Yogurt and dogs
 

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Not trying to get [I]this[/I] going again -- just have a simple question for those of you who feed yogurt to your dogs (Luba perhaps?). I can't find plain yogurt in Korea, so do you think I should just forget giving Casey yogurt at all, or do you think a little is still worth it, even though he'll be getting a little sugar with it? Lately, I've been eating aloe and cactus flavoured yogurt and neither of them are terribly sweet (but definitely have a little sugar added). I'm not just concerned about his stomach health, but also hoping that yogurt might help with his yeast issues... Thanks!!![/COLOR]

Hi Moontmara, when Izzy had a stomach upset, my vet recommended giving her Yakult. Not sure if you can get it in Korea, but it's a probiotic drink that has all the good stuff that yoghurt has.

if it is natural youghurt, although flavoured it is fine but i would not give normal flavored youghurt (preservatives etc), only natural, natural youghurt has some great natural cultures in them that are good for the gut flora in all of us.. i dont buy plain youghurt only flavors such as mango or peach etc and they are all natural youghurts, natural being brands with no additives, preservatives etc. and they have cultures in them such as acidophilus and lactobacilllus.
charlie loves them and gets to lick out the containers when i finish, i dont give her a bowl full of course, she just gets to lick out my empty containers and licks the lids, but it is at least a tablespoon worth and it doesnt adversly affect her.. dogs dont generally dont deal with lots of dairy well, lactose intolerance etc. so only small amounts should be given.
but i never started giving it to her for health reasons, i did it as i found i didnt want to waste any food so if she licks the containers i dont feel anything is wasted and we all can enjoy it. oh and she look so cute with her head buried in a 1litre youghurt container, and when she comes out she has it all over her nose, just too darn cute. :D

Hi Moontamara,
yes I was gonna suggest yakult or the "bacteria cultured" drinks...but I know when I was in Korea, yogurt in those squeezy tubes were very popular! The design of those snacks may be perfect for your pet!

I might be a bad mama, but my dogs get a heaping teaspoon of un-sweetened Vanilla flavored low-fat Yogurt and they love it. Not sure where to even find "natural" yogurt. What is that?

~~Diane

Just stay away from the real sugared yogurt

If you get the ones with the fruit on the bottom, the yogurt is on top just dont mix it :D

ok in the basic chemical sense all youghurt comes from natural processes, but they add color, preservatives, flavor and sugars to many youghurts, im not saying they are bad, but a good natural brand is great and has no sugar or preservatives, which is ideal and has many culture for gut flora, yuckult (yuck dont you love the spelling ewww) has similar cultures for gut flora.

by natural i mean products that are preservative free with lots of natural cultures in them. i dont know any brands over there but over here we have 'valia' and 'jalna' to name two natural youghurts, perhaps online you could find names of the similar products, have a good look at the brands in your dairy isle at the supermarket, read the labels and i pretty much guarentee you will find one you like, just look for cultures such as those mentioned above, most products with these cultures in them are good and most dairy companies are starting to make such dairy products...

:eek: no diane, you are not a bad mum, dont say that, a teaspoon or tbl spoon of low fat non sweetened youghurt sounds pretty healthy to me. i sure would give it to my girl.

but if you dont eat lots of youghurt i dont see the reason for the extra expense of buying it for a dog, and i would give them whatever i used in that situation. it isnt like a dog will eat a litre in a week so when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of it i doubt it really makes too much difference what youghurt you use.

realistically no youghurt in small amounts should hurt them, but if you want to eat natural youghurts you may as well give it to the dog too.

:D although there is no way i will share my special chocolate youghurt i get occassionally with her, sheesh i have to draw the line somewhere (but of course i let her lick the lid when i open it) and i make myself feel better by telling myself chocolate is bad for her so i am doing her a favor, yeah right :D .

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Thanks all!!! Will follow your advice (yes, we have the fruit bottom stuff, but there seems to be sugar in the "plain" part anyway, but not that much.) I have seen yakult. Actually, there is a TON of yogurt and yogurt drinks available here, and they are all supposed to contain the good bacterias, although I have no idea if they are "natural" or not as that concept hasn't exactly reached here yet! They also always have a little drawing of intestines on them, which kind of grosses me out, but is there way to say that it's good for digestion! Melanie, chocolate yogurt? Is it really that good? Sounds kinda strange... Anyway, thanks again![/COLOR]

Thanks Melanie, I see your point....I started giving mine a heaping tablespoon of yogurt a day to help Delaney's ears, she used to have yeast infections all the time. It sure has helped with that. Of course, since I gave her some, Rudy had to have his too :) So that is a daily ritual now for them, another treat :) (right after the carrots, lol, they love raw carrots....any bad news on those???? anyone??)

~~Diane

I'd buy it!

About yogurt... does it boost the immune system? If seasonal allergies is affecting a four legged beast, does feeding it yogurt help?

it can't hurt any. will keep the bacteria count appropriate in there gut

I feed my dog yougurt and he loves it. Mix it in with your dog's food. I think I read somewhere a small dog gets one teaspoon, a medium dog would get two, and a large dog could get three. :)

I have one dog that is most likely allergic to yoghurt. I always give them a tablespoon of low fat cottage cheese with their meal twice a day. It encourages the senior to eat her senior food and the adult to eat her food. I know they are getting their proper proportions and diet. I really wanted to give "good bacteria" to them for their digestive systems so I bought organic plain yoghurt. Cookie got the itchies and had to take meds to get over it. Now we just stick to the cottage cheese. So the gist is if your dog does ok on it a little bit of any "good food" is o.k.