Can Dogs Eat Bran Flakes?

In this research you will know the answer to the query “Can Dogs Eat Bran Flakes?“.

Do you have loose stools in your dog?

Have you heard about the importance of fiber in a diet in order to create a healthy digestive system?

Is there an easy way for you to do it by using the box of Bran Flakes you have stashed in a cupboard?

Are Bran Flakes safe for dogs to eat?

What percentage of bran do they contain and are the other ingredients safe for dogs.

So lets find out shall we?

Can dogs have Bran Flakes?

Bran Flakes do not contain any ingredients that are toxic to a dog unless he is wheat intolerant.

The ingredients in breakfast cereals include some healthy ones and some not-so-healthy ones.

However they are generally safe for dogs.

I will discuss some of the best and worst breakfast cereals you can give your dog as well as the specific ingredients and nutrients contained in Bran Flakes.

To begin this research I would like to explain what bran is.

It is after all the star of the show. 

What is bran?

The outer layer of cereal grains such as rice corn wheat oats and barley is known as the bran. 

Bran is primarily nutritionally beneficial due to its high dietary fiber content which makes up nearly half of its composition. 

Dogs benefit from fiber because it helps their stool pass through the system more quickly. 

It is also low in calories and saturated fat which makes it attractive. 

What are the ingredients in Bran Flakes?

A Bran Flakes box contains nine ingredients including:

The majority of wheat is whole wheat (59%)

Grass bran (18%)

Flour made from whole wheat

Sugar

Barley

Malt extract

Glucose Syrup

Salt

Natural Flavours

Based on what we learned about bran in the previous section this list shows that 18% of Bran Flakes are bran.

The majority of this cereal is whole wheat at 59%. 

Now do not panic because whole wheat is also a very healthy grain unless your dog suffers from a wheat intolerance – but more on that later.

Bran Flakes are actually 77% wheat flakes!

If your dog is not gluten intolerant there is nothing wrong with wheat.

Consequently your dog should not be allowed anywhere near Bran Flakes.

Wheat is the only ingredient in a Bran Flake that could be toxic.

Your dog cannot be poisoned by anything else in these treats.

There is seven ingredients total but three are sugars of some sort or another.

The following are their names:

Sugar

Malt extract and 

Glucose syrup

There is just over 40% sugar in malt extract and nearly 30% sugar in glucose syrup.

The dangers of sugar to your dog are the same as they are to people.

In the first place too much sugar can damage your dogs teeth and cause them to gain weight!

Having analyzed the individual ingredients I want to focus on the nutrition of Bran Flakes in the next section. 

What is the nutrition in Bran Flakes?

Most cereals are “fortified” which makes them a strange group of foods.

In other words they contain extra vitamins and minerals on top of the basic ingredients.

Fortification is done in order to ensure that people do not suffer from mineral deficiencies.

Fortification is a legal requirement in many Western countries including the US and the UK.

Fortification began in the 1920s in the US and by the 1930s a connection was found between nutritional deficiencies and specific diseases.

Bran Flakes are fortified with the following vitamins and minerals:

Niacin (B3)

Iron

Vitamin B6 

Riboflavin (B2)

Thiamin (B1)

Folic acid (B9)

Vitamin D

Vitamin B12

Six B vitamins are included.

The fortification was done not for the benefit of breakfast eating dogs but for humans.

Dogs however do need to have foods with B vitamins in them because they cannot make them themselves- unlike vitamin C which they can make. 

What does B vitamin supplementation do for your dog?

Your dogs metabolism- the process in which food is converted into energy- may benefit from B vitamins.

In addition B vitamins help to boost and maintain the immune system.

Last but not least B vitamins aid in keeping the cells in the dogs body healthy.

As soon as the vitamins are finished we can move on to minerals. 

Iron is the only mineral added to Bran Flakes. 

Dogs require iron because it is essential for the production of red blood cells which transport blood throughout their bodies. 

What other cereals contain bran?

Cereals are convenient foods as we all know. In addition to being relatively inexpensive they can be stored easily. 

We will now look at some of the other cereals that contain bran if you are warming to the idea of adding bran to your dogs diet. 

All-Bran is the king of the bran cereals. 

It was one of my mothers favorites and I remember it always being in the cupboard when I was growing up. 

All-Bran contains 87% wheat bran which is impressive isnot it? 

Sugar barley malt flavoring and salt comprise the remaining 13%. 

Your dog would not be poisoned by any of them which is great news. 

All-Bran Golden Crunch which contains much less bran and a lot more sugar and flour than the original is a variation of All-Bran. 

Nevertheless although these ingredients are not necessarily healthy for your dog they are not toxic either.

This leads me nicely to my next topic which is breakfast cereals that dogs should never ever eat. 

What cereals can dogs never eat?

Risk can sometimes be posed by the most innocent of ingredients. 

Another popular Kelloggs cereal is Sultana Bran. 

Using 43% wholewheat and 13% wheat bran everything appears rosy until you realize that 27% of every bowl of Sultana Bran is sultanas. 

Sultanas kill dogs too. So do grapes and grape products such as raisins. 

Veterinary researchers have yet to discover why grapes pose such a lethal threat to dogs. 

It takes just one grape to kill some small dogs because they know that grapes are so toxic. 

Raspberries and sultanas are incredibly popular ingredients in breakfast cereals. 

Raisins are one of the most healthy types of cereal. 

Here I am considering cereals such as muesli and porridge oats- two of my favorites. 

Muesli contains raisins or sultanas and many people add dried fruit to oats to make it more interesting. 

If you’re feeding your dog breakfast cereal raisins or sultanas are the most dangerous ingredients. 

Your dog is perfectly safe to eat other dried fruit such as cranberries. 

Other than fruits with large stones in them the only real threat to your dog is fruits such as mangoes peaches and cherries. 

There is nothing wrong with the flesh of the fruit but the stones are cyanide-filled. 

Since the stones contain so little cyanide the risk of choking on a stone is greater than that of cyanide poisoning. 

Do not leave stones lying around within easy reach of your dog if you eat these fruits for breakfast or if you blend them into your morning smoothie. 

After all that doom and gloom I’d like to talk about some happier topics. 

As I wrap up this research I would like to discuss the best breakfast cereals for dogs. 

What is the best breakfast cereal for dogs?

It might comfort you to know that I have shortlisted two candidates. 

I am really only interested in focusing on one of them. 

Oats and wheat are two of the healthiest breakfast cereals to give your dog. 

Despite only containing one ingredient each these two bowls of cereal are considered to be the healthiest options. 

Shredded Wheat only contains whole wheat while porridge oats contain rolled oats. 

Firstly I want to say a few things about shredded wheat before I wax lyrical about porridge oats. 

First and foremost if your dog has a wheat allergy stay away from them. 

Second there are several varieties of Shredded Wheat. 

The original 100% whole wheat varieties are the only ones to consider as healthy for your dog. 

Sugar is far too much of addition in other varieties that include honey or berries. 

What happened last time? 

Porridge oats of course. 

Despite being high in carbohydrates (68%) and fiber (10%) they are also high in protein (13%).

In addition they do not contain any added sugar! 

For a cheap and convenient way to add protein or fiber to your dogs diet you might want to consider porridge oats. 

Remember to add a small amount at a time. 

Ideally large dogs should have only a few tablespoons while small dogs need only a teaspoon.

If you want to read more about dog food tips read here: Dog Food Tips and Tricks.

Can Dogs Eat Bran Flakes? (Watch Video)