Cottage cheese

[pickleweed]

I read on The Dog Food Project that cottage cheese is very good for dogs. I know a friend that feeds her dogs cottage cheese in addition to the dog food. I wanted to start giving my 12 weeks old pup some cottage cheese as well, but not sure how much to give him and how often. Should I give him the cottage cheese as a mid-day snack or with one his meals? I feed him 2 times a day -- once in the morning and once early evening, about 1/2 cup of dog food each time...he doesn't quite finish all his dog food...always leaves a couple of kibbles behind. Oh, and I wanted to know what other fresh fruits and veggies do you all recommend are good additions to his diet? And how often should I be giving these fresh fruits & veggies -- and when...do I give it to him after his meal, with his meal or in-between meals as snacks?

Thanks!

Shi :)

[Jake2006]

cottage cheese isn't necessary if he's getting a good commercial food. adding table food may undo some of the balance and quantities of nutrients being fed to the dog. So be cautious and self-critical about supplementing a dog’s diet in the hope of improving an already balanced, scientifically established formula.

Having said that I give Jake chopped up carrots in his kong and he helps himself to herbs in the garden, including apples from the tree and lettuce!

[vagreys]

Because he's so young, I'd wait to add much fruit and vegetables to the diet.

We give our hounds a dollop of cottage cheese as a special treat with their morning meal sometimes, but not regularly. Sometimes, we give them a spoonful of yogurt.

We make a puree of vegetables and give them each a half cup of pureed vegetables with their evening meal.

My boy, Zen, likes carrots as a snack, sometimes, and eats bananas, too.

[Cheetah]

I started both of my dogs out on a variety of fresh foods at young ages. If they are not made used to it early, it's harder to get them accustomed to it later on (pickiness or sensitive stomach due to lack of variety). My corgi was started on a half-fresh diet by his breeder before he was even 12 weeks old.

Along with their kibble, my dogs are given raw meat (ground beef, bison, turkey, chicken necks, bison femurs, chicken/beef liver and heart), fresh veggies and fruits, plain yogurt, cottage cheese, whole eggs, and the occassional pumpkin or cooked oatmeal for upset tummies. They are also supplemented with salmon oil and a reasonable dose of vitamin E.

As for the cottage cheese, I would only give a spoonful.

[Doberman's]

Veggies and fruit at any age is good for your dog, the only one not to give are grapes ( poison to dogs and limit the tomatoes ) but you must put then through a juicer and blender for the dog to be bale to get the goodness out of them.

As for cottage cheese it is great for your dog and so it plain yogurt. Tablespoon a day for a medium sized dog. I give it on occasion.

[Jake2006]

I am sorry to put the cat amongst the pidgeons but the latest resesarch regarding yoghurt is:

Yoghurt is sometimes used for therapy of chronic diarrhoea in the mistaken belief that the bacteria contained in yoghurt (Lactobacillus acidophilius or Lactobacillus bulgaricus) will colonise the bowel and displace unfavourable bacteria.

Yoghurt has bacteriocidal properties in vitro (test tube) but not in vivo (in the body). Orally administered bacteria in yoghurt does not displace resident or pathogenic bacterial populations in normal or diseased intestines of any animal. The bacteria in yoghurt are generally acid labile (destroyed by the stomach acid), limiting the numbers surviving passage through the stomach. (Research originally published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice Vol. 35).

[Jake2006]

Dairy products are hard to digest. Lactose is the sugar present in milk. After weaning, dogs and cats have decreasing amounts of lactase (the enzyme needed to digest lactose). Therefore, ingestion of dairy products may cause diarrhoea and/or flatulence as the body has difficulty breaking down the dairy product. Dogs and cats should not be fed milk and cheese!

[Jake2006]

Turkey skin is currently thought to cause acute pancreatis in dogs, partly due to it's high fat content.

Alcoholic beverages
Avocado (the only "fatty" member of the vegetable family)
Coffee (all forms of coffee)
Moldy or spoiled foods
Salt
Yeast dough
Garlic

[sheplovr]

I would only give a spoonful of cottage cheese, I never used it unless my pup was not eating good they do like it so it ate. Yugurt is good for dogs as long as it is plain, it does bring up the good bacteria if a dog has been on antibiotics that takes the good down, yugurt brings it back up. I know for a fact as I had a dog for 3 weeks on meds and it helped giving her this daily. Vet said so also.
giving raw small cubes of carrotts and apples is good for a dog for treats of natural than biscuits one buys bagged up. I would not get into so many that it will not eat its kibble needed daily feedings of.

[pickleweed]

Thanks guys! All very helpful & informative!

I think I will give him some fresh fruits & veggies here and there to start to introduce him slowly to these things. I will be carfeul what I give him.

So quick question then. For example, if I want to give him a tiny cube of apple...should I throw it into a blender and make it into apple pulp for him or can I just give him the cube of apple?

Thanks!

[Taeric]

Our pup will eat apples right off the core. It's very cute how gentle she is with it, and she never bites into the core (the seeds can be harmful). You should be able to feed your dog chunks without a problem. We've given our dog carrots, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and several other vegetables as well as a few types of fruit.

Just be sure not to feed your dog grapes, raisins, or the like. They have been known to cause kidney failure.

[Doberman's]

Yogurt doesn't have the same problems with lactose as does other dairy produces because the acidophilis bifodus breaks it down. Yogurt is great for many things and fine for dogs. It is part of my raw regiment.

Cottage cheese is also fine for dogs. I woud not give everyday but it will not hurt your dog.

[Jake2006]

i think that grapes and derivaties are not safe for dogs because of the preservatives they use - e.g. sulphur
organic grapes and derivaties are OK

[pcleary]

please, please, please....... in fact i joined this forum to post this. GRAPES are poison to dogs. a few you might get away with but anything with grapes in it could kill your dog. organic or no, you are taking a huge risk. pam

[Doberman's]

ALL grapes and raisin are poison to dogs, organic or not. Dogs every year are taken to vets with this type of poisoning and some die.

Never feed your dog grapes.

[Doberman's]

please, please, please....... in fact i joined this forum to post this. GRAPES are poison to dogs. a few you might get away with but anything with grapes in it could kill your dog. organic or no, you are taking a huge risk. pam


Hi Pam and welcome to Dogforum.org. :):)

[pickleweed]

Got it...no grapes or raisins or anything of that sort! :)

Are orange slices ok? I started to give him a thin slice of banana this week and so far, he seems to love it and no bad reaction from the banana. I want to give him a variety of fresh fruits.

shi

P.S. Oh, and no chocolates! This forum and the people here are awesome!

[Jake2006]

Dobe I sit corrected -


WARNING Dog Owners

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet.

My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix who ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7AM.

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me – had heard something about it, but....

Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I V fluids at 1 ½ times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.

The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At the point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to euthanize.

This is a very sad case – great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic.

Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville, Ohio



Comments: Dog owners should heed this alert, which echoes a similar warning issued by the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center in 2002. Veterinarians are not sure why, but grapes and raisins have indeed proven poisonous to dogs in a significant number of cases reported over the past 15 years. Symptoms, which include vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia and lethargy, can last for days or weeks. Without prompt treatment, severe kidney damage and death may result.


http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_toxic_raisins.htm

[Jake2006]

this is REALLY useful

Holiday Toxic brew - Raisin and Alcohol toxicity
Onion and Garlic toxicity in dogs
Grape and raisin poisoning in dogs
Iron overload
Chemical toxins
Mushroom Toxicity
Napthalene or mothballs in vacuum bag
Fabreze rumor
Chocolate toxicity
Holiday toxins and dangers
Antifreeze Poisoning from Ethylene Glycol
Call Poison Control
Sugar overload
Organophosphate poisoning and White Shaker dog syndrome
Broccoli toxicity -
Chocolate toxicity
Chocolate poisoning
Lead Poisoning



http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtoxin.html

ASPCA Poison control hotline (888) 4ANI-HELP or (888) 426-4435
http://www.aspca.org/

[pickleweed]

Thanks Jake! Very useful info! :)

What are some of the veggies that I can give him besides carrots? Are green beans ok?

[Doberman's]

You need to puree veggies for you dog to get any goodness out of them. Dogs can not digest veggies ( you have probably seen carrot in your dogs poop undigested ).

Since I feed RAW, veggies are a huge part of their diet. I have a juicer I run them through first then I put juice and pulverised veggies into a food processor. They can then gte the goodness out of the veggeis and fruit.

:)

Here is what I use ----

Carrots
Beets
Apples ( seeds removed )
banana
Spinach
Lettuce ( all kinds )
Celery
fresh beans
Radishes
Potato
Root veggies are OK
Yams ( these are extremely good for them )
Most fruits are OK..... I use pears, apples as I stated above, Kiwi, banana, starwberries, melons all kinds, nectarines, peaches etc.

I am going to start a thread on poisonous foods for dogs so you will know what is bad and what is not.

BTW garlic is OK for dogs in small quantities just as it is for humans, just not large quantities. :) NO OINIONS!!Poison for dogs.

[pickleweed]

You need to puree veggies for you dog to get any goodness out of them. Dogs can not digest veggies ( you have probably seen carrot in your dogs poop undigested ).

Since I feed RAW, veggies are a huge part of their diet. I have a juicer I run them through first then I put juice and pulverised veggies into a food processor. They can then gte the goodness out of the veggeis and fruit.

:)

Here is what I use ----

Carrots
Beets
Apples ( seeds removed )
banana
Spinach
Lettuce ( all kinds )
Celery
fresh beans
Radishes
Potato
Root veggies are OK
Yams ( these are extremely good for them )
Most fruits are OK..... I use pears, apples as I stated above, Kiwi, banana, starwberries, melons all kinds, nectarines, peaches etc.

I am going to start a thread on poisonous foods for dogs so you will know what is bad and what is not.

BTW garlic is OK for dogs in small quantities just as it is for humans, just not large quantities. :) NO OINIONS!!Poison for dogs.


Thanks Dobes! Super useful list! I get to do some grocery shopping this weekend me and him! YEY! :D

YEA! Start the poison food list! :)

Shi

[Jake2006]

That's a brilliant idea - look forward to the thread