Cow’s Milk Is Not Good For Puppies
In the popular imagination, we often see the image of a puppy, whether a cat or a dog, drinking a plate of milk.
However, we must understand that cow’s milk is not a suitable food to meet your nutritional needs.
Next, we’ll look at why milk and dairy products can pose a risk to your pet’s health. Even if we want to choose a type of milk, we must know how to select the most suitable one.
Can dogs drink milk? What about cats?
Many dog and cat owners wonder if they can offer milk to their four-legged friends. Or if this food could harm your digestive system and, consequently, your health.
We must remember that lactose has gained “a bad name” in recent years. According to this, is cow’s milk good or bad for kittens and puppies?
To answer this question, we must first understand that the nutritional needs of animals change as their bodies develop.
A newborn puppy has totally different nutritional needs than an adult dog or a weaned puppy.
And the same goes for cats and other mammals… during breastfeeding, breast milk is the only ideal food to meet all the nutritional needs of puppies.
To meet this need, at this stage of their lives, puppies and kittens produce a large amount of an enzyme called “lactase”.
Its main function is to digest the lactose molecules present in breast milk.
However, when the puppy goes through the weaning period, lactase production gradually decreases.
Here, too, there is a dietary transition that all mammals experience during childhood, when they stop taking breast milk and begin to experiment with other foods.
This is one of the most important transformations that a puppy’s small organism undergoes to prepare for adulthood and be able to feed independently.
Lactose intolerant dogs and cats
When the puppy completes its weaning, its body produces lactase at very low levels (or nil, in many cases).
This means that your body is already prepared to “let go” of breast milk and eat other types of food.
In fact, these changes are based on a transition in your development. Therefore, we should never abruptly alter a puppy’s diet.
On the other hand, little or no lactase presence in your body also causes your inability to properly digest lactose.
That is, most dogs and cats become lactose intolerant after weaning is over.
For all these reasons, the consumption of cow’s milk (or other mammals’ milk) can cause serious digestive problems, such as diarrhea, vomiting, allergies, etc.
An animal’s diet must always respect the capabilities, limits and needs of its own body.
And the best way to provide your best friend with complete, balanced nutrition is with the professional guidance of a veterinarian.
Can I offer cow’s milk to puppies?
It is essential to emphasize that cow’s milk has a very different composition from that of a female dog or a female cat.
For all that, and in puppies that produce high levels of lactase, cow’s milk can cause digestive disturbances.
In addition, it is vital that puppies remain with their mother during their first few months of life.
Not only to eat correctly, but also to develop their senses, their physical and cognitive abilities.
The mother is responsible for “introducing” the world to her children for the first time safely; in addition to teaching them to survive on their own and to interact with the environment and with others.
The best thing to do, before adopting a new best friend, is to respect their weaning period.
A dog or cat prematurely separated from its mother may have learning and socialization difficulties.
Also, your immune system is generally weaker, so it becomes more vulnerable to numerous diseases.
If, for some reason, we need to adopt a puppy that is still nursing, we can look for a ‘wet nurse’.
Or if you ca n’t find a mommy dog or kitten to feed you, there is also the possibility of offering formulas.
At veterinary clinics and pet stores, we’ll find powdered infant formula.
But it is also possible to make them at home, using low-lactose cow or goat milk.
