It is common for trainers from other regions to be disturbed by the sight of a Fidough working in a bakery. These pokemon are indeed closely related to other canine pokemon, and they are in fact edible; historical diaries, for that matter, suggest they are delicious meals, a combination of meat and bread comparable to the hamburgers and hot dogs which have become extremely popular foods worldwide in our internationally connected time.
It should be noted, however, that these diaries were invariably written during periods of famine. Fidough are not viewed as food pokemon, but as food preparation pokemon; the breath which causes them to grow bread over their bodies does likewise to any yeast they breathe upon. Breweries have used these pokemon as long as bakeries have, and the traditional alcoholic drinks of Paldea call for Fidough breath as a key ingredient; wine and beer made without their help is viewed as at best exotic, at worst downright inferior. Fidough are also popular household pets, and their role, dating from the time when they were primarily work pokemon, has always been in the kitchen.
Premodern bread production was in many parts of the world a painstakingly slow process; in Paldea it was so easy that other countries invaded in the hopes of seizing both Paldean grain and a vital supply of these pokemon. Export of Fidough was once a capital crime, but Paldea's kings need not have worried. Smugglers often found to their chagrin that the species failed to thrive outside their native region, although some genes in modern Furfrou populations originate in introgression from Fidough. Even today, tourists must carefully look after their Fidough when taking them on a foreign vacation, and modern export controls are justified on the grounds of pokemon welfare.
