Most mammals get their nutrition from their mother's milk when they are first born, and dogs are naturally no exception. This has led many owners to the misconception that all dogs like to drink milk. But the fact is, milk is indeed a nutritious food, it is rich in protein and calcium, to strengthen the bones, we must have drunk a lot when we were young. But for dogs, drinking milk is not always beneficial.

I. Why is milk not recommended for dogs?

First of all, milk is not toxic to dogs, and for some dogs, small amounts of milk do help them get their protein and a range of minerals. The problem, however, is that many dogs can be lactose intolerant. Puppies can digest their mother's milk because they contain lactase, an enzyme that is essential for digesting the lactose in milk or breast milk.
However, as dogs grow older, the lactase enzyme in their bodies decreases, making them unable to digest the large amounts of lactose in milk, which is why they are lactose intolerant. In addition, milk is also rich in fat and natural sugar, and a high-fat diet can often lead to excessive obesity and even pancreatitis in dogs, which can cause recurrent vomiting, abdominal pain, and dehydration.
Dogs should not drink plain milk. Most dogs are intolerant to lactose and will not be easily absorbed; on the other hand, much pure milk contains xylitol, and the composition of xylitol can easily induce xylitol poisoning in dogs; pure milk also has some food additives and preservatives added to it, and these ingredients are likely to cause some irritation to dogs.

Pure milk can make dogs lactose intolerant

Pure milk generally contains a lot of sugar, and high lactose content, and the dog's body does not have the enzyme to break down lactose, a large amount of lactose will stimulate the dog's intestinal tract, so the dog drank the milk containing high sugar, will make the dog intolerant to lactose. At the same time, the protein particles of milk are too large, the dog milk drinks too much will also cause discomfort, digestion, and absorption.

If you want to give your dog to drink pure milk should also be fed in small amounts, no milk for the dog to try first, it is best to add a small amount, and observe the performance of the dog, the dog does not appear other problems, usually can be fed to the dog in small amounts, but do not feed it too much, which may also cause some burden on the dog's digestive tract. If the dog has a greater reaction to milk, you can choose to add pet milk or special goat milk powder for pets with lower lactose content, so that the dog may be better accepted.

Pure milk can cause xylitol toxicity in dogs

Some of the ingredients of pure milk will contain xylitol, xylitol ingredients are easy to induce xylitol poisoning in dogs, serious and may even lead to life-threatening dogs.

The human drink pure milk also has some food additives and preservatives added to it, which may irritate the dog's intestinal tract

II. Symptoms of lactose intolerance in dogs

When a dog is lactose intolerant, the following symptoms may occur.

Loose stools.

Abdominal pain.

Bloating of the stomach.

Repeated vomiting.

Diarrhea.

Due to the lack of lactase in the dog's intestine, lactose then goes directly to the end of the intestine and is fermented by microorganisms to produce gas, which leads to flatulence and even osmotic diarrhea. If a puppy develops diarrhea, the owner needs to take it to the vet promptly or it could be life-threatening.

Three: Which milk can owners replace milk with

Yogurt is much safer for dogs than cow's milk. The ingredients of yogurt come from milk as well, but they are fermented in a process that destroys the lactose inside, so dogs won't experience lactose intolerance when they drink yogurt. Not only that, but yogurt contains lactic acid bacteria, which are beneficial bacteria that can improve gastrointestinal function. Moreover, when dogs do not eat for a long time, stomach acid may slowly accumulate, and yogurt can neutralize some of the stomach acids and protect the stomach lining from erosion.

Also, yogurt contains potassium, a diuretic element that helps dogs to urinate properly and prevent stones. However, yogurt is not suitable for dogs with kidney disease or hyperkalemia. In addition, some yogurts on the market may have various ingredients added to them, some of which may be harmful to dogs, such as xylitol, chocolate, matcha, and so on. Therefore, it is best for owners to buy plain, unadulterated yogurt for their dogs and not to feed them too much at once.

Goat's Milk
Yogurt, milk, goat milk, which one can be given to dogs? Beware of a big disaster
Goat's milk contains more protein, minerals, and vitamins than cow's milk, and the lactose in goat's milk is very low, so the composition of goat's milk is similar to that of dog's milk, which makes it suitable for dogs' needs and easier for them to digest and absorb.

The digestibility of goat's milk is very high, almost 100% absorption, so dogs drinking goat's milk do not appear to drink milk diarrhea vomiting, pet owners can choose higher nutrition, more easily digested and absorbed goat's milk for dogs to drink.

If there is no fresh goat milk to choose from, you can choose some pet goat milk powder for dogs to drink, goat milk powder with calcium, protein, and other nutrients, and special probiotics added, nutrition more easily digested and absorbed.
What are the benefits of drinking goat's milk for dogs?

1, goat milk contains a large number of vitamin B, which can promote the dog's brain and intellectual development.

2, goat milk is rich in vitamin A, which can enhance the dog's immunity and promote development.

3銆丟oat milk has small fat globule cells and twice as high unsaturated fatty acids as cow's milk, which is easier to absorb.

4, goat milk contains 1.3 times more calcium than cow's milk, which can make your dog grow more robust.


What goat milk powder is better to choose?

1, choose the pet goat milk powder must choose some inspection report transparent, quality assurance brand.

2, high-quality dog goat milk powder, shiny texture, uniform size, while the more inferior dog goat milk powder, the size of the uneven.

IV. Can dogs drink milk at all stages?

Puppies.

Owners give their dogs pure milk, usually puppies, just bought back puppies or their dogs just born puppies, want to make the dog's nutrition better, grow faster, less sick, these puppies must not drink pure milk, because they were just born, the function of the intestinal tract is not yet very sound, and the intestinal flora is still unstable, the intestinal digestion of lactose enzymes than adult dogs, so puppies drink If puppies drink pure milk, their diarrhea is more serious because they are weaker and have not been vaccinated, so they have diarrhea or vomit and are most likely to "flip".

For adult dogs, vets also do not recommend giving them pure milk, because adult dogs do not need additional nutrition through milk as long as we provide them with reasonable nutritious food, so dogs will drink milk diarrhea, it is better not to drink.

The dog drank pure milk, lactose intolerance diarrhea owners should do?

Most dogs stop drinking pure milk, and then with reduced feeding, diarrhea will improve, especially in adult dogs, if the dog does not vomit, then it is not necessary to fast, because the dog's intestinal tract after food, to better stop diarrhea, it is not the same as other causes of diarrhea.
If the dog continues to have diarrhea, then you need to see if it is a "flip", with some anti-diarrheal drugs (cimetidine or probiotics or antibiotics)
What are the alternatives to giving your dog milk for nutrition?

Puppies.

Puppies if we want to give it milk, then you can choose the special goat milk powder for pets, goat milk powder inside almost no lactose, and is a special pet, more suitable for puppies' intestinal tract.
If you don't like pet goat milk powder expensive, then you can choose pet milk cake, this kind of dog food is specially designed for puppies leaving the breast, although the content of milk inside is not very high, but very much in line with the standard of breast milk, so puppies will not eat diarrhea.
We can also feed puppies with puppy food + a small amount of egg yolk, which can also meet their nutritional needs, it should be noted that the dog food must not be too cheap, because puppies originally eat less dog food, your nutrition and then bad, then the dog is malnourished.

Adult dogs.

You can choose milk without lactose or softened milk, which will be less stimulating for the dog's stomach and intestines.
Or you can choose yogurt for your dog to drink, which also can supplement calcium, but also help the digestive function of the dog's stomach. (There is no lactose in yogurt because lactose is fermented and broken down)
If you have the conditions, you can choose pet-specific milk, which breaks down the lactose in advance and can be absorbed normally by the dog.
Provide a rich diet, do not drink milk, such as dog food with some meat, such a combination is stronger than milk.

Older dogs.

Many people will give calcium to puppies and senior dogs through milk, but the calcium content inside milk is not very high, and the gastrointestinal absorption function of senior dogs is deteriorating, it is a little weaker to analyze and absorb lactose, so using milk to give calcium to dogs is not a good way.

We can give senior dogs calcium tablets containing joint maintenance to supplement calcium, and at the same time, it is a kind of protection for the joints of senior dogs.
Give yogurt to your dog to supplement calcium while increasing gastrointestinal motility and absorption efficiency, so that your senior dog's appetite increases.
Plain milk for puppies to get more nutrition? The most common mistakes made by novice dog owners
In fact, can dogs drink milk, can dogs eat chicken bones, can they eat leftovers, can they eat chicken liver is the same reason, it is not a question of whether they can eat, but we want to raise dogs scientifically, this feeding method is not scientific, there is no better alternative than this.