Can Dogs Eat Shredded Wheat?

The Short Answer is:

Unless a dog is allergic to wheat, shredded wheat is good for dogs, but if they are allergic, it can cause a variety of health problems.

In this article you will know the answer to the query “Can Dogs Eat Shredded Wheat?“.

The Shredded Wheat breakfast cereal was introduced in Chicago in 1893.

Nevertheless wheat pillows have been made for years and one of the original ideas was to use them as croutons in soup. 

The cereal company Post is currently the biggest manufacturer of shredded wheat in the United States. 

Since it has been so successful other big cereal companies have created their own varieties.

I will quickly discuss those in the following section.

Do your dogs need to eat these regardless of whether there is just one variety or ten?

What varieties of Shredded Wheat are there?

The size of these wheat pillows is the first way they differ.

A pair of sizes are available. 

Original wheat biscuits have a size of about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide.

The newer size is similar to a spoon or bite-size. 

Pillows like these are much smaller and can fit on a dessert spoon. 

Ingredients are the second variation.

One of its claims to fame is that original shredded wheat is 100% wheat.

A great deal of innovation has occurred in the last decade or so in terms of flavors. 

Another alternative is a biscuit that contains part wheat and part bran. 

Nevertheless cereals that are 100% wheat or 50% wheat and 50% bran are not going to attract kids are they?

This is why frosted mini-wheats were created.

Sugar-frosted spoon-size pillows made from 100% wheat.

Theres no better way to put it!

Frosted varieties also come in strawberry and cinnamon roll flavors!

It just does not cut it if you list only the flavors.

As we move forward I want to look in more detail at these ingredients and determine how dog-friendly they are. 

What are the ingredients in Shredded Wheat? 

Wheat

Whole grain wheat makes up 100% of Original Shredded Wheat.

Several would argue that you can not get any healthier than that.

Traditionally wheat has been considered to be one of the healthiest grains or foods.

Wheat was a primary grain used in commercial dog foods until around a decade ago. 

Theres a good reason for this. Besides being relatively cheap it is also healthy. 

Per 100g of whole wheat the following nutrients can be found:

There are quite a few calories in wheat-100g containing 304. 

Corn by contrast contains only 86 calories per 100g.

There are 72% carbs in wheat which is probably where the calories come from. 

The good news is that out of that 72% 11% is dietary fiber which is a very high percentage and excellent for your dogs digestion. 

Proteins are also abundant in wheat- 13% in fact.

This is an extremely high protein meal.

Protein is essential to building and repairing muscle.

Aside from being high in calories wheat also has other drawbacks.

Another major disadvantage is that dogs may not tolerate it.

Since it is difficult enough to estimate how many people are allergic to wheat it is not known how many dogs are intolerant to wheat.

It is estimated that around 7% of the global population is intolerant to gluten.

It is a very contentious issue as some scientists would argue that this figure is much higher while others would claim that it does not exist!

As much as I regret leaving a topic on such a contentious note I must move on.

Bran

I want to discuss bran first among our additional ingredients. 

One of the most popular types of shredded wheat is the bran and wheat combination. 

So what is bran exactly and how is it going to affect your dog? 

Bran has always seemed like a grain much like wheat or oats to me. 

Thats not the case. 

Any type of grain has an outer layer called bran. 

So whats this? 

This cereal is made with wheat bran. 

Shredded wheat which already contains bran is whole grain which makes things a little more complicated. 

As a result the bran serving is doubled by adding wheat bran. 

There is no surprise that bran is high in carbohydrates like wheat. 

It is however the massive amount of dietary fiber in the bran that makes it so special. 

The fiber content of wheat is 11% and the fiber content of bran is 43%. 

You can also use bran to help regulate things like blood sugar levels in your dog along with regulating bowel movements. 

Anyway I’m done talking about bran. 

As a next step I want to examine some of the ingredients in frosted varieties of shredded wheat. 

It is a known fact that our dogs love these varieties but are they as healthy or dangerous for them as they are for us? 

Can our dogs eat Frosted Mini-Wheats? 

Frosted Mini-Wheats come in five main flavors: original strawberry cinnamon roll chocolate blueberry and pumpkin spice. 

Despite these different flavors the majority of ingredients are the same.

In terms of flavors there are a few differences- they are used in very small amounts.

Before I dive into the main ingredients of all varieties of Frosted Mini-Wheats I want to address a few of the varieties that you might be concerned about.

Two toxic flavors of Frosted Mini-Wheats

Dog owners should be aware of two varieties of these cereals- Chocolate and Pumpkin Spice.

The first is chocolate-flavored mini wheat. 

A lot of dogs do not like chocolate and it can even be fatal if they eat enough.  

In a box of chocolate-flavored Frosted Mini-Wheats how much chocolate or cocoa is there?

There is no way to determine the exact amounts of any ingredient in any food product. 

I can tell you that dark (or semi-sweet) chocolate is the third largest ingredient in Frosted Mini-Wheats and cocoa is the fourth largest ingredient. 

As far as dogs are concerned cocoa and dark chocolate are the most dangerous forms of chocolate. 

I would advise you not to share this chocolate-flavored cereal with your dog. 

I would like to focus on pumpkin spice Frosted Mini-Wheats next. 

Do feeding pumpkin and wheat to a dog have any adverse effects?

In most cases nothing is wrong with it.

The nutmeg in this flavor of Mini-Wheats is toxic to dogs.

Fortunately nutmeg makes up only a tiny portion of the recipe and is used in just 2% of the Mini-Wheats. 

The amount of nutmeg used at this concentration isnot harmful to your dogs.  

The main ingredients in all varieties of Frosted Mini-Wheats

Other than wheat there is only one main ingredient in frosted mini wheat which accounts for the majority of its composition. 

In addition there are three other much smaller ingredients: brown rice syrup gelatin and BHT. 

Lets examine these one at a time. 

Sugar 

As we all know sugar affects the health of dogs just as much as it affects the health of people. 

Eating too much of it can lead to a wide range of nasty diseases including obesity. 

Although we are not sure how much sugar is used in a packet of frosted mini wheat just by looking at the cereal we can guess that it must be quite a lot. 

In addition dogs should not consume refined sugar. 

To me it seems the height of absurdity that in our need to show affection to our dogs by sharing food with them we would consider feeding them sugary foods. 

And to make matters worse the next ingredient appears to be sugar in another form. 

Brown rice syrup

Cooked brown rice is broken down into sugar with enzymes so that brown rice syrup can be created. 

A 100g serving contains 500 calories and contains 75% sugar. 

In order to put this into some kind of context 100g of chocolate sponge cake has only 350 calories. 

When it comes to sugar the only good thing is that our dogs are not toxic to it. 

Gelatin

An animal bone is boiled to produce gelatin. 

The sugar frosting is stuck to the wheat pillows with this glue in frosted mini Shreddies. 

The good news is that dogs can eat gelatin without harm. 

However its nutritional content is very low. It has 13% sugar a bit of sodium 1% protein and no vitamins or minerals whatsoever. 

The next ingredient I would like to discuss is BHT- the final ingredient in frosted mini shreddies. 

BHT

I think BHT sounds like a boy band but it is a food additive.

In its proper name butylated hydroxytoluene it rolls off the tongue much more easily. 

In a lab a chemical is created which is then added to breakfast cereals as a preservative to prevent the fats from oxidizing once open.  

Next we need to determine whether this substance is safe. 

In small amounts it is FDA-approved as safe for use.

It has been shown in some studies on animals that when used in large quantities it can cause cancer.

After examining the large and small ingredients. 

Enriched or fortified vitamins

The addition of vitamins and minerals to foods dates back to the 1920s in America – although it did not take off until the 1980s. 

As many people as possible were encouraged to consume enough vitamins because these vitamins could protect them from becoming ill. 

Adding vitamins to cereals is one of the most common fortification methods.

Most dog foods are enriched with vitamins and minerals to make sure that dogs get the right amount of vitamins and minerals that experts believe dogs need to stay active and healthy.

You do not have to worry. 

It would not harm your dog if it eats a breakfast cereal fortified with vitamins and minerals. 

In addition Frosted Mini-Wheats are fortified with iron and folic acid.

Both of which will do your dog no harm at all. 

After examining all of the ingredients that go into making Corn pop we can answer the billion-dollar question.

Amanda (Author)

With over a decade of experience, Amanda is a distinguished dog trainer. Her expertise in canine behavior has transformed countless lives, fostering harmonious human-canine connections. Through compassionate and personalized approaches, she empowers owners to understand and connect with their furry companions, creating a legacy of joyful tails and transformed lives.

Osvaldo Maciel (Content Reviewer)

Osvaldo Maciel, a stalwart in the field with 14 years of experience, is a revered dog trainer. His journey is defined by a profound understanding of canine behavior, shaping unbreakable human-canine bonds. Osvaldo guides owners to connect with their beloved pets, leaving an indelible mark of happiness and transformation. His legacy shines through the countless lives he has touched.