My dog eats almost anything! It is not that I am complaining, I should be happy he is not a picky eater. But sometimes, I would worry if he eats something that it is not good for his health. One time, I brought a cream cheese pie and left it on the table. The next thing I know, the box is already broken, the pie was gone!
I know you would fret about discipline; My dog is quite umm…a handful! Well anyways, can dogs eat cream cheese? Do you think his tummy will be fine? 
Can Dogs Eat Cream Cheese? Is cream cheese bad for dogs?
The short answer to this question is YES. However, cream cheese definitely isn’t the healthiest option to give to your pup.
In reality, something as unnatural and heavily processed as cream cheese should be extremely limited in your dog’s diet if you want to really look after their health.
Why should we not feed our dogs with cream cheese?
As I searched, some other dairy products, boast in calcium and proteins but for cream cheese, it is not really a food that we can call healthy for our dogs. It significantly is very low in nutrients to be able to support our dog’s needs. Below are the reasons why we should stop feeding them cream cheese and divert to other nutritious food.
- Cream Cheese’s high level of fats can be a big health problem.
Feeding your dog too much fat can make him a high-risk of developing pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas. Although this disease is very easy to treat when acted upon at an early stage, this will cost your dog permanent organ or brain damage when neglected.
- Cream Cheese can cause obesity to your dog.
If your dog is one of that lucky pup who can tolerate lactose, it is highly advised that cream cheese has a high level of fat and calories. Feeding your dog with this can result in overweight or obesity. If your dog is overweight, he is at risk of a lot of health problems and will greatly reduce his lifespan. Here are the diseases associated with dog obesity:[one_half_first]ArthritisHigh blood pressure[/one_half_first][one_half_last]Heart and kidney diseases Some cancers[/one_half_last]Dogs are lactose intolerant.
Is it strange? The truth is, we humans are the only mammal that can drink milk until adulthood. The rest, as the study says, almost all of them has a certain level of lactose intolerance. Dogs and other mammals tend to lose their ability to digest lactose from the time they stopped drinking milk. This enzyme called lactase helps to break down lactose in our body nut, unfortunately, as mammals go old, the production of the said enzyme becomes lesser and lesser.
So when your dog ate the whole lot of cream cheese, expect that he will start to show discomfort and pain due to bloating, stomach pain and diarrhea associated with vomiting. There after, you would know the level of lactose intolerance of your pet.
What is lactose?
Lactose is sugar molecules in milk linked together chemically so that it could be digested. It needs to be separated or split apart into its several components. The enzyme lactase is the one responsible for breaking so when your dog does not have enough lactase, he is lactose intolerant.
If Cream Cheese is not a good choice, is there a substitute?
If your dog is really fond of cheese, you can give him an alternative to cream cheese. Cottage cheese is the closest substitute I can find. However, it has a low amount of fat and calories, high in protein content and helps in digestion.
Compared to cream cheese, it’s a light diet and healthier. Just in case your dog has eaten too much, there is no need to worry, cream cheese is not poisonous. Observe your dog, and offer some remedy when it upset its tummy.
If eating it directly is a poor choice, how about recipes that contains cream cheese?
Certainly, eating cream cheese directly is not healthy at all but there are a lot of food that contains cream cheese as one of the ingredients but is completely perfect for your dog’s meal. For example, this Cream Cheese and Honey Treats for a Dog Recipe is created to suit a dog’s diet. You can let your dog dig in! >> Or homemade cream cheese recipes for dogs:
Cottage cheese Tips:
+ Before feeding your dogs with different kind of foods (especially human food), try to weigh down the advantage and advantages, then you can decide after.
+ Before giving any food, check the level of lactose in any food that you give your dog. The lesser, the better, or none at all!
+ Dogs have a different level of lactose intolerance. It would be lucky for your if yours can handle and eat more food with dairy compared to others. Observe your dog’s limit.
+ Monitor your dog’s weight. If you have been constantly feeding him with cream cheese, you might as well give him exercise more than the usual frequency to prevent obesity.
Start a healthy diet for your dog, you can withdraw cream cheese in taking gradually from his favorite list of food and replace it with nutritious ones!
Here is a video showing us some healthy food alternatives for our dogs! So, can dogs eat cream cheese? Well, we have noted the above situations and the risks of giving them cream cheese. Maybe I can give my dog a little bit of his favorite cream cheese once in a while and I will just be alert for any signs of those risks mentioned earlier. It could be let’s say, considered as a dog treat when he won’t steal food anymore! But seriously, really, let us face the facts guys, cream cheese is not healthy for our fur baby. How about just forget about it and look for a more nutritious treat?
Well, the decision is your friends, your answer may be a YES, a NO or a little of both! I hope this article have given you information that you need. If you have friends who have the same question, you can share!