# Can small amounts of yogurt cause loose stools?



## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Hello...Everything I've read says that even dogs that are lactose intolerant can normally handle yogurt. I put in a teaspoon of lowfat vanilla yogurt with live cultures to my dog's kibble for every meal (breeder's suggestion for aiding in digestion)) but I'm wondering that if maybe he's lactose intolerant and that this may be causing his soft stools? I switched from the C. Natural chicken and rice dog kibble to the lamb and rice formula to see if that helps but I'm also wondering if maybe I should also eliminate the yogurt...?


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## CorgiKarma (Feb 10, 2009)

I would go with *plain*, non-fat yogurt. It should regulate the digestive system, not upset it. If he keeps having issues, try every other day.


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## Northern_Inuit_Luv (Aug 26, 2009)

def only give plain, but I only give the regular....the low-fat and non-fat stuff have other sweetners and stuff added to make it good for us to enjoy. Dogs don't need that extra stuff.


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## CorgiKarma (Feb 10, 2009)

If you go with natural or organic I do not believe it contains any added falor/sweetener. It's actually quite tasteless.


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## tonisaysss (Jan 18, 2010)

the added sugar/sweetener/splenda/etc. could easily contribute to loose stools.

plain, fat-free yogurt without any sugar additives are best.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Kimrisa why are you changing his food AGAIN? You're not taking the excellent advice givin to you. I know in several responses to your GI issue threads. It has been mentione PLAIN yogurt... not flavored, you've also been told to keep him on the same food for at least a month by myself as well as other learned people here. You're not doing your pup any good with these constant diet changes and incorrect additives. If you really want to help your pup PLEASE follow the advice given specifically and accurately or you're just going to make matters worse and not better. You have an english bulldog... they have VERY sensitive digestive tracts, you really NEED to give one cure a good chance before changing things yet again. Even the vet will tell you a month on food before considering it not helpful or harmful.


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Just to clarify-- I have NOT made any dietary changes regarding yogurt--the breeder had him on vanilla dannon yogurt and I've been followign that protocol. I was just wondering if maybe that was part of his issues. As for the food, I am staying with the same brand of california natural, just transitoning to the lamb and rice which is supposedly easier on the digestive system.


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## mrslloyd09 (Jul 12, 2009)

I would think that the vanilla might be a little too I guess rich is the word, maybe too sweet. Right now my girls get Nancy's Plain Organic yogurt. Mandie had a tummy upset o Monday so I upped how much I was giving her and she is right as rain again.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

kimrisa said:


> As for the food, I am staying with the same brand of california natural, just transitoning to the lamb and rice which is supposedly easier on the digestive system.


OK Maybe I'm confused here but how is that not changing her food?


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Actually, full-fat yoghurt is better than low fat, just because some companies use artificial sugars like aspartame for low fat versions.. some of these sugars are poisonous to dogs. Just check the ingredients at the back of the yoghurt carton, the less ingredients, the better. 

If the yoghurt is sweetened, make sure they use something like fructose or sugar. Cadence does fine on flavoured (fresh fruit), sweetened yoghurt. I only give him one or two teaspoons a day anyway.


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## tonisaysss (Jan 18, 2010)

the moment i stopped feeding my pup yogurt with her meals, her stools firmed right up. 

as stated above, stop changing foods. slowly work your way into your current food and stop with the flavored and sugary additives unless it's canned pumpkin or green beans.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

well anway, im not going to get into anything else but to feed or not feed yogurt here. in your case, what you may want to do is buy some probiotics. they have a cheaper brand that i use on my dogs and my horses that works very well, its called Probios. you can get it at a tack shop, tractor supply i believe has it, etc. its much cheaper than buying it "specially made for dogs!" and all that jazz. its the same crap just cheaper!


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

Dog_Shrink said:


> OK Maybe I'm confused here but how is that not changing her food?


ok i did just want to comment on this little thing here. shes sticking with the same brand of food, just a different "flavor" if you will. is what she means. i do this all the time. my dogs are on taste of the wild, but i switch between the wetlands, prairie, and other "formulas" (if you like that word better!) all the time. one of my girls has a cast iron stomach so i never worry about her, the other is know to get booty blowout (diarrhea.... its just our way of saying it lol) the minute she LOOKS at something she shouldnt eat. shes so sensitive. as long as i stay with the same brand, im fine. the ingredients are mostly the same, just the meat sources are different.

tonisaysss- why all the sudden are green beans and pumpkin fine, but nothing else?? i understand pumpkin- i use it on my girls when there is a case of booty blowout. but whats your reasoning for green beans?


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

I understand the whole same brand thing but for this case switching protein sources is going to be a big deal. Like your blowout girl. Hopefully she sticks with this variety for more than 2 weeks.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

Dog_Shrink said:


> I understand the whole same brand thing but for this case switching protein sources is going to be a big deal. Like your blowout girl. Hopefully she sticks with this variety for more than 2 weeks.


ah see i havnt been following her posts or anything (im just getting back to the forum after a loooong time away, so im not exactly "up to par" on everything going on lol) i didnt know it had only been 2 weeks!

in this case, i have to very much agree! do not keep changing the food like this. youre doing a lot more damage than good. 2 weeks is not long enough to be determining to change yet or not. you need to give the dog time to adjust and settle with this food before you haul off on another. and if you have a dog who is sensitive like this one, i possibly would suggest it at all. how would you like if everytime you tried something different your butt went whacko?? not fun.


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## Northern_Inuit_Luv (Aug 26, 2009)

lucidity said:


> Actually, full-fat yoghurt is better than low fat, just because some companies use artificial sugars like aspartame for low fat versions.. some of these sugars are poisonous to dogs. Just check the ingredients at the back of the yoghurt carton, the less ingredients, the better.
> 
> If the yoghurt is sweetened, make sure they use something like fructose or sugar. Cadence does fine on flavoured (fresh fruit), sweetened yoghurt. I only give him one or two teaspoons a day anyway.


Thanks! I knew there was a reason, and couldn't think of it or find the answer...I know I read it in one of my raw books.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Ive heard both ways, that it can help or cause diarrhea depending on the dog. I'd switch to plain yogurt without a bunch of "stuff" added. Could the pup be sensitive to corn? Many flavored (and a whole lot of plain ones too!) yogurts contain corn. 

My 11 month old Saint loves his yogurt. I usually go through a 32oz container of Dannon All Natural Plain every week to week and a half. Buster has a corn allergy and ends up with severe diarrhea if he ingests any, we havent had any issues with diarrhea just due to the yogurt.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Yogurt does not contain corn.. where'd you see that? Maybe high fructose corn syrup is what you meant. 

"Ingredients
Although milk of various animals has been used for yogurt production in various parts of the world, most of the industrialized yogurt production uses cow's milk. Whole milk, partially skimmed milk, skim milk or cream may be used. In order to ensure the development of the yogurt culture the following criteria for the raw milk must be met:
low bacteria count 
free from antibiotics, sanitizing chemicals, mastitis milk, colostrum, and rancid milk 
no contamination by bacteriophages
Other yogurt ingredients may include some or all of the following:
Other Dairy Products: concentrated skim milk, nonfat dry milk, whey, lactose. These products are often used to increase the nonfat solids content
Sweeteners: glucose or sucrose, high-intensity sweeteners (e.g. aspartame)
Stabilizers: gelatin, carboxymethyl cellulose, locust bean Guar, alginates, carrageenans, whey protein concentrate
Flavours
Fruit Preparations: including natural and artificial flavouring, colour" From the University of Guelph

read the facts on yogurt here

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T045700.asp

even people and animals that are lactose intolerent often deal perfectly fine with natural yogurt. Yogurt is easier to digest than milk.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Dog_Shrink said:


> Yogurt does not contain corn.. where'd you see that? Maybe high fructose corn syrup is what you meant.


I read labels  Not sure what brand at the moment, Ive read many, many labels since bringing Buster home. And, no, it was not high fructose corn syrup...though I avoid that as well.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Northern_Inuit_Luv said:


> Thanks! I knew there was a reason, and couldn't think of it or find the answer...I know I read it in one of my raw books.


Lol, no problem! I think most low fat stuff is only marketed for humans anyway... people who love eating sweet stuff but don't want to gain weight. I've read articles on dogs eating a piece of chewing gum and dying from it because of all the artificial sugars that are used in them.. If I'm not mistaken, sorbitol was the one that is toxic.. It's been a while since I read the article though, I could be wrong.

*edit* found it! It's xylitol that's toxic.. but just to be safe I never, ever give Cadence anything with artificial sugar in it.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

ive never seen any yogurt with corn in it......


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks, Toni. Full fat yogurt is actually hard to find! I'm stopping yogurt for a while and not adding anything to the kibble right now to let his system regulate. I'm just feeding the dog food and we'll see how it goes! So far his stools are firming up!


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## Northern_Inuit_Luv (Aug 26, 2009)

kimrisa said:


> Thanks, Toni. Full fat yogurt is actually hard to find! I'm stopping yogurt for a while and not adding anything to the kibble right now to let his system regulate. I'm just feeding the dog food and we'll see how it goes! So far his stools are firming up!


the only full fat plain yogurt I can find is the Dannon all natural. I actually had to request it at my store, and now it seems like they only order a small box and it goes quickly, so I usually buy a whole bunch everytime i see it.


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks for the support, Great Dane Mom! It means a lot. The whole reason I made the change was because it was C. Natural and the pet consultant at the organic pet food store said that a gradual change from chicken and rice to Lamb and rice would most likely not cause any issues since I'm staying with the same brand of pet food. This decision wasn't made lightly or impulsively. And really I knew in my gut that if nearly a month has passed with no improvement that this formula of food just probably isn't right for him so what is the point of prolonging his misery? So far there has been no gastric upset as I've been transitioning to the lamb and rice and I'm actually seeing improvements. 

I understand dog's shrink's concerns but I am NOT constantly changing up the food. I tried adding pumpkin once or twice and one time I added oatmeal and that's it! It's been the same dog food all along until this week, and it's a slow transition. I didn't just stop the old food cold turkey. I don't know why there is this misconception that I keep giving the pup new foods?Because I'm asking questions? The yogurt was part of the diet from day one. I honsestly just have posted these questions to this forum because I'm trying to figure out what might be causing these issues. There are so many people on this group who are so knowledgable about dog's digestive tracks and I really appreciate the input but I didn't mean to start a debate. Believe me, I'm not messing with the poor guy!! So for now it's just dog kibble...no yogurt, no pumpkin, no green beans. Nothing!

Again...I appreciate all the help that everyone has offered. It has been invaluable!!


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## CorgiKarma (Feb 10, 2009)

lucidity said:


> Actually, full-fat yoghurt is better than low fat, just because some companies use artificial sugars like aspartame for low fat versions.. some of these sugars are poisonous to dogs. Just check the ingredients at the back of the yoghurt carton, the less ingredients, the better.
> 
> If the yoghurt is sweetened, make sure they use something like fructose or sugar. Cadence does fine on flavoured (fresh fruit), sweetened yoghurt. I only give him one or two teaspoons a day anyway.





Northern_Inuit_Luv said:


> Thanks! I knew there was a reason, and couldn't think of it or find the answer...I know I read it in one of my raw books.


If it is a natural or organic low-fat or non-fat yogurt it will not contain artificial sweeteners! I use low-fat and no where on the label does it list any sort of sweetener.


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestion. I couldn't believe when I looked on the label of my lowfat organic vanilla yogurt that it had 26 grams of sugar! I'll definitely look for full or notfat yogurt with no sugar/sweetners added.


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## mrslloyd09 (Jul 12, 2009)

kimrisa said:


> Thanks for the suggestion. I couldn't believe when I looked on the label of my lowfat organic vanilla yogurt that it had 26 grams of sugar! I'll definitely look for full or notfat yogurt with no sugar/sweetners added.


It's usually the flavoring that adds to it. If you can find plain, that will help.


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## Rottiesareus (Jan 24, 2010)

I also would go with the plain yougart, I buy the plain prganic yougart because my puppy has gas BAD.. it hasnt effected her stool but it has helped with her gas issues. I put 1tsp in her food 2xs a day.


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