Yoghurt is a popular snack for humans, but is it safe and healthy for dogs? Find out the benefits, risks, and best ways to feed yoghurt to your canine companion.
So, without wasting any more time, let’s get started. We will explore some incredible facts about the feeding guidelines of yoghurt for your canine companion.
Key Takeaways
- Dogs can eat plain, low-fat yoghurt in moderation as a treat, not a regular meal.
- Yoghurt provides calcium, protein, and probiotics for dogs, but it can also cause lactose intolerance, weight gain, or toxicity from certain ingredients.
- Consult your vet before feeding yoghurt to your dog and monitor their reaction afterwards.
- Avoid flavoured, sweetened, or artificial yoghurts, as they can be harmful to dogs.
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Can Dogs Eat Yoghurt?
Yes, dogs can eat yoghurt, but in moderation. It contains calcium, and protein, which are good for your pup’s health. Plus, also act as probiotics, which helps them for easy digestion, and prevents them from stomach issues. However, some dogs will face issues in digesting yoghurt as it is a dairy product, so it’s advisable to go for natural yoghurt or plain yoghurt.
Before feeding yoghurt to your canine companion, it is suggested to consult the vet to ensure proper serving suggestions and proportion. As it will help to prevent any health complications in the future. Plus, remember, yoghurt is not toxic for your canine companion, but still it should be given as a treat and not a staple food or regular meal.
Is Yoghurt Good for Dogs?
After knowing the fact, yoghurt can be safely fed to your pup[1] but in moderation. It’s also important to know the health benefits it adds to your pup’s body. As it is rich in calcium, protein, and probiotics, which help to add strength to their bones, and teeth, build and repair the tissues, and improve their digestive system.
However, yoghurt can also have some risks for dogs, such as lactose intolerance, stomach upset, weight gain, or toxicity from certain ingredients. Therefore, yoghurt should only be given to your dog as an occasional treat, and not as a regular part of their diet to prevent severe health complications in the future.
While yogurt contains probiotics that can aid digestion, some pet owners may be curious if other dairy products like halloumi cheese are also safe for dogs. For more information refer to our guide on can dogs eat halloumi?
Ways to Feed Yoghurt to Your Dog!
For your convenience, we have jotted down some simple and easy feeding methods. In which you can feed yoghurt to your canine companion without hurting their stomach.
- One of the easier ways is to mix one tablespoon of plain yoghurt into your pup’s regular kibble bowl and serve them during their snack time.
- During summer, you can do one thing, freeze the yoghurt in an ice cube tray. And offer this cold yoghurt cube to your pup as a reward.
- You can serve smoothies to your pup on an occasional basis. For that, take fresh non-toxic fruits in a bowl, and blend it with one or two tablespoons of plain yoghurt. After that, freeze the bowl for fifteen minutes, then serve the cold smoothie to your dog as a dessert.
- Use a Kong toy to serve yoghurt to your pup as a rewarding treat. All you need to do is fill the Kong toy with one tablespoon of yoghurt and freeze it. During his playing session, give it to him.
- You can use yoghurt as a base, and prepare some healthy cookies for your canine companion.
These are the few easy methods to feed yoghurt to your canine companion without hurting his stomach or health. Just remember you cannot replace it with a regular meal, and it should be served plain. Otherwise, your pup’s health will suffer and might encounter severe health complications in the future.
How Much Yoghurt Is Enough for Your Dog?
As we know, yoghurt is safe for dogs and can be eaten on an occasional basis. But how much yoghurt is enough for your dog? We have an answer to your question, the vet suggests feeding one or two tablespoons of yoghurt to your canine companion. Yes, you heard it right, all you need to do is mix one or two tablespoons of yoghurt into your dog’s meal and offer them.
On the other hand, you can also feed them as a rewarding treat, when your pup listens to your command or adopt any new skills etc… In this way, you motivate him to learn the new, and simultaneously he will enjoy his cheat food of the day.
However, the feeding ratio can also decrease from one to half a tablespoon if you are raising an overweight dog. So, yeah, it can be said that the feeding ratio depends upon your dog s weight and health conditions.
What Type of Yoghurt Is Safe for Dogs?
Well, there are many types of yoghurt in the market such as probiotic, flavoured, Greek, plain, Swiss, Icelanding, etc… All of them are not safe for dogs to eat. We have filtered out and jotted down the non-toxic type of yoghurt, which you can easily feed to your pup in moderation.
- Plain, low-fat yoghurt is safe to feed your dog, with no added sugar, artificial flavour or anything.
- Plain Greek-style yoghurt is also good for your pup, as it has a low level of lactose, then compared to other ones in the market.
- Yoghurt with lots of live cultures is also safe for your canine companion.
These are a few yoghurts, which you can safely feed to your dog without hurting his stomach. In addition, remember, yoghurt can add nutritional and probiotic benefits to your canine companion’s health, but it should be given as a treat and not a regular meal.
We’ve covered whether dogs can eat yogurt, but what about oat milk? See our guide on can dogs have oat milk for more information
FAQs
Can dogs eat natural yoghurt?
Well, yes, your dog can eat natural yoghurt in moderation, but it should be plain, with no added sugar, additives, or flavours. It provides calcium, probiotics, and protein, which is good for your dog’s health. Plus, remember, yoghurt should not be replaced with a regular meal, only can be used on an occasional basis in the form of rewarding treats.
Can I give my dog yoghurt with honey?
Both yoghurt and honey are non-toxic for your canine companion, they can have it without hurting their stomach. So, yeah, you can give yoghurt with honey in small quantities and on an occasional basis. Plus, observe your pup’s reaction, and if any adverse sign is noticed then consult the vet immediately for the medication.
Are bananas good for dogs?
Yes, bananas are good for dogs, it is rich in vitamin B6, vitamin C, fibre, magnesium, potassium, calcium, etc… You can feed them in moderation because it is also rich in sugar, which is bad for your dog’s health. It can lead to obesity issue and other severe underlying health issues, and it can also cause constipation in a few dogs, depending upon the quantity fed.
Can I give my dog yoghurt every day?
It is recommended to feed yoghurt to your dog once or twice a week, it is more than enough for them. This is because feeding yoghurt on a daily basis will eventually affect their digestive system. Also make sure the yoghurt you are feeding to them is plain, free of flavours, and no sugars, or additives should be added to it.
Well, It’s a Wrap!
To sum up, our blog on Can dogs eat yoghurt? The answer is yes, you can safely feed yoghurt to your dog but in moderation. As we know, it is rich in calcium, protein, and probiotics, making it beneficial for your canine companion to digest easily. However, you should avoid feeding flavoured yoghurt to your dog, it contains flavours, additives, etc, which are toxic to their health.
In addition, you should also be aware of the fact that the majority of the dogs are lactose intolerant, they face difficulty in digesting dairy products. So, after feeding yoghurt to your dog, it is suggested to keep an eye on them and watch for any sign of discomfort. Such as gas, vomiting sensations, diarrhoea, etc… If you notice any such signs, it’s better to seek the vet’s advice and start his medication on time to avoid health complications.
Just remember, yoghurt should not replace your dog’s regular diet. But it can be a tasty addition to their kibble or a special reward for good behaviour.
Now that we’ve covered yogurt, you may be wondering: are raw eggs good for dogs? While eggs are a great source of protein for dogs, there are some potential downsides to feeding raw eggs
Reference:
- Ripley, K. (2022, August 8). Can dogs eat yogurt? American Kennel Club.
