7 Fast Food items your dog can eat (drive-thru friendly)

Let’s be honest with ourselves, fast food never really serves up the healthiest food. A fast-food restaurant rarely has nutritional value in its menu items. But, when you are on the go or traveling, it’s sometimes, seemingly the only choice. As pet owners, we often wonder what fast food our dogs can even eat. Keep reading to find 7 Fast Food Menu items for your dog that are also drive-thru friendly.

All fast food listed below will help on those long road trips or taking your pup out and about for errands. Plus, all the restaurants listed below have drive-thru windows, so you never have to leave your dog in the car or try to sneak them in.

Dog owners are unlikely to find these items on the restaurants’ menus because they are on secret dog menus that are not really written. But rest assured they do exist for your pup. Be sure to ask for an extra cup of ice water for your dog too, they make for a great traveling bowl of water for your furry friend.

dog with a cup of treats

Finally, many of these dog treats at fast-food chain restaurants are human foods. If your dog’s tummy can’t handle table food, scroll down to the bottom of the post to look for some dog-friendly snack options for your travels. Your dog’s health is priority #1 so giving them Mcdonald’s burgers all the time they hop into your car, might not be the best thing for their digestive tract.

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For Pet Owners who are also Coffee Lovers

I am a coffee snob. I love the taste of coffee, I love the smell of coffee and I love the warmness of a freshly brewed cup in the morning. Wes and I used to run all our errands together back in the day. This also meant we would find cool coffee shops to check out and try and sometimes even hang out on their patios if it was warm enough. There were two coffee shops that I could always count on to have something for both Wes and me.

1. Starbucks

Dog Favorite: Puppacino 

What is it? A small cup of whip cream for your four-legged friend to eat! Think of it as a latte for you and a puppy latte for them.

Cost: usually Free!

Human Favorite: Tall Oatmilk Flat White with 2 pumps of Brown sugar syrup and cinnamon sprinkled on top, Yummy!

Starbucks Fun Fact: Coffee masters wear black aprons vs the common green apron you see most often. Next time you see someone in a black apron at Starbucks, ask what makes them a Coffee Master.

2. Dunkin Donuts

Dog Favorite: Cup of Pup

What is it: 4oz cup of whipped cream with any flavor syrup you choose

Cost: Usually Free!

Human Favorite: Medium, Black, Hot Coffee, maybe a chocolate glazed donut on the side too 🙂 

Dunkin Donuts Fun Fact: You can get married at Dunkin Donuts. Just check and make sure that’s what the bride wants before booking anything. Also, be sure to download their app to earn rewards for free coffee and donuts. The app might be the safer choice of the two.

Something savory for your furry friend

3. In-n-out Burger

Dog Favorite: Pup Patty

What is it: Plain, unseasoned burger patty with no salt. You can even add cheese to the patty if your dog’s stomach will not get upset with the dairy. Just ask for a Pup Patty Flying Dutchman if you want to include cheese between two beef patties for your hungry friend. These are both secret menu items so you won’t find them on their website menu.

Cost: $1, plus a few more bucks if you want the cheese

Human Favorite: Keep it simple and grab a cheeseburger and fries. They also have a secret menu for humans that you can check out here

In-n-out burger Fun Fact: They print Bible verses on the bottom of their cups and wrappers but don’t publicly acknowledge it. Keep in mind that they are mostly located on the west coast of good ol’ USA.

3 dogs and fast food

A sweet treat for your dog

4. Tim Horton

Dog Favorite: Sugar-free Tim-Bits

What is it: Similar to Dunkin Donuts Munchkins, Tim-Bits are small donut balls

Cost: About 15 cents per little donut ball

Human Favorite: Humans love Tim-bits too, just add the sugar to ours!

Tim Horton Fun Fact: Canada, where Tim Hortons is Headquartered, is the #1 donut consumer in the world, followed by Japan.

5. Shake Shack

Dog Favorite: Pooch-ini

What is it: A delicious dog treat that has vanilla custard and peanut butter sauce over shack burger dog biscuits. Can’t get much better than this dessert treat for our best friend. Read more about giving your dog peanut butter in this post here.

Human Favorite: Don’t forget to grab yourself a hand-spun shake. Flavors choices include vanilla, chocolate, cookies and cream, and strawberry. 

Shake Shack Fun Fact: It could have been named dog run. That would have been very dog friendly! Even though ‘dog’ is not in their name, they still offer great treats for your dog. Most locations have a dog-friendly patio to hang out at too if you and your dog need to stretch your legs from all the car time.

6. Sonic Drive-In

Dog Favorite: Pup Cup

What is it: Similar to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, it’s a cup filled with whip cream. Although, some Sonic locations will give you a cup of their vanilla ice cream for your dog to have.

Human Favorite: Grab a cherry limeade drink, it’s what Sonic is famous for!

Fun Sonic Drive-In Fact: They are in 44 of the 50 states so you are bound to find one on your road travels with your dog!

7. Ben & Jerry’s

Dog Favorite: Doggie Dessert Frozen Dog Treat.

What is it: They come in two flavors, Rosie’s Batch which is pumpkin, and mini cookies. The second flavor is Pontch’s Mix and which is made with peanut butter and pretzel swirls. 

Human Favorite: It would be hard to pick a favorite flavor, you can’t really go wrong with a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream scoop.

Ben & Jerry’s Fun Fact: Their headquarters have dog-friendly offices so workers can bring their furry friends in to keep them company throughout the work day. 

older dog hanging head out of car window

Always be prepared 

When out and about with your dog or on an adventure, it’s a good idea to also pack a few snacks. Check out the great list of snacks to keep handy for you and your dog in case a fast food restaurant is off your path while traveling below.

Handy snacks for hiking with your dog (because I don’t remember seeing Starbucks on any recent hikes!)

Keep these things in your car for long road trips with your pup

  • Wes liked these calming bites since he had a little anxiety about car trips
  • Keep your dog cozy and your car seats clean with this pet seat cover

The plane ride

  • Make sure if your dog is riding in the plane cabin with you, their dog carrier meets TSA and the airlines’ standards
  • Might want to grab those calming chews again. Planes can be loud and cause dogs to have a little more anxiety than usual. On a good note, most airports have a Starbucks these days so you could definitely grab a pup cup for your furry traveler.

Summary

Traveling with your dog can be a lot of fun and fast food restaurants can be a great place to stop for a quick bite to eat. Most dogs love sticking their head out the window as you go through a drive-through as well. Plus, drive-thru workers are usually excited to see your furry friend because of course, a dog brightens up anyone’s day. 

Be sure to try some of the fast food items your dog can eat during your next outing with them!

Comment below if you know of other fun places you can drive thru and pick up a dog snack