milk

gilly · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 7:31 pm Post subject: milk

Hi. Can I please have some advice. Is dairy milk suitable for Leo our 19 month pup???

antheawad · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:17 pm Post subject:

I have read that dogs and cats do not have the proper enzymes to properly break down the sugar in milk which is called 'lactose.' You may have heard of people who are lactose-intolerant. They are also missing these digestive enzymes. If the proper enzymes are not present, the lactose remains undigested and tends to ferment in the intestine and cause diarrhea. Some pets can tolerate a little milk, others, none at all. If your pet enjoys and appears to tolerate milk, you can give your pet small amounts. Better yet, give your pet one of the special cat or dog milks on the market that have had the lactose removed.

My Sasha is OK with it, but she only gets it a few times a week.

dylansdad · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:32 pm Post subject:

as above I understand milk is not really good for the dog. I would ask yourself why do you feel the need to give the dog milk?

the dog needs fluids, which water is obviously best. The only other thing I can think of is calcium, but if your dog is fed a good feed then he should get enough calcium, and the odd bone will supplement this too.

For me its a simple no I wouldnt give my dog milk.

_Mary_ · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:39 pm Post subject:

I don`t give milk to my dogs either, water only and whatever fluids they get from their BARF diet.

My first cat used to have milk and it caused him no problems at all, but when I got the second, milk makes him chuck sadly, so now I have a 3 cats and none are allowed cows milk, which causes a problem as thats what I have when I go to bed Laughing

, they do get the special milk occassionally though.

kayc · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:46 pm Post subject:

Milk is not generally a suitable food for most dogs although, like a lot of unsuitable things, many dogs will consume it with no obvious ill effects, much the same way as they do animal droppings, videos, books etc Very Happy

My dogs enjoy goats milk, and although it also contains lactose, they dont seem to get bloated, gassy or runs, as they do with dairy milk.

megaloo · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:54 pm Post subject:

MY dogs never get milk. When they were puppies they had goats milk, but that is a long time ago now. They love frsh water

Choccy · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 10:16 pm Post subject:

My vet prescribed a milk and weetabix breakfast for Ben. He loves it and since moving to Burns for the rest of his diet, has solid stools. Smile

my4labs · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:15 am Post subject:

Hello

I gave my latest pup goats milk as it is far better for the dogs than cows milk.

Maddie · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 10:12 am Post subject:

Like choocy we still have wheetabix and cows milk for breakfast - all of us!!

Amandajvv · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 10:27 am Post subject:

Once is a blue moon I give my dogs milk as a treat. I mix it with water (greater quantity water). A dog sees milk not as a drink where it will drink until its no longer thirsty. They usually just drink milk until its finished, therefore watch how much you give them (apart from the warnings above about lactose) it can cause them to gain weight if given on top of daily food on a regular basis.