# Squirt Cheese?



## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

At Petsmart I saw these little cans of squirt-able Kong filling. Looked like a really neat idea! However, I wasn't too impressed by the ingredients and it's REALLY expensive. It made me think.. Hey, why don't I just use some of that squirt cheese? It'd be much cheaper, no grains, and I give Basil cheese all the time. Heck, even the vet had a can of squirt cheese on hand and gave some to Basil when he was getting his blood drawn. If the vet uses it, that's a good sign, right? Plus, I can eat it on crackers, too, lol! 

Well, I got home from the grocery store, eager to try out my new idea, and made Basil a cheesy Kong and myself a plate of cheesy crackers. While I was eating them, I noticed that they taste pretty salty... I looked at the can and noticed that it says there is 430mg of Sodium. Is that too much to be healthy for Basil? I don't intend on giving him a whole can per day, just a squirt in his Kong about the size of my thumb each day. Does that sound okay? Or should I just stick to real cheese? I got Kraft Easy Cheese, and it was the only brand of squirt cheese that Tom Thumb carries, but are there any more natural brands of cheese that I can buy elsewhere that don't contain so much sodium? Thanks in advance for replying.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I always give low sodium cheese if it's like cottage cheese because I don't like the high salt content. I'm pretty sure it's fine but it's just my preference to have less salt in Nia's diet. I think regular cheese would work a little better. I've used cream cheese before as well with lots of success for kongs.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

An adult human should get less than 2,400 mg of sodium a day, with around 1,500 mg being more the "recommended" amount. Too little is ALSO bad in a healthy person. 

Salt is lost through either sweat or urine, especially sweat during heavy exercise which is why Gatorade/powerade have sodium and potassium in them, and since dogs don't sweat, that leaves only urine for them to rid excess salt. 

That said, with enough water, salt will naturally be flushed through a mammal's system. I'd check the serving size to make sure you know how many mg you're actually feeding and keep an eye out to see if he goes through a lot more water than usual. I'd cut back on the cheese if he starts to drink a LOT (especially since that means he'll have to pee a LOT  )


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## infiniti (Mar 19, 2010)

Shell said:


> since dogs don't sweat


Dogs actually do sweat, through the merocrine glands in their foot pads.

However, they do not sweat with the intensity that humans do, and the purpose of the sweating is not to regulate body temperature as is the purpose in humans. They, of course, regulate their body temperature through panting.

With that said, since they don't sweat profusely, excess salt is best eliminated from their bodies through urination, which is why it is best not to give dogs too much salt in the first place.

I agree that the Kong stuffing is pretty pricey and was thinking of getting some of the squirt cheese too. I don't buy it normally (I think it's ewww!), so I am glad you posted this. I typically read all ingredient labels for stuff I give to Bella (not so much for stuff I buy for my human family ), and I wonder what is a "safe" amount of salt for dogs to ingest? I've pretty much gone on the theory of "very little to no salt" for my dog.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

infiniti said:


> Dogs actually do sweat, through the merocrine glands in their foot pads.


I was of the understanding that if a dog was heated to the point that he was sweating from his paw pads, that he was seriously overheated and in danger of heat stroke. So basically it shouldn't ever get to where the dog is sweating there. Whereas, in a human, sweating is good and its when a human STOPS sweating during hard exercise or high heat that its a sign of heat stroke.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

My 38 pound dog _needs_ all of 150 mg sodium a day. If you were filling the kong that might be an ounce of cheese, how much is a serving size? Most dogs can handle more sodium than they need. Max is currently feeding through 160 mg a serving enhanced pork with no problems so far. He is eating 2.5 servings a day I think. Forgot to see how many ounces in a serving!


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