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Is it ok to give milk?

ruby2

Well-known member
From the day ruby came home as a puppy she never really liked water to drink. She will only drink a very small amount of it.

This evening for example she had a bowl of water and didnt touch it. Now i usually just leave her. But tonight i just said i would try it and put down some warm water with a little bit of milk in it to colour it. She drank the full bowl of it!!!! im saying to myself now that maybe she hasnt had enough fluids with the last number of weeks. She has some water etc in her food in the line of gravy or water in her potatoes and meat to wet it a bit and she drinks a little water out of the bowl. She wees fine so i presume she is getting enough. i have been told before that milk gives the dogs worms? Is it really a no no or will it not do her any harm. Its not full milk, just a little in the water to colour it??????
 
Ive not heard milk giving pups worms :confused:...... cows milk can upset their tums but goats milk is ok. I have given it to weaning pups without any problem and they loved it. Mine now get goats yoghurt , which they love.
 
Dogs don't have the enzymes to break down the lactose in milk, this means that the lactose remains undigested and can gather in the intestine and cause diarrhea(sp?). Appearently you can get a special milk for dogs which has the lactose removed. I would stop giving her milk right away or you will have no chance getting her to drink water! :)
 
<<Dogs don't have the enzymes to break down the lactose in milk>>

This is true for many dogs, but some retain the bacteria in the gut that can break it down. If a dog is fed small amounts of milk products it's whole life (and shows no tummy upsets/allergies), it has likely retained the bacteria and the small amount of milk products are OK. Still, I prefer goat milk products as it's easier to break down.
 
Milk (and it shouldn't really be cow's milk) an be Ok now and then, but isn't a substitute for water. Most dogs don't drink huge amounts of water but fresh water should always be available for them. Most drink when you aren't really noticing anyway. I don't tend to see my dogs or cats drinking water, but they go through a bowl a day nonetheless.

Giving a small amount of milk occasionally is fine. Keep in mind that while some dogs are fine with a small bit of dairy, dairy products, including yoghurt, are among the top things dogs are allergic to according to allergy research at UC Davis (I've always thought it odd that people get worried about grains, yet advocate giving yoghurt! Allergies overall are not so common that grains or yoghurt/cheese needs to be totally avoided).

IMHO an entire bowl of water mixed with milk is an awful lot of liquid at once; she is just going to have to pee it all out a couple of times over the next few hours. Also be cautious about large amounts of liquid -- dogs can get bloat -- second major cause of canine death after cancer -- from drinking too much at once, especially if they have just eaten.

I'd advise just keeping water available and let Ruby drink as and when she wants. Dogs are pretty good about drinking what they need.
 
i have a dog that doesnt drink very much either.
dont worry . she will drink if she is thirsty!
 
A fellow Cavalier buddy had her dog in the hospital for several days with a very upset tummy....think he ate some toxic berries. Her doctor said he was dehydrated and she needed to encourage him to drink water. She suggested a few drops of chicken broth in the water...it worked wonders. I'll keep this tip in mind should I ever need to encourage more liquid intake. In general mine will drink when they're thirsty without encouragement.
 
I give my dogs goats milk a couple of times a week, but only because I have a good, inexpensive supply and my dogs love it!!!! I don't generally give cows milk, as some dogs can't tolerate it, but so far I've never had a dog who's had a problem with fresh, unprocessed goats milk.
 
Thanks for all the advise. As you said she must have been drinking some of the water. I always have fresh water out for ruby. She is weeing so she must have been drinking something. When i said she drank the whole bowl of the water with the milk in it. It was a baby bowl that she had as a baby. Not a huge one. I have water out again for her today, as i always do. Ill keep an eye on it and see how much is going out of that bowl.
 
I used to have a jack russell that would only drink water if it was slightly warm. Gus is not a big water drinker but drinks when he is thirsty.
 
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