Health

Things you should know about Greek Yogurt for your dogs | Health

We hope you all enjoyed your Christmas’ and had plenty of yummy treats over the festive period 🙂

Greek yogurt does not have the same properties as many other yogurts and hopefully this post will explain to you why it can be good for dogs as well as humans in moderation. Yes; dogs can eat greek yogurt but please note if your dog is lactose intolerant it’s best not to feed any dairy products.

The process for making greek yogurt starts off the same as regular yogurt; milk is heated, cooled then bacterial cultures are added and left to ferment. Greek yogurt is then thoroughly strained to remove liquid, whey & lactose; which is how they get such a thick textured yogurt.

So what are the differences?

Protein – Greek yogurt contains almost double the protien of regular yogurt

Fat – It can contain three times the amount of saturated fats then the regular variety, unless a non fat version is used

Sodium – Contains around half the sodium than in regular yogurts

Carbohydrates – contains only half the carbohydrates that regal yogurt does.

Husky Puppy vs Yogurt

Why is Greek yogurt so good for our dogs?

The increased amount of protein due to the way it is processed, could be a benefit for dog who do not meet their protein requirements from their foods. Even as a snack they could be recieving vital bits of protein.

Greek yogurt is probably most well known for the huge amounts of probiotics that are hidden inside. They are just as good for dogs as they are for humans and they will protect and repair the gut as needed. However; when you feed in moderation this will not be a sufficient alternative to a selected supplement, if you require more information on this please seek veterinary or a canine nutritionist advice.

These probiotics are great for your dog when they have an upset tummy. They help replace the bad bacteria and re build the lining of the stomach and intestines to help the absorption of food quicker and firm up diarrhoea. It has also been suggested that greek yogurt boosts the immune systems and decreases the yeast growth in dogs.

Feeding Tips

Always feed plain greek yogurt that is real and not in the style of greek yogurt. These do not contain all the benefits that your dog could receive. Greek style and flavoured yogurts will also contain too much sugar or sweetener which we try to limit in our dogs diets.

Always be on the look out for Xylitol, an artificial sweetener that is toxic to canines!

Our dogs are larger dogs so can cope with around one tbsp per day which they get as a frozen fruit smoothie treat with their breakfast. This would depend on the size of your dog, you wouldn’t want to give small sized dogs more then 2 – 3 tsp per day; otherwise you may risk the opposite effects and do your dog more harm.

We have recently done a few posts on yogurt frosty recipes and there will be more to come. Making these Frosties are so easy and simple you can add almost anything into them and the dogs love them. We tend to add fruit into these cups which not only reduced the amount of yogurt they are eating but also give them their fruit allowance for the day.

Strawberry & Blueberry frosties

If you are thinking about using greek yogurt please seek veterinary or a canine nutritionists advice first as they will be able to advise on the best way to introduce this in your dogs diet. If you would like to see more tasty treats for your dogs like Pina Colada FroYo or No Bake Peanut Butter Biscuits; stick around.

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