Quote: amber morgan

Are you just sticking to your basic plain full-fat yogurt?

Actually, I'm more interested in the ingredients now, but I'd prefer to go with non fat. Apparently there are 2 common bacteria that are yogurt "starters" so anything with more than those 2 cultures is a plus. Got some Brown Cow vanilla that listed 4 and some Nancy's nonfat plain (real tangy! ) that listed 6. We'll be sharing the stuff, and I'm not quite ready for plain on a full time basis. I need to work up to that, so I'm doing 50/50 vanilla/plain. I was actually hoping to find a 55-gal. drum of it at Costco, but . . .

The book says look for "contains active cultures" or "contains living cultures" not "made with ..." And although it may taste good, avoid the sugar and fruit-laden varieties.

Another option is to use Kefir which tends to have different and more cultures than yogurt. I got some that listed 10 varieties. It's recommended as a good choice as there really isn't enough data to be sure exactly what specific strains and amounts will give the optimum results for us, let alone any research relating to canine diet.

Mike

Thank you for the PM Mike. I will be looking for this book this weekend. An old friend of mine used to preach the benefits of yogurt and pro-biotics to me every chance she got. And that was back in the late 80's.

But what exactly is Kefir?

Kefir is a fermented milk drink, basically drinkable yogurt. It seems to have a little less sugar than yogurt, too. The brand I've found around me is Lifeway - http://www.lifeway.net Many of it's 10 cultures are different than the ones you normally see in the yogurts, so it's a chance to add some different bugs.

I'm convinced now after reading the book and giving Nettie ~1/2 c. a day for 3 weeks now that this can be a crucial part of the diet for some dogs with weak or poor immune systems (for whatever reason) I don't have a dog with IBS or similar problems, but it is supposed to be helpful there, too. She is now totally free of allergy symptoms and the inflamed skin and ears I accepted as normal. Her energy and disposition are better than they had been, too. The raw food helped tremendously, but this seems to be the missing piece of the puzzle.

Hope it works for you.

Mike

Mike,
I just bought whole milk plain yogurt and gave some to Rusty with his kibble and sardines. He liked the bowl clean and asked for more. I will be absolutely thrilled if this helps his itchy feet and pink ear. I will keep you posted.

i have just read your post with intense interest but have one very silly question?

My mothers pomeranian has been suffering for this for 5 years now poor thing.. how do you get her to eat the yoghurt..? if it was icecream she would woof it down but not yoghurt.. bares her teeth when she sees you bring it out let alone offer it to her?

Okay Maxx, You warned us about the questions

If the pom gets things like ice cream, it could be contributing to her itchy woes, she may have gained an affinity for sugary things too. I guess the diet of the pom is one issue....

THe next would be bearing teeth just at the sight/smell of a certain food! Feisty little one!

Pro-biotics (the ingredient of interest in the yogurt) come in powders and capsules too. You could also try the Kefir mentioned, maybe you could even try freezing it if she likes ice cream? Mixing the yougurt with something else was mentioned too ......

 Quote: Maxine Vaughan

i have just read your post with intense interest but have one very silly question?

My mothers pomeranian has been suffering for this for 5 years now poor thing.. how do you get her to eat the yoghurt..? if it was icecream she would woof it down but not yoghurt.. bares her teeth when she sees you bring it out let alone offer it to her?

Hi, Maxine,

Number 1 is to get that dog off sugar (and grains). A mountain of yogurt is not going to make up for a sugary diet or a diet heavy in grains. Maybe you can influence your mother ....

The dog should get daily fish oil and Vitamin E. The dog should be on trials of people antihistamines, which work much better when combined with the long-chain Omega 3s in fish oil.

If this is an inhalant allergy, the dog should have the paws and belly cleaned off after a trip on grasses and pollen (to avoid dragging allergens into the dog's bed and/or mat and the carpet, etc.).

If the dog is not on flea prevention, then is there a chance there is a flea hypersensitivity?


I agree with Jennifer that the unflavored unsweetened yogurt can also be mixed with other foods.

If you need more help with the atopy, please post. The dog has seen the vet and the environmental allergies were diagnosed? What else did the vet suggest?

Some kind of supplement powders or capsules might be the way to go.

I believe I read that freezing yogurt will kill the good bugs , so there'll be no benefit in feeding frozen yogurt. My GSD likes the plain, but prefers certain brands. I can tell a taste difference, too. You might try some different brands of plain. I still mix 50/50 plain & vanilla for myself. The dog is o.k. with vanilla, but fortunately she doesn't think much of the other flavored stuff.

Mike

I can differentiate between the brands by taste, too.

Luckily, my dogs (and I think most dogs.... all the dogs I know) love plain yogurt and don't care which brand it is. So for them, I buy the ones with the most active (live) cultures after processing. But if I had a dog who didn't want the yogurt, I'd definitely do what Mike suggests: I'd try different brands. They all come in 6- or 8-ounce servings, so it's easy to test a few before buying a quart container.

Even though Stonyfield Farm says on their site that freezing kills only a small number of the beneficial microorganisms, I agree that I don't want to kill any. The whole idea is to get as many of them into the digestive system as possible, tipping the odds in favor of some making it past the stomach acids.

One of the many things I took away from the excellent book that Mike recommended to me (The Probiotic Revolution) was that I want to stack the deck by giving both the capsules and the foods that contain probiotics.... especially to a dog who has special challenges (like allergies, digestion problems, depressed immune response, etc.).

So now every day my dogs get a capsule that contains strains that aren't in most yogurts, and they also get a yogurt that has 8 different cultures.

Seems to me if one wanted to freeze a cup of yogurt, just until frozen to feed, that would probably still have plenty of good gut bugs. Seems the longer and colder something is frozen, the more the good bacteria will suffer. Although I do not think the Pom in question will eat it just becasue it is frozen.

My dog will also eat plain yogurt no problem. Does most vanilla yogurt not have added sugar?

One thing I just found out is why it is okay to freeze probiotic capsules to prolong shelf life. It is because they are "freeze-dried" cultures. Apperently freeze dried cultures retain their potency. (Even if conventionally frozen) In fact probiotic supplement capsules kept at room temp will lose their potency much quicker than if refrigerated or frozen.

Makes me think about freezing tripe. All the good gut bugs I think I am feeding with green tripe must be severely comprimized by sitting in the frezzer for months at a time