Do you often give your dog Cheese? Just like us humans, many dogs also love it because it’s yum! But can dogs eat cheese? Let’s find out. Won’t you have a watery mouth and a strong craving to eat cheese whenever you spot it in your refrigerator or on the dining table? Definitely yes! 

Cheese has been one of the finest and the most demanded addition to the snacks or any food you eat. It fits everywhere and gives an utmost satisfaction after consuming. But have you ever thought about whether or not dogs like cheese? Or, whether dogs have the same craving for cheese as we have? If cheese is a nourishing treat for humans, can it be the same for dogs too? Keep reading for answers.

Also, read Can Dogs Eat Avocado?

can dogs eat cheese Image Source@ hillspet.com

Is Cheese Safe For Dogs? 

Dogs can eat cheese but it leads to the thoughts of many health concerns too. Cheese isn’t safe for every dog, and not every type of cheese is edible by an individual dog. The statement seems to be tricky, doesn’t it? Don’t panic! Just keep reading and by the time you reach our conclusion part, you yourself will have the answers ready with you. 

Is Cheese Good For Dogs? 

Cheese has got several health benefits. It’s packed with many nutritional values like Vitamin A, B-12, K-2, as well as calcium, protein, phosphorus, and omega-3 fatty acids. Hence, it’s a great element of food that can meet our daily dose of nutritional needs. But what’s good for us is not necessarily healthy for dogs too. Dogs can easily get this above-mentioned nutrition from their daily diet and dog food itself, so there’s no specific need of feeding them cheese. 

However, cheese can be very effective if you want to feed your dogs some medicines or pills. You can just wrap the pill with the cheese, and the taste and craving for the cheese will make the dogs eat them. Secondly, you can use cheese as a high-value treat for training dogs. Summing up the question, cheese is good and safe for dogs but only if it’s fed in small proportion, in moderation, and should abide by all the important instructions. 

How Is Cheese Unsafe For Dogs? 

It is as important to know about the ill effects of the cheese as it is to know about their benefits. Concerns about cheese for our beloved dogs are: 

• Cheese can be high in fat: 

Not all but most of the cheese are rich in fats and can be highly responsible for pancreatitis in your dog if it consumes fatty cheese too much. Fats in the cheese also contribute to the formation of cholesterol, obesity, and can lead to heart problems. 

• Cheese can be high in salt: 

Cheese is rich in salt too and thus can be very harmful to your dog’s health. Dog’s consuming too much cheese that is rich in salt, can lead them to health hazards like diarrhea, vomiting, intensive thirst, lack of energy, etc. Besides such health risks, the major issue that a dog can suffer from is kidney dysfunction like a failure in salt dilution. 

• Cheese can have food additives:

Cheese companies maximize the addition of food additives and preservatives to bring out a perfect deliciousness in their products. The addition of chives, onions, garlic, nuts, and food colors can be very harmful to a dog’s health as their digestive system is not of the same potential as that of humans. They can find it difficult to digest such hefty ingredients. Hence make sure to go through the ingredients checklist on the packet before buying the cheese. 

• Your dog might be lactose intolerant: 

For those who are unaware, let me remind you that cheese is a dairy product and dairy products are problematic to digest and especially for those digestive systems that secrete lesser concentrated digestive enzymes. The point is, ensure your dog is not suffering from any kind of digestive breakdown and upset stomach, else they may suffer from serious health issues.

Give your dogs small cubes of cheese at first and notice them for a day. If you find any change in their bathroom routines or signs of an upset stomach, that means your dog is lactose intolerant, which in simple terms means the dog is finding it uneasy and difficult to digest a dairy product ( here it’s cheese). 

Cheese has different varieties and so they have different tastes, health benefits, and different side-effects as well.

Let’s have a look at what type of cheese can be the safest for your dog.

1. Cottage Cheese:

Cottage cheese is one of the safest and healthiest cheeses from the dog’s perspective. It has less salt content and fat content. Cottage Cheese contains a good amount of proteins and vitamins, that are beneficial for a dog’s health.

2. Low-Fat and Plain Cheese: 

Plain and low-fat cheese are generally free from toxic food additives and colors and therefore won’t harm the dogs on a large scale. However, it is necessary to have control in feeding this cheese too because it too contains some amount of salts and has high-calorie composition, unlike cottage cheese. Therefore, it should be fed infrequently and in smaller amounts. 

Some other edible cheeses are Mozzarella, young cheddar cheese, and string cheese. 

Some varieties of cheese can be very harmful to your dogs. Hence it’s important to know their names and eliminate them immediately from the list of your dog’s treats. These are listed below:

• Blue Cheese 
• Ripe Mouldy Cheese 
• Roquefort 
• Stilton 

Final Tips Before You Start Feeding Your Dog Cheese: 

• Even though some of the cheese is safe for your dogs, you should feed them only in small proportions and occasionally.
• Contact your vet to be sure that you’re not mistaken about the cheese quantity that you are going to serve your dog. 
• Dogs with digestive health issues should be kept away from cheese. Also, read Can Dogs Eat Corn?

Final Thoughts: 

Cheese should generally make only a small percentage of a dog’s diet and should be fed in moderation. It is very important to know the side effects of every variety of cheese along with its benefits. Being a dog parent, you won’t wish to put their life at risk just for the sake of feeding them something new. 

So as you have got your answers and a handful of safety measures alongside you, it’s now time to give it a try. Feed your dogs cheese and let us know about their reaction after they ate it.

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