Can Dogs Eat Donuts: 10 Reasons To Skip Sweets Today (2020)

Let’s talk about donuts. Sure, they’re sweet, delicious, and come in a variety of flavors, but they’re also incredibly full of both sugar and fat. I won’t comment on whether or not we, as people, should eat donuts, but I will say that you absolutely should not feed them to your dog.

I’ve seen many owners mention that they spoil their dog with a glazed donut hole or a similar donut treat, and I can’t help but worry about the effect it has on their dog’s system.

Donuts aren’t unhealthy for dog’s just because they’re a human dessert food. The composition of a donut actually disagrees with their system in many ways.

Let’s dig into donuts, and why you should keep them out of your best friend’s diet.

What’s In A Donut That’s Not Healthy For Dogs?

Homemade donuts are typically made with the following ingredients:

Out of these ingredients, the butter, sugar, flour, oil, salt, milk, and possible flavor variations like chocolate are all ones that are not good for dogs! And if you buy donuts in a store, they’ll be even worse for your dog.

The butter, milk, and flavor variations often have dairy in them, which is not good for many dogs to eat very much of as it can cause them to have digestive problems.

Oil is okay for dogs, but only if it’s an oil high in omega-3 fatty acids. Donuts don’t typically use an oil that would be a healthy additive for dogs, especially if it’s a store-bought donut!

Will Eating A Donut Kill My Dog?

In most cases, no. Unless your dog has a severe allergy to an ingredient or manages to eat their weight in donuts, your dog will not die from eating them.

If, however, the dog was very heavy in chocolate, you should monitor your dog. They shouldn’t have an issue, but you may see more digestive reactions because of the chocolate.

If you have a very small dog and they eat a very large volume of donuts, you may want to take them to the vet. Because of their small size, the amount of fat and sugar in the donut will cause more problems in them than in larger dogs.

Additionally, if your dog has any wheat or milk intolerances, they may begin scratching their skin and have a very upset tummy.

What Will Happen To My dog If They Eat A Donut?

When a dog eats a donut (or a few donuts), they’re getting a lot of sugars and fats. Long term, this could cause problems like pancreatitis or other digestive issues. It would even cause them to get fatty tumors or suffer from strokes. You should not feed your dog donuts very often if you do choose to let them have donuts.

If your dog got into a box of donuts or ate just a few donuts, you’ll likely see that they cannot digest it and will have loose stools and diarrhea for some time until the donut gets through their system.

This is because the donuts contain more fat than their bodies can or should process, so it will cause their digestive system to get out of order for some time.

Can Dogs Eat Donuts I Buy At The Store?

I wouldn’t recommend it.

While homemade donuts include on 8 to 10 ingredients, donuts from a donut shop often include more than 50 ingredients! This means there are so many more ingredients that your dog probably shouldn’t be eating in them.

Among other dangerous ingredients, here’s a few that stick out as bad for dogs:

If you intentionally feeding your dog a store bought, chain name donut, you’re giving them all of these additives and preservatives! Skip the donuts. They’re not good for your dog.

Can Dogs Eat Glazed Donuts If They’re Small?

I often see people recommending you pick up a mini donut hole for your dog when you grab donuts for yourself, but I don’t recommend it.

Even though these are smaller than a full-sized donut, they still include all of the ingredients that I mentioned above are harmful to your dog. Just because it’s smaller doesn’t mean it’s okay for your dog!

Can Dogs Eat Donuts I Make At Home?

If you make a donut at home specifically for your dog, yes! It's totally possible to make a donut-like treat that doesn't have the dangerous ingredients in it.

This is the kind of treat I love to encourage. If you really want to give your dog a treat, and you want it to be a “donut” like you enjoy, you can make a dog-friendly donut treat that they’ll love.

Here’s an example of one such recipe:

The key to making any dog-friendly donut is to avoid using yeast and avoid needing to fry it! You can also make sure you remove any ingredients that don’t agree with your dog, making this much healthier than buying a human donut and giving it to your dog.

Leave The Donuts In The Box

Can I give my dog a donut? No, I can’t. I love spoiling my dog as much as the next owner, but I don’t want to hurt Biscuit with a food that is a sweet treat meant for people, not dogs.

If you want to spoil your dog, choose something other than a donut! There are plenty of treats formulated for dogs that you can use as a bonus treat once a week if you want to find a way to spoil your dog. Trust me; they won’t know the difference, and you’ll be giving them a better chance at a healthy life.

Skip the donuts. Better yet, keep them all for yourself! Your pup certainly doesn’t need to be taking in the fat, sugar, and preservatives donuts have in them. Whether or not you want to eat them is up to you!