Vanilla Yogurt w/food

[Jesse Cruz]

hi, my girl is very picky and for some time she stopped eating her breakfast and was only eating once a day. now i know its not the food because she does this with ALL her foods. i started adding some vanilla yogurt in her dry kibble (**** van patten potato & duck = for allergies) and she loves it. she eats both breakfast and dinner now. it makes me feel so much better to know she is eating her meals. my question is if yogurt is ok to add to her food at both meal times. i tried the sauce that petsmart sells but i noticed her scratching so i immediately stopped that. so yogurt was my next bright idea :wink: . what are your thoughts?

[Andre Mendizabal]

I also add yogurt sometimes to Nala's food, however, I've read that you better not add it ALL the time, because of lactose and can make your pup lactose intolerant... anyway, maybe an expert can give you precise information, but that's what I've read... I feed her one or twice a week yogurt.

[Jill Ramsey]

When Finn gets yogurt, usually in his kong, I give him plain. fat free. It does give him gas if he gets too much!!

[Chris Smith]

I also give Nalu yogurt in his Kong which I freeze. But I use the plain, low fat or fat free type. I have heard that the flavored yogurts have lots of sugar in them which isn't supposed to good for them.

[Grace Erick]

Jesse, my dog hated her Eukanuba & Iams (canned) and never ate it, then I found out it was not a great food. Now I feed her other good brands and she eats all her food. I thought she was just a finnicky eater.

I was told there are better foods that are more palatable for dogs that eat hard food. I feed her canned food and one is **** Van Patten's Natural Balance chicken. NB is a good food. I think Iams has some nerve to sell sauce to make their crappy food taste better! :twisted:

About the yogurt, I saw someone mention once to get sugarless plain yogurt. I don't know yogurts, so I don't know if regular store brands come w/o sugar. I'm clueless to yogurt. I did read that yogurt is low in lactose.

[Andre Mendizabal]

The kind I feed is plain sugarless yogurt... i get it from a yogurt shop... pretty good by the way, the same one I get for me...

[Missy Stewart]

I would definately feed plain yogurt if you are going to use it. You can buy it in any grocery store. It is usually in the larger tubs on the bottom of the yogurt racks. The added sugar in the vanilla yogurt could be avoided this way...

How long have you been feeding it?? My dog Sonny also struggles with allergies and yogurt really flared up the itching and biting in him (I used it for about a week). Just keep an eye on your dog to make sure that it isn't causing a flare up with her allergies :wink:

[Jesse Cruz]

Thanks for the advice, I figured it wasn't good for her. Anything that she loves is not good for her.

[Summer Magic]

Did you know that you can get a yogurt maker? I've had one for quite a while and make my own yogurt. That way I know what is in it and what is not!

[Jody Hayes]

my dog isn't crazy about any dry dog food. He would rather have "people food" so I started using about a tablespoon of Cottage Cheese mixed in w/ his dog food. No allergies or lactose problems and it is healthy. Works great for us.

[Hee Yung Lee]

Did you know that you can get a yogurt maker? I've had one for quite a while and make my own yogurt. That way I know what is in it and what is not!

I've never heard of this! Where did you get yours? I think I'm going to see what I can find online. A yogurt maker sounds like a great idea. Thanks!

[Summer Magic]

There are several brands, I just typed in yogurt maker on a search engine and came up with a whole page of places to buy one, they are in all kinds of price ranges. You will need to buy one container of plain active culture yogurt (make sure the date on it is not expired) milk and powdered milk and a candy thermomiter. Just follow the directions and make your own yogurt. I can't eat sugar so I use the pink stuff to sweeten it. Also I buy whole sugar free preserves and mix the fruit in it. YUM!

[Jesse Cruz]

i stopped the yogurt and she has been eating her food but with the excitement of her new brother she has not been eating well. all she wants to do is play. i crate him and put his food with him and he eats, he loves to eat but she on the other hand is like whatever, i want to play. we'll see after they settle down.

[Maria Juliano]

i stopped the yogurt and she has been eating her food but with the excitement of her new brother she has not been eating well. all she wants to do is play. i crate him and put his food with him and he eats, he loves to eat but she on the other hand is like whatever, i want to play. we'll see after they settle down.

Hi Jesse,

I started to give my babies a tiny bit of plain yogurt mixed in with their food. The idea came from you, so thank you!:bow: Lina wasn't eating her new Innova Adult food and hardly touching the new treats I got them. She misses her Trader Joe's all natural chicken strips. The other way I get her to eat her food is by putting the kibble in her kong and sealing it with PB. FINICKY princess! LOL! Giotto eats anything, Ha, ha!

Thanks again,

[Amy Siggers]

I know I will probably get into trouble by saying this but Cassie likes anything.. We feed her Science Diet b/c thats what the breeder had her on (we are in the process of trying to find something else to change her to) but when we are at the table eating she will sit at my feet and look at me with those beautiful eyes and that tongue stuck out sideways (does yous kee part of her tongue sticking out alot?) and I cant help but give her a couple of pinches of what I am eating.. I dont want her to start liking table food and stop eating her dog food so it is not much at all but I have found that she will eat ANYTHING.. Cheetos, any kind of potatoes, pasta, etc.. I know we arent supposed to give them pork for sure and I know we arent supposed to give them "table food" but are there any things you know of besides chocolate that can hurt her because that's the LAST thing I would ever want to do...

[Maria Juliano]

Hi Amy,

I'm not going to comment on the food Cassie is on. I know you'll make the right the decision for her when you switch her over to a more nutritional food that agrees with her. Remember to transition the food over a period of 7-10 days. 1st day, 90% old food, 2nd day, 80%, 3rd day, 70% and so on, until you reach the final day: 100% of the new food.

I have the same problem with my babies, they sit at my feet when we are eating with their little tongues hanging out ( soo cute! :p ) I choose not to give them table food because it's not good for them... unless it's boiled chicken breast, vegetables such as carrots, string beans then I give them a tiny bite each. I have also given them (occasionally) tiny bits of bananas and apples ( not the seed nor the skin.)

Onion is another food to avoid in addition to chocolate.

[Jesse Cruz]

hi,
maria i think the yogurt will work for you because you are starting it out right, plain. i started it out with vanilla flavor and she refuses any other kind or brand, she only likes Le Creme. spoiled brat! but i stopped it and she's eating her food fine now. she has settled down since bailey has arrived and she sees that bailey eats ALL his food and attempts to go to hers, that gives her motivation to eat her food. LOLOLOL

[Jill Ramsey]

Amy,
Dogs shouldn't have grapes, raisens, onions, or any cooked bones. We started putting Finnegan in his crate when we ate, so he wasn't sitting and looking at us with those "begging" eyes. Now, when I start putting food on the table, he automatically goes into his crate.

[Grace Erick]

Okay, I'll be the bad one:)

Amy, some breeders feed their dogs what they can afford and the food is not necessarily good, and this is the case with your breeder. What you should do and I hate to use those words "what you should do", but that is to determine how much of your budget you can spend on dog food, then find a dog food that is the BEST food in that price range.

If you are feeding hard food to your dog, it's best when you find a brand you are happy with that you make a transition by adding some new food to the old food or else the dog may get diarreah.

Petco has a food called Natural Balance that is decent and there is an odd food called Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul that is very good. You would have to look up the Soup brand kon the internet (it's hard food), and use their store locator to see where they sell it.

Then if you can spend more, there are stores that sell foods like Solid Gold, Innova or Merrick and other very good foods. You also have to use their store locator to find a store near you. They are high end foods that are not sold in the big pet food chain stores.

Basically, you need to look for a food that has the first two ingredients being an animal source of protein as opposed to grains. You don't want to see "by products" listed in the food. All the big name brands like Eukanuba and Science Diet all have by products and not the best ingredients even though they are well known. Grocery store brands are not good, big chain stores are not too great either with what they sell.

If your dog bothers you when you eat, I don't know what anyone else does, but I give her a piece of chicken jerky and that keeps her busy or you can put your dog in a room or just teach your dog to not come to the table, is that possible:)

Some people feed only homemade foods, so your dinner is okay depending on what's in it, but I would feed the dog after you ate so as not to get the dog into the habit of begging. Anything with heavy cream or butter on it is not good. Plain chicken is okay, no salt or sugar on anything. An occasional cheetos or potato chip is okay if it's just one or two. They are very salty. Try and find some dog treats she likes, but even too many of those are not good. Treats tend to not be very nutritional, and you don't want the dog to fill up on those and not eat their entire breakfast and dinner which should be a balanced meal.

www.naturapet.com has a comparison chart so you can compare some dog foods they have listed. They have 2/3 of the bad foods listed and some of the good ones are left off, so it's good to go to a store that sells the better foods like Solid Gold and Innova. Naturapet.com is the site for the Innova dog food which is very good.

I'd stay away from pasta. It's too many carbs which in eating hard food has enough carbs in it. With people the starch sticks to the teeth, and rots them. Then if the pasta has a sauce on it, that can be very disturbing to your dog's digestive tract, and that mean your dog will get diarreah.

Even feeding a dog something as plain as chicken can upset them when they are used to hard food and chopmeat, maybe because it's a fatty meat can really cause your dog to have a tummy ache = vet bill.

I know you want to make your dog happy and give in to her and give her everything she wants in food like snacks and things she shouldn't have, but when she gets ill, you will just kick yourself for feeding her something bad.

I gave my dog a finger full of mashed potatoes. I didn't know my mother-in-law had heavy cream in it before I took some out for her and the bill cost me $80 for diarreah.

If you find a food you like and would like to ask questions, please do. There are some experts here, and some of us have enough knowledge to tell the better brands from the bad ones and would be glad to help.

What kind of dog do you have? Is it a particular breed or a mix and how old is your dog?

[aussiesmum]

Well you can feed your pup macaroni (as I hve read in my dog diet book) but only plain macaroni. Since I assume you don't eat plain boiled macaroni, I don't think that is an issue. heavy cheese sauce, red sauce, or cream based sauces (typical for pasta) i wouldn't give to my pooch.

But I'd be more strict than others. Aussie will get bits of this and that when I am preparing in the kitchen (generally only pre-approved food which I put in her bowl, not directly to her). If you feed your pup table bits (good for her or not) you will teach her bad behaviors. Like Finn, Aussie generally gets a kong when we eat, so when I take the kong out before dinner, she runs to her bed.

I wouldn't give your pup potato chips or chettos. We give aussie a WIDE variety of "people" food, but nothing processed (ok, peanut butter, yougart, and cream cheese). Fruits, veg, meat are all good (of course no grapes, onions, etc as mentioned by Jill) but in moderation.

Finally, remember that some of the more expensive foods require less feeding. Rather than look at the final bag price, try to calculate per day cost. Sometimes you make out better with the "more expensive/better" foods because you feed less.

[Maria Juliano]

Amy,
Dogs shouldn't have grapes, raisens, onions, or any cooked bones. We started putting Finnegan in his crate when we ate, so he wasn't sitting and looking at us with those "begging" eyes. Now, when I start putting food on the table, he automatically goes into his crate.

Jill--thans for adding raisens, grapes, and cooked bones to the list of foods that are bad for dogs to eat.

[Grace Erick]

Lorie, so do you mean if a cup equals 450kcalories as opposed to 550k she could feed less, right?

I know there was a company that was taken to court because they lied about how much food a dog needed to eat or about the Kcalories or whatever they call it. I guess you can use it as a guideline if the company is honest about what they say the calories are.

Does anyone remember which of the companies lied? One dog food company took another dog food company to court over it.

[aussiesmum]

Yep. I would assume because it is better quality food that its nutrients are higher per gram. So if say she has to feed 300g of brand X, then with a better food she might only need to feed 250g. Which means the cost per day is less, so the 15lb bag, while more expensive, lasts longer. Thus making the more expensive food not as "expensive"

[Sarah Moore]

Grace-

I believe you are thinking of Iams. Nutro took Iams to court of that issue. Here is an article about it:

http://www.washingtonpost.c om/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A42435-2002Aug20&notFound=true
Lorie, so do you mean if a cup equals 450kcalories as opposed to 550k she could feed less, right?


I know there was a company that was taken to court because they lied about how much food a dog needed to eat or about the Kcalories or whatever they call it. I guess you can use it as a guideline if the company is honest about what they say the calories are.

Does anyone remember which of the companies lied? One dog food company took another dog food company to court over it.