Are spent grains bad for my dog?

I made a batch of founders breakfast stout, and rather than throw away my spent grains I decided to throw them in my garden, figuring they would biodegrade....

Well, I let me dog out for about 15 minutes and when I come to let him back in I see he is going to town on the spent grains...

Are they safe for him to eat? I'm concerned about the chocolate malt, although I can't imagine he had more than a few ounces of that particular malt.

Here was the grain bill for a full batch, I only made half:

16 lbs. American 2-row
1 lbs American Chocolate Malt
.75 lbs Roasted Barley
9 oz American Black Patent
7 oz Crystal Malt 120°L
22 oz Oats Flaked

 

People make dog treats out of spent grains. They're fine. Even the chocolate malt...because there's no actual chocolate in it. My pups ate a solid pund out of my last batch, and I think they've been eating on the ones I dumped in the herb garden.

 

I think your safe!! some make dog treats




http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/spent-grain-make-your-best-friend-cookies-87097/

 

I wouldn't let him eat 20 pounds of grain, but a couple of handfuls certainly won't hurt him. I give my dog a little grain almost every time I brew, especially the lighter grains. My wife also takes some and makes dog biscuits from it - which he loves!

So, no, grains are not bad for your dog, in moderation.

 

My Lab puppy eats them all the time from the garden beds...let's just say they don't digest them very well.

 

Yeah, our dogs can get a little 'bound up' if we let them have too much. It's kinda hard to keep them away when I go outside and find my beagle on top of the compost heap like the queen of the mountain.

 

I made biscuits for my dog. He couldn't get enough of them and then I realized there wasn't anything weird in them and tried them myself. They were better than some of the granola bars I've brought for lunch, just a little dry. The dogs loved them.

 

Spent grains are quite tasty but the husks are too fibrous for me to want to eat much. After every brew I will taste a little bit of the leftovers which gives me a better understanding of the grains. I'll try to taste the grains premash too.

 

Grains are fine, hops are bad.. if you do mash hopping, keep it away from your dog!

 

you beat me to it Swab.

 

Just make sure to reduce the amount of regular dog food you feed them. Don't want them getting a beer belly like their master ;-)

My dog loves the grains. I'm not sure but that might be in part because my efficiency has been low lately so they're still a little sweet. Whatever the case, it is nice knowing that you're feeding them quality food and making use of something that would otherwise go to waste.