Dog Ate a Pan Dulce?
If your dog ate pan dulce, nothing would happen. At most, they might experience mild stomach upset if they are not used to having sugary treats. Besides that, your dog should not have any problems except if your dog is allergic to nuts, and there are nuts in the pan dulce.
How to Feed Pan Dulce to Dogs?
Just like most treats that are not dog-specific, like pancit, you should only feed a small amount of pan dulce to your pooch, twice the size of a bottle cap. Your dog can safely have more, but since it is not a healthy or beneficial treat for dogs, it is best to keep it as minimal as possible.
Final Thoughts
Dogs can have human sweet treats like pan dulce, but with caveats: you have to make sure there are no nuts or chocolate, as your pooch may be allergic to some nuts, or the chocolate may be too much to handle.
Also, sweet treats like pan dulce are what you offer your dogs once in a blue moon. These pastries should not be made a regular treat for training sessions or anything.
