# giving cottage cheese



## 4loveofadog (Mar 3, 2010)

my pup (5 months) loves cottage cheese, especially with pineapple. after he eats his dinner, his treat is a heaping tablespoon of it. is it okay to give coattage cheese (1% fat) everyday? if not, what are the harmful effects? thanks


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## crisp (Jun 23, 2010)

Cheese (in general) is perfectly fine to eat, so is pineapple. The foods generally kept away from dogs are chocolate, onion, garlic, grapes and raisins (lately I've been hearing tomatoes). Your best resource, however, would be your vet. Also, I probably wouldn't give it everyday, because in effect you are conditioning him to always receive cottage chees at the same time. Try to break up the times/days and make him work for it. Don't reward him just for eating his dinner. Work on basic obediance and then reward with the treat. If he's really crazy about it, it will be a powerful tool.


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## smyke (Sep 24, 2009)

I read somewhere that its more beneficial to give "whole" milk dairy products to pups and that they dont really have to eat any in general (cultures in yogurt may help with digestion). only negative effect you may see is softer poop or even diarrhea.
Again, thats "what they say". 
but like crisp said, if he loves it so much make him stand on his ears for it. LOL


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## lizzkatris (Apr 29, 2010)

My SIL feed her springers cottage cheese after giving birth because of the calcium and health benefits. I agree with Smyke, I think it's better to feed whole rather than skim, though.


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

lizzkatris said:


> My SIL feed her springers cottage cheese after giving birth because of the calcium and health benefits. I agree with Smyke, I think it's better to feed whole rather than skim, though.



Thats why I wouldn't feed cottage cheese to a pup, at least not on a regular basis. His food already has the correct amount of Calcium for him to grow, so consistently providing more calcium, will promote faster growth, which is not good. For large breeds you want slower growth.


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## crisp (Jun 23, 2010)

GSDSunshine said:


> Thats why I wouldn't feed cottage cheese to a pup, at least not on a regular basis. His food already has the correct amount of Calcium for him to grow, so consistently providing more calcium, will promote faster growth, which is not good. For large breeds you want slower growth.


 Agreed. But keep in mind that the amount of calcuim listed on the food packaging is different from the amount of calcium actually absorbed by the dog. I have seen dogs growing too fast and experiance pano and other issues. But I have also worked with a breeded who gave all her dogs cheese. Her dogs never experianced issues, and actually had standing ears faster than any other dogs I've seen. As with our diets, probably best advice is everything in moderation.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

My dog is full grown so she gets some with her kibble fairly often. She is in perfect working order so far as I know.


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## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

My breeder recommends it with her pups meals. About 1-2 T per meal but it should be whole milk.


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