# Cottage Cheese



## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

So, Zappa is on his raw. I have him on Honest Kitchen Preference, he has moved to chicken leg quarters (started on backs), gets his fish oil/vit e/vet c mix, Dogzymes, and Springtime Inc. Longevity. I would like to add cottage cheese. How much and how often should he get it? He cannot get yogurt, it gives him ear infections. Any assistance is appreciated.


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

How old is he? I gave my puppy 8 weeks to 4 months, a tablespoon twice a day.
i dont anymore because hes on a suppliment now.


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

He will be 9 on Dec 27th


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

OH. Um. I would say probaly 1 tablespoon twice a day.
That souds good.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Based on what, Angel? 

Kendra, WHY do you want to feed cottage cheese? would be my first question. Yogurt has probiotic benefits, which cottage cheese normally doesn't. So it's not going to give him any benefit that way (though you can buy fancy probiotic-infused cottage cheese, but there are better ways to get these beneficial bacteria if he needs). 

Dogs don't have any need for cattle dairy. Some dogs are lactose intolerant and can't eat it anyhow. (But there is low-lactose cottage cheese too.








)

Cottage cheese (whole milk): 4 ounces (1/2 cup) 111 calories 13 grams protein 5 grams fat 411 grams sodium a pretty good source of choline, selenium, riboflavin and it has some (not much) other B vitamins

* phosphorus 180 mg calcium 94 mg *

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/11/2


I feed my kids (my adults) whole milk cottage cheese. I'll feed an adult GSD (who eats 3.5 lbs meat per day) about 1/2 cup as a relatively inexpensive source of protein and fat. (At 3.5 lbs of meat per day, I'm always looking for ways to provide supplemental protein and fat sources). 

We're always told to be careful of dairy because it's so high in calcium. But as you can see, cottage cheese has twice as much phosphorous as calcium. So if you feed it, you need to be aware of that so that you can make some adjustment in the muscle meat/RMB ratio. 

As Zappa ages, we'll be watching his kidney health. Keeping phosphorous levels in check is part of the equation. 


If you want to feed a dairy product that is better balanced, ricotta cheese is ideal. It has more calories, more protein, and there is 257 mg calcium to 130 mg phosphorous. This gives you an approx 1.9 : 1 Calciumhosphorous ratio, which is fine for a healthy adult dog especially given that it's only a small part of his diet.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/35/2

So, as we've chatted about before, what you are feeding affects what you're going to feed. I suppose that recommendation of 2 Tblsp daily won't harm him. But I'm not sure that it accomplish anything much either besides give him a little appetizer on the side of his meat either. 

Cottage cheese has benefits (so does ricotta obviously). So we feed as much as we need to give the benefits we want our dogs to get. Half cup works for my dogs within the diet I feed. 

If you are looking around for something to add next that really gives a nutritional punch to Zappa's diet, at this stage you might want to add a raw egg into his meals. Organic eggs offer more essential fatty acids (Omega 3s as well as 6s). But even a regular ole egg is pack full of nutrients.









http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2

So that might be something to consider.


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

Almost all of the literature I have read said that cottage cheese is good to give them. Thank you for this info. As far as the yogurt, he gets ear infections when he eats it so we stay far away from it. He is on a probiotic/digestive enzyme mix. I was not aware of the ricotta cheese though. That's something I will look into.
As far as eggs, I need to get some storage containers because I read eggshells (crushed) are one of the best sources of calcium for raw fed dogs.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I just rinse and toss the shells back into the egg carton after I feed the egg ; then put them back into the refridge to keep bacteria from building up. When I turn on my oven, I toss them in there on a cookie sheet for a few minutes, then toss them into a zip loc bag, smash them well and they go into the freezer. When I have a bunch, I grind them in the blender. Or, I feed the smashed pieces. The calcium isn't as available as it is when it's ground up fine, but I don't necessarily want to feed pure calcium on a regular basis anyhow. 

No special containers, no huge effort.


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

Great! Thanks! I was worried about that. I was also planning on grounding it up fine. What I found is that given daily, it's only like 1/16 of a tsp.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

If you are feeding raw BONES you do not need to add any calcuim. Not ground egg shells, not cottage cheese - nothing. The bones provide all their calcium needs.


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## StGeorgeK9 (Jan 5, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: jaggirl47Almost all of the literature I have read said that cottage cheese is good to give them. Thank you for this info. As far as the yogurt, he gets ear infections when he eats it so we stay far away from it. He is on a probiotic/digestive enzyme mix. I was not aware of the ricotta cheese though. That's something I will look into.
> As far as eggs, I need to get some storage containers because I read eggshells (crushed) are one of the best sources of calcium for raw fed dogs.


I wanted to thank you for mentioning yogurt and ear infections, I recently went back to raw and was feeding Ava what I had before, including yogurt, but I noticed her ears looked red and irritated, not bad really, just more pink than normal I thought. And she had been scratching them just that day. Well I dropped the yogurt and her ears are back to a soft pink again. Your comment triggered me to rethink the yogurt. Ava gives you a big wet sloppy kiss!


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

cottage cheese gives Max ear infections....


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

haha. Isn't Max allergic to alot? Or is that Indy? I get confused sometimes. 
I will be picking up some ricotta cheese when I go grocery shopping this weekend. He does well with regular cheese, so I hope he does good on ricotta.
Also, I just have to add in that Zappa has not had an explosive poo since July thanks to the advice of many of you on this forum.


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