# A cottage cheese question



## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I was told to give 2 tbl spoons of cottage cheese to Akbar till he was a year. Is this correct? Sometimes I add less. 

I was just wondering.


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

I was wondering the same thing. Instead of cottage cheese, I give Ike yogurt. But the amount is the same: 2 tbl spoons.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I am not alone! lol


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I just started giving Z and Nadi about 2 tablespoons of Kefir, which is like yogurt. They love it and so does their tummies


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i gave my dog yogurt. i used plain organic.



> Originally Posted By: Jason LinI was wondering the same thing. Instead of cottage cheese, I give Ike yogurt. But the amount is the same: 2 tbl spoons.


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## Doggydog (May 12, 2009)

Why until he's a year? Just curious.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

is there sugar in the Kefir you use???


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I would not give a puppy cottage cheese on a regular basis as that is adding excess Ca to his diet and it has a poor Ca/Phos ratio. Once in a while is fine, but not every day.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

> Quote:Why until he's a year? Just curious.


The breeder said till a year



> Quote:I would not give a puppy cottage cheese on a regular basis as that is adding excess Ca to his diet and it has a poor Ca/Phos ratio. Once in a while is fine, but not every day


Ok, I will stop giving it to him, I was just wondering when I was suppose to stop as I was told to go till he's a year. But if it's adding to much cal I'll stop. I'm not to great at this whole ratio thing....lol


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Yogurt is a much better option than cottage cheese. Think of dogs as lactose intolerant, they aren't meant to break down cows milk (neither are cats!). It always baffles me why vets prescribe cottage cheese as part of a bland diet when its DAIRY. Live culture yogurts provide probiotics which break down the dairy. 

For bland diets, when a vet tells me cottage cheese I always swap it for something like eggs which are the most easily digestible protein. And I always swap out brown rice for white rice. My dogs normal diet is a meat only raw diet.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Yogurt is also dairy product and contains lactose. Probiotics do not digest lactose. Not all dogs can handle dairy and they can get diarrhea from it. Some dogs can handle it and do fine. As a dairy product, it also adds extra Ca to the diet that you don't want to do for a puppy on a regular basis.


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

See if you can find goat yogurt in your area. That's what Ike eats. 

So 2 tablespoon a day - too much?


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I didn't damage his growing did I?


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

There is no way for me to say if his growth was damaged or not. If he gets or has had any structural problems, that could be a sign. 

Basically, you never want to give excess Ca to a puppy as they can grow too fast and develop problems from pano to structural issues. Adult dogs are done growing so giving these foods to them, won't cause the same type of problems. They can cause other problems though if given in massive amounts.

If you really feel the need to give dairy products, like yogurt or cottage cheese, give no more than 1 Tbls once or twice a week as a treat.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I've stopped giving it to him since I was told this. 

He's taller by a couple inches from other gsd male puppies I know right now that are also at his age.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Him being taller than other puppies may or may not mean anything as he may just be a genetically tall dog. There is no way to tell if your puppy is taller than he should be unless he has a clone that wasn't fed the way he was.


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## Alto (Nov 18, 2008)

Nutrient analysis of cottage cheese
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/15/2

Assume 2T is ~ 28g (1 oz)
Calcium 68.9mg
Phosphorus 151mg


Arbitrarily choose Orijen LBP fed at 4 cups per day (as per feeding recommendation by manufacturer) 
X 115g/cup ~ 460 g
Calcium (min.) 1.5% 
Calcium (max.) 1.7%
so I'll choose 1.6% as an average, 
460g dry dog food X 1.6% ~ 7.36 g ie 7360 mg Ca per day from the dog food

68.9/7360 ~ 0.9% additional calcium per day due to the cottage cheese

Now if she were to feed an extra 1/2 cup LBP / day
ie 4.5c X 115 X 1.6% X 1000mg/g ~ 8280 mg Ca per day 
OR additional 920mg Ca ...

I doubt the extra calcium (& other nutrients) in the 2T cottage cheese/day will have negatively impacted Akbar's bone density (especially if he remains unneutered).
Further, while the ~ 0.46 ratio Ca/P is not ideal it is also unlikely to have a significant effect as this accounts for such a small amount of relative Ca/P fed per day


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