 The Short Answer is: |
If you keep a few things in mind, most dogs will be able to eat blueberry yogurt safely. First of all, you shouldn’t give it to your dog if you know they are lactose intolerant. The second thing you should do if you are looking for a sugar-free variety has checked the ingredients to make sure they don’t contain xylitol- |
The purpose of this article is to explain “Can dogs eat blueberry yogurt?“.
If you keep a few things in mind most dogs will be able to eat blueberry yogurt safely.
First of all you should not give it to your dog if you know they are lactose intolerant.
The second thing you should do if you are looking for a sugar-free variety has checked the ingredients to make sure they do not contain xylitol- I will explain more about this later.
In this article I review three top brands of blueberry yogurt and none of them pose a risk to your dog.
Only feed your dog very limited amounts of yogurt if you can.
They can be fed more beneficial human foods.
So what good can a teaspoon or two of blueberry yogurt do for your dog?
What do you think? Lets find out.
Three brands of blueberry yogurt: Yoplait Activia and Chobani
If I do not know exactly what kind of yogurt people are searching for and buying then I have no point in writing an article about blueberry yogurt.
As a result I will focus on three popular brands of yogurt each of which makes a blueberry variety.
Chobani Yoplait and Activia make up these three brands.
Yoplait blueberry yogurt
Yoplait makes several dozen different flavors of yogurt and I suspect there are several variations of blueberry yogurt.
I chose Mountain Blueberry from their “Original Single Serve Range.”
My next post will provide more details about the nutrition of this yogurt for your dog. For now I want to emphasize that there are no toxic chemicals in it.
The ingredients are Reduced Fat Milk Sugar Blueberries Water Modified Corn Starch.
Contains 1% or less of the following ingredients: Corn Starch Tricalcium Phosphate Pectin Natural Flavor Vitamin A Acetate Vitamin D3.
150 calories are contained in each 170g pot.
The full details can be found here.
Activia blueberry yogurt
From their range of low-fat yogurts with fruit I have selected blueberry yogurt.
Here are the ingredients: Reduced Fat Milk Cane Sugar Blueberry Puree Water Modified Food Starch.
Less than 1% Milk Protein Concentrate Kosher Gelatin Agar-Agar Natural Flavors Lactic Acid Calcium Lactate Milk Calcium Vitamin D3.
Lastly this yogurt does not contain any toxins that are harmful to your dog.
The 120 g pots contain 90 calories each.
All of these details can be found here.
Chobani blueberry yogurt
Last but not least Chobani whose blueberry yogurt is Greek yogurt.
Ingredients include nonfat milk blueberries cane sugar water fruit pectin locust bean gum natural flavors and lemon juice concentrate.
The 150g pots contain 110 calories each.
Details are available here.
Chobani uses only natural ingredients in its yogurt which is different from Activia and Yoplait.
Activia and Yoplait both use modified corn starch and add vitamin D3 to their yogurts while Chobani does not.
In some yogurts modified corn starch is used as a thickener.
Can dogs eat blueberry Greek yogurt?
Based on my comparisons the answer to this question is “yes dogs can eat blueberry greek yogurt”.
Due to its use of only natural ingredients I believe it to be the most desirable blueberry yogurt in my comparison.
Now that we have examined the ingredients in individual yogurts lets take a look at how these ingredients may affect your dog.
What are the main ingredients in blueberry yogurt?
Live bacteria
Despite not listing live bacteria in the ingredients each of these yogurts contains live bacteria.
These may be the most beneficial ingredients in these yogurts.
Probiotics or live bacteria are microorganisms that live in a dogs digestive system and help it function effectively.
In order to do this they boost the good bacteria in the stomach and reduce the bad ones
However I want to make two important points.
If your dog is fit healthy and eats a well-balanced diet then they probably do not need this additional support since their digestive system should function normally.
If you have an older or more vulnerable dog whose digestive system would benefit from some probiotics then adding natural yogurt to their diet is a great idea.
They do not need flavor-infused yogurts with probiotics!
Milk
All of these yogurts contain milk as their primary ingredient.
The good news is that all of the yogurts contain reduced-fat milk.
Adding a little milk to a dogs diet every now and then is okay as long as they are not lactose intolerant.
The true number of lactose-intolerant dogs is unknown but it appears to be a small fraction.
Vitamins B2 and B12 essential for energy levels in dogs are found in milk which is a good source of nutrition.
It contains lots of calcium but it also contains phosphorus which helps build strong bones and teeth.
Sugar
Another important ingredient in all three yogurts.
Donot be fooled by the talk of cane sugar.
Ultimately sugar is sugar.
Calorie-rich but nutritionally worthless.
This is just as bad for a dogs teeth as it is for their waistline.
Blueberries
Dogs can eat blueberries without getting sick.
Despite the 10% sugar content they are also quite high in dietary fiber.
Vitamins C and K are among the vitamins your dog will get from eating some.
When it comes to dogs vitamin C and vitamin K are interesting because fit and healthy dogs do not need them in their diet since these vitamins are made naturally in the body.
Three thickeners
Between them these three yogurts use three different kinds of thickeners to turn the texture from milk to well yogurt.
Even though these ingredients have questionable nutritional value they are not toxic to dogs.
Modified food starch/ corn starch
The nutritional value of this ingredient is very low.
Adding it gives the texture a thicker appearance.
The vast majority of food starch is derived from corn (which isnot bad) which is heat-treated to extract the starch.
Pectin
Yet another thickener but this one is derived from fruit not corn.
Locust bean gum
The seeds of the carob tree provide our final thickener.
The dangers of xylitol
The good news is that sugar would not kill dogs even if it is bad for them.
This cannot be said about a sugar substitute that is used in many foods including yogurts.
You need not worry only one sugar substitute can cause serious harm to your dog.
Xylitol is what it is.
Foods are sweetened with sugar but it comes at the cost of calories.
Sweet and low in calories Xylitol is a great alternative to sugar.
Unfortunately your dog will be poisoned and may die if they ingest it.
Checking online I havenot found a blueberry yogurt that contains xylitol- but that does not mean that they do not exist.
Poisoning your dog with it isnot hard.
The problem is no one knows how much of it is in any product be it yogurt chewing gum or peanut butter.
The only way to be safe is to check the ingredient list of every sugar-free product that you purchase.
Donot buy it then do not buy it.
Find out what xylitol does to your dogs body the symptoms to look for etc. by reading this article.
What is the right yogurt to feed my dog?
Natural or plain yogurt is the best yogurt to feed your dog.
As a result it should be flavorless and very low in sugar.
You should be able to give your dog the benefits of the probiotics that it contains without ingesting any unnecessary additives.
If you want to add fruit such as blueberries then purchase a pack and add a few.
You can also feed your dog Greek yogurt as an alternative.
Compared to plain yogurt Greek yogurt contains more milk which makes it creamier and more calorie-dense.
The calories should not be an issue since you should only be feeding your dog yogurt in very moderate amounts (not more than a few teaspoons at a time).
Amanda (Author)
With over a decade of experience, Amanda is a distinguished dog trainer. Her expertise in canine behavior has transformed countless lives, fostering harmonious human-canine connections. Through compassionate and personalized approaches, she empowers owners to understand and connect with their furry companions, creating a legacy of joyful tails and transformed lives.
Osvaldo Maciel (Content Reviewer)
Osvaldo Maciel, a stalwart in the field with 14 years of experience, is a revered dog trainer. His journey is defined by a profound understanding of canine behavior, shaping unbreakable human-canine bonds. Osvaldo guides owners to connect with their beloved pets, leaving an indelible mark of happiness and transformation. His legacy shines through the countless lives he has touched.
