There are many people who ask us daily what foods are beneficial or harmful for their dogs, including of course the famous yogurt. Since veterinary holistic medicine began, based mainly on the administration and supervision of foods with beneficial properties for our dogs … dog food has changed a lot.
All this added to new veterinary specialties such as canine nutritionists, make us consider many things. For example, what foods can or cannot we give our dogs? We all know (or we should know) that grapes are toxic, the seeds of poisonous fruits but nevertheless a dog can eat melon, watermelon, apple or peach without any problem … what’s more, it is even recommended (always without bones / pips) ). We can see a clear example here: Beneficial fruits for dogs.
Index of contents
- 1 What about yogurt? Can they or can’t they eat it?
- 2 What type of yogurt can dogs eat?
- 3 What benefits does yogurt have in dogs?
- 4 How much yogurt should a dog take and how?
- 5 What precautions should I have?
What about yogurt? Can they or can’t they eat it?
The answer is very simple and complex at the same time, if they can and they cannot. We will explain it in detail so that we can all understand how and when they can eat yogurt.
Dogs cannot drink cow’s milk, the lactose it contains is very harmful to them, it can cause diarrhea, vomiting, the appearance of parasites (earthworms) in their digestive tract and even important allergic reactions that can be very serious.
Yogurt is a product that hardly contains lactose, the bacteria that make up the yogurt themselves are in charge of digesting the lactose that milk contains, so in scientific terms: A yogurt contains very small doses of lactose that do not have to cause problems. to our dogs.
But this does not mean that all dogs can take them, for example Spaniels tolerate lactose very poorly even in very small amounts, so it is convenient to look for information about the breed and its tolerance to yogurt.
What type of yogurt can dogs eat?
We should buy plain yogurt, with or without bifidus. We must avoid at all costs yogurts with flavors, sugary or with pieces of fruit. In our modest opinion, plain skimmed yogurts with bifidus are the best option.
What benefits does yogurt have in dogs?
Many, many that are one of the most recommended food supplements. They are an excellent source of calcium and natural probiotics for dogs, vitamins and many beneficial bacteria. They help control yeasts in the digestive system and maintain a healthy and strong intestinal flora.
When our dog takes antibiotics for medical reasons, antibiotics not only kill harmful bacteria or viruses, but also usually kill good and necessary bacteria for our dogs. This is why many people add yogurt to their dog’s food when they are taking antibiotics.
As we say, as long as the dog tolerates yogurt well, it is an excellent food supplement. It is also the basis for making healthy ice cream for dogs, something they love when the heat hits.
How much yogurt should a dog take and how?
The truth is that the recommended amounts are always indicative, from a tablespoon a day in small medium dogs to medium yogurt in large dogs. We can do this for three or four days a week.
The yogurt can be given alone or mixed with the usual food (feed or meat). Although as we indicated, the measures are always indicative, we know cases of dogs that eat yogurt every day and have an iron health, others that only take a few times a week and also have excellent health.
What precautions should I have?
Intolerance is one of the problems to keep in mind. If you have never fed your dog yogurt, start by giving him a small teaspoon next to food and wait until the next day to see how well it has sat.
If you observe diarrhea, vomiting or any strange reaction…. Your dog may not tolerate that small amount of lactose, so you should see your vet.
If nothing happens (which is most likely), your dog may eat yogurt. Common sense is the best tool to determine if our dog can or cannot eat yogurt.