Milk And Cheese - What Are The Risks + Food

[Guest princessBlossy]

Hi All,

I have been told by numerous amounts of people that i should not give my dog any cows milk or any cheese (anything with lactose). I have not done this and i am wondering if anyone uses the puppy/dog milk that i have seen in shops? What are the risks of giving dogs milk/cheese if any? Also, i feed my dog twice a day, and there is always kibble available, sometimes she sniffs the food and walks away from it and there are never any times when i have actually seen her eat straight away, and she only ever nibbles on the kibble. I think i have spoilt her too much, when she was really young i was scared that she would starve so i used to change her food around a bit... My vet says that i have trained her to think that she can have what ever she wants but i want to be sure that she is not hungry when i am not home.

Does anyone know what i can do? And also, for a small breed pomeranian X (small breeds in general) what are some popular foods?

Thanks :D

[shmoo]

ost dairy products are digested poorly by dogs who have little or none of the enzyme required to digest the lactose in milk. Lactose-intolerant dogs can develop excessive intestinal gas (flatulence) and may have foul-smelling diarrhea. Small amounts of cheese or plain yogurt are tolerated by most dogs, since these products have less lactose than most.

As far as Im aware there are no long term effects of feeding your dog plain cheese or milk.

Take away the food from your dog 20 mins after you put it down. You have taught your dog to graze, and so she only eats when SHE feels like it. This is no way to show her your are Alpha (Pack leader). You're dog will not starve herself. She will learn her windows for eating food and eat when you tell her to.

Have you researched a BARF diet for your dog?

check out these websites for more info :D

http://www.drianbillinghurst.com/

http://www.barfworld.com/

Edited June 28, 2007 by shmoo

[Guest princessBlossy]

So how much is acceptable? Say a teaspoon of plain yoghurt/day? And is the puppy/dog milk any good for them?

[Guest princessBlossy]

Just noticed your edit - sorry :D

[shmoo]

Yogurt: plain, preferably organic, whole milk (rather than low- or non-fat) is fine unless your dog needs to lose weight. Kefir is another similar option.

Cottage Cheese or Ricotta Cheese: low-fat is best.

:D

[Poodle wrangler]

Leave the puppy milk on the shelf. Healthy dogs will not starve themselves. There's not much point feeding milk and cheese if they don't digest it very well.

Kibble is food of last resort for most dogs. That's normal ;) . My larger dog took 2 days to realise following me to the fridge would not produce more tasty, raw food, before eating the kibble again. Dogs aren't silly :D .

[BC]

I think i have spoilt her too much, when she was really young i was scared that she would starve so i used to change her food around a bit... My vet says that i have trained her to think that she can have what ever she wants but i want to be sure that she is not hungry when i am not home.

You would think I am awful :D On Fridays my dogs dont get a meal at all as it is their training day

Your dog will not starve herself. If she is hungry she will eat.

If you put her meals down, whether you feed once or twice a day, take them away in 10 minutes if she has not eaten all of it.

Also, last thing you want is an overweight dog from a never ending supply of food ;)

[sandgrubber]

I run a boarding kennel. From my observations, your dog is perfectly normal. Most dogs will eat dry biscuits ONLY if they are hungry and they can't find anything better to eat (a few, including most Labradors, will eat anything put before them in almost any quantity). If you enjoy watching your dog enjoy eating, find some healthy treats. You'll find lots written on raw food diets. Most dogs love them and they can be very healthy. But if you don't like that sort of thing, use a premium grade dry food for small dogs and dress it up a bit with healthy treats. Milk and cheese are fine in small amounts (less than, say 10% of diet), especially if they don't give your dog the runs or make it fart a lot.

[Jed]

To discover if she is lactose intolerant, give her 1/3 cup of milk, and watch her. It wont kill her, and it may be that she is not lactose intolerant at all. Cheese and yoghurt wont hurt her either.

If she looks well fed, she is getting enough.

I have small dogs, and they all eat raw food, and love it.