Quote: Jennifer Coulter

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. ...
.... Does most vanilla yogurt not have added sugar? ...

Makes sense to me.

Yes, most vanilla yogurt has sugar or some other sweetener. There is at least one that does not; I think it was Mountain High that I saw.

Mike, I'm revisting this thread because I was hoping you could tell me how this is panning out. Still having success? I was following this with interest and it seems like it has a lot of promise. If so, couldn't hurt to share this thread again. I noticed other posters with similar issues to what your dog has/had.

O.k. an update. I won't re-hash everything I've written about all the stuff I've tried and done for probably 6+ yrs. dealing with these problems with 2 different GSDs - you can get the gist of it by reading my related posts since the beginning of July. But I'll be glad to answer more questions if you post 'em or PM me.

Bottom line - this yogurt might as well be a miracle drug! I started using it early July and saw results in a few days. Since then, Nettie's scratching, chewing and biting has totally stopped, and I mean TOTALLY. This was the final tweak of a raw food diet that she's been on for a couple years - mostly chicken backs (with some variety - fish, lamb, etc.), about 1/3 c. of veggie glop, several squirts of salmon oil, some E, occasional eggs, cottage cheese and such. I based her serving size on what "The Probiotics Revolution" suggested for normal adults - 1 to 2 8-oz. servings/day. So I'm giving a 60# GSD at least 8 oz. per day total, in 2 servings, using both plain yogurt and plain kefir, both of which she sucks up immediately.

Suggestions: Use a decent brand of yogurt. The more "active cultures" - bugs - the better. Good brands usually have 6 or 8 or maybe more. And then kefir (cultured milk drink) that has some different bugs you don't get in any yogurt. My untrained, uneducated guess is that you need to be sure to give enough on a daily basis for a dog with allergies and immune system deficiencies. I'd give at least 8-oz./day or maybe slightly more if it seems that you're starting to see some improvement, but not complete improvement. There is no harm in getting too many good probiotics in the dog's system. If you don't see any improvement, I'd assume that probiotics isn't the answer for you.

HTH

Mike

THANKS Mike!! Great news...I'm so happy for your dog; I'm sure it's great to not have watch her being tormented by the itchies anymore.

I'm getting that book for sure now. Thanks for testing it out for me! And thanks for the update. I may be hitting you up with some more questions down the road.

Just wanted to let you all know, I made my own yogurt last night using milk and Stonyfield yogurt as the starter. It's very simple to make and cuts down the price of yogurt by about 75% (at least here anyway). The cost of 1 quart of Stonyfield yogurt is about $4, you can make 1 gallon of yogurt for the same price (a gallon of milk here is about $4). Stonyfield also has a coupon on their website.

I'll keep you all updated on sonya's progress.

Kimberly

Can kefir also be made at home? That's pretty pricey, too.

Thanks

You need to use kefir grains in order to produce kefir grains (do not use culture starters they don't produce the grains), but if they are very pricey it will probably be worth it. I have come across a couple of recipes online, all you need are kefir grains, pasteurized milk and a clean sealable jar. You just let it sit out overnight sealed up, very simple

I will attempt to make this next once I find where to buy kefir grains.

Kimberly

I've found a source for the kefir grains and have been giving it to my boy for about a week now. I think it's helping, but hard to be 100% certain without a controlled experiment. What I am certain about is my dog (and cats) LOVE the stuff. You couldn't pay me enough to eat it myself. Especially after I mix it with salmon oil, alfalfa powder, vitamin E and a raw egg. Gag! But the critters go nuts over it.

Here's where I got it: http://happyherbalist.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=47
Inexpensive, and I received it within a week of my order. Incredibly easy to propagate each day. Just based on how much the boys love it and the apparent reduction in amount of hair around the house, I'm going to give it a thumbs up. I had tried yogurt before, but didn't notice any difference. Will add it back along with the kefir and see what happens.

So, anyone else try this yet? Results?

Cheers,

Anita thanks for the kifir link! I'm definitely going to give it a try.