Hi all

as I am writing this I expect it will be a stupid question, but I'd rather ask anyway!

My dog, as much as I love him has always been a bit of a freak! (Although he's daft because of the way he's been brought up!) and goes through stages of not eating, and eating loads, he's always been like it, and is fit and healthy - it appears though that he loves weetabix and milk afte my niece gave him hers. I just wanted to know if too much milk can make them ill, as we've never seen him so excited about food as he was about weetabix, so were thinkin about giving it him when he's going through his "I'm too good for tinned dog food" stage which he often does!

I know it sounds daft, but he's not had milk since he was a pup, and I don't want to give him something that can make him poorly!

I would use water with the weetabix and then add just a bit of milk.

If he hasn't reacted in any adverse way to the milk, or the weetabix, so far, then I shouldn't worry, Joraffe. It can't really hurt him.

My old dog who's now 15:- his favourite treats are to (as I call it) "Quality Control" the leavings from the pot of yogurt and remnants of the cereal I had for my breakfast. It's never done him any harm.

Thanks, I know it sounds silly, but we've never really given him anything other than dog meat (apart from the odd treats/leftover meats from Sunday roasts) but because he seems to really like the weetabix, we were talking about giving it him more often to try and get him into a routine of eating regularly rather than his erratic eating habits he's had over the years but It was more the giving him milk daily that I wasn't sure about because I don't really want to be finding puddles of runny poo if it doesn't agree with him!

as it's bran-ny based, it might make him a little "loose", but providing you don't feed him gallons and gallons of weetabix and milk, he should be ok.

As I said above, he hasn't had an upset tummy previously, has he, from the weetabix or the milk?

If not, he should be alright with a bit of cereal. (you didn't say if he was a big dog or a smaller dog, BTW, Joraffe)

In the wild, a dog would eat vegetable matter as part of the entrails of the animals (like rabbits etc) that they'd kill for food, so it can't be that bad for them, can it?

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DFS7 Thursday September 20, 2007
Foods to Avoid
Veterinary & Aquatic Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc.


Q. Which foods could be dangerous for my dog?

A. Some foods which are edible for humans, and even other species of animals, can pose hazards for dogs because of their different metabolism. Some may cause only mild digestive upsets, whereas, others can cause severe illness, and even death. The following common food items should not be fed (intentionally or unintentionally) to dogs. This list is, of course, incomplete because we can not possibly list everything your dog should not eat.

Items to avoid Reasons to avoid
Alcoholic beverages Can cause intoxication, coma, and death.
Baby food Can contain onion powder, which can be toxic to dogs. (Please see onion below.) Can also result in nutritional deficiencies, if fed in large amounts.
Bones from fish, poultry, or other meat sources Can cause obstruction or laceration of the digestive system.
Cat food Generally too high in protein and fats.
Chocolate, coffee, tea, and other caffeine Contain caffeine, theobromine, or theophylline, which can be toxic and affect the heart and nervous systems.
Citrus oil extracts Can cause vomiting.
Fat trimmings Can cause pancreatitis.
Grapes and raisins Contain an unknown toxin, which can damage the kidneys. There have been no problems associated with grape seed extract.
Hops Unknown compound causes panting, increased heart rate, elevated temperature, seizures, and death.
Human vitamin supplements containing iron Can damage the lining of the digestive system and be toxic to the other organs including the liver and kidneys.
Large amounts of liver Can cause Vitamin A toxicity, which affects muscles and bones.
Macadamia nuts Contain an unknown toxin, which can affect the digestive and nervous systems and muscle.
Marijuana Can depress the nervous system, cause vomiting, and changes in the heart rate.
Milk and other dairy products Some adult dogs and cats do not have sufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose in milk. This can result in diarrhea. Lactose-free milk products are available for pets.
Moldy or spoiled food, garbage Can contain multiple toxins causing vomiting and diarrhea and can also affect other organs.
Mushrooms Can contain toxins, which may affect multiple systems in the body, cause shock, and result in death.
Onions and garlic (raw, cooked, or powder) Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. Cats are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic than onions.
Persimmons Seeds can cause intestinal obstruction and enteritis.
Pits from peaches and plums Can cause obstruction of the digestive tract.
Potato, rhubarb, and tomato leaves; potato and tomato stems Contain oxalates, which can affect the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems. This is more of a problem in livestock.
Raw eggs Contain an enzyme called avidin, which decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin). This can lead to skin and hair coat problems. Raw eggs may also contain Salmonella.
Raw fish Can result in a thiamine (a B vitamin) deficiency leading to loss of appetite, seizures, and in severe cases, death. More common if raw fish is fed regularly.
Salt If eaten in large quantities it may lead to electrolyte imbalances.
String Can become trapped in the digestive system; called a "string foreign body."
Sugary foods Can lead to obesity, dental problems, and possibly diabetes mellitus.
Table scraps (in large amounts) Table scraps are not nutritionally balanced. They should never be more than 10% of the diet. Fat should be trimmed from meat; bones should not be fed.
Tobacco Contains nicotine, which affects the digestive and nervous systems. Can result in rapid heart beat, collapse, coma, and death.
Yeast dough Can expand and produce gas in the digestive system, causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or intestines.

thanks pets@home that is very intresting

thanks for that - I have to have lactose free milk for myself, so i'll use that in future.

He's a Border Collie by the way.

Dogs are ominvores just like us, so their digestive tracts are much more generalised than cats', who are obligate carnivores.

The key is that they have a balanced core to their diet and you don't give them too much of things that could upset that.

Some dogs are fine with dairy, some are fine with a bit of wheat products in their diet. Some are not. The only way you can genuinely find out is to try it, first in very small amounts.

Every dog is probably going to have issues with at least one food group that is approved as a healthy food for dogs too- the one that we've found that Molly REALLY doesn't get on with (despite wanting to eat it) is oily fish. We were recommended to include a little oily fish in her diet a couple of times a week because when we got her she was desperately underweight and her coat was very dry and dull. It's the only time when she has lost control of her bowels inside the house and it was brought on by one sardine. Don't think we'll be trying that again!

Make your introductions small and don't introduce things which are known to be properly harmful. If your dog is fine with a bit of cereal and low lactose milk then that's fine. I knew a dog who had cereals with milk and a scrambled egg for breakfast every day for the whole of his 15 years and it didn't seem to do him much harm. Then again, he couldn't eat anything with lamb in because it made him sick.

If he hasn't reacted in any adverse way to the milk, or the weetabix, so far, then I shouldn't worry, Joraffe. It can't really hurt him.

My old dog who's now 15:- his favourite treats are to (as I call it) "Quality Control" the leavings from the pot of yogurt and remnants of the cereal I had for my breakfast. It's never done him any harm.

Ailsa always has the remnants of cereal and youghurt too and it's never hurt her- only time she's had a dicky tummy is when she helped herself to a half pot of double cream...

I give my pups weetabix and milk for breakfast, you do have to be careful though as others have said as some dogs are intolerant to the milk.
I always wet the weetabix with hot water then i put a smaller amount of milk on it and mix it they love it i must say :)

morrisons sell dog milk which i sometimes give pippa

My mum gave all our old dogs weetabix and milk for breakfast all lived to ripe old age, i have to say i don't feed mine that way but she did, she also used to cook a meal for them everyday and never brought proccessed food for them ! their teeth were perfectt to which is good for shelties, infact it sad 2 of her dogs out lived her!

I'd never encountered a dog who had a problem with milk (read about it alot) until our beagle brought a whole serving right back up - and has done on every occasion he's had it :confused:

dogs throughout our family have often had cereal for breakfast - with cows milk

i think if it was having full fat milk regularly that may cause some problems in the long run. i think some pet stores/supermarlets do sell dog milk or u could water down some skimmed or semi skimmed milk, just to be on the safe side.

My spoiled mutt always gets to finish off the semi-skimmed milk I have on my breakfast cereal. It's probably only a couple of tablespoons, but she loves it and I haven't noticed any problems with her poops!