Can dogs eat cheese? A veterinary guide and the safe types

If you have ever wondered whether dogs can eat cheese while enjoying a snack board and noticing those eyes fixed on you, the short answer is: yes, but with some very important caveats. Unlike chocolate or grapes, cheese is not an acutely toxic food for dogs, but their bodies are not designed to process large amounts of aged or fatty dairy products.

Dogs can enjoy a small piece of cheese as an occasional treat or as the perfect tool for hiding pills if they are on medication. However, overdoing this delicacy can lead to significant gastrointestinal problems that are better known about before you open the fridge.

If you want to know which varieties are safe, how much their digestive system can tolerate and what you should avoid completely, here is the definitive guide to getting their health right.

Are dogs lactose intolerant? The big digestive problem

The main reason you should keep an eye on how much cheese your furry friend eats is called lactose. Just as happens to many of us humans as we get older, adult dogs experience a drastic reduction in the production of lactase, the enzyme responsible for digesting the natural sugar in milk.

When a dog ingests large amounts of lactose, its small intestine cannot break it down. This causes bacterial fermentation that leads to uncomfortable gas, abdominal pain, watery diarrhoea or vomiting within a few hours. As a general rule, a medium-sized dog (such as a cocker spaniel of about 14 kilos) will process a liquid dairy product much worse than a well-aged cheese.

Types of cheese: which are safe and which are off-limits?

Not all cheeses affect a dog’s gut flora in the same way. The secret lies in the fermentation and ripening process, since the longer a cheese is aged, the less lactose the final piece contains.

Safe cheeses in moderate portions

• Fat-free fresh cheese or ricotta: Being very moist, they contain some lactose, but their low fat content makes them acceptable in very occasional spoonfuls.
• Mild cheddar and gouda: They have moderately low levels of lactose thanks to their ripening process of several months.
• Grated parmesan: As it is extremely aged, the presence of lactose is almost negligible. A small sprinkle over their food will not harm them.

Cheeses you should avoid completely

• Blue cheeses (Roquefort, Cabrales, Gorgonzola): They contain fungi of the genus Penicillium that produce substances highly toxic to a dog’s nervous system, causing tremors and seizures.
• Processed or industrial cheeses: Cheese sticks and commercial cheese spreads are loaded with sodium, artificial preservatives and harmful saturated fats.
• Spiced cheeses or cheeses with additives: If they contain added garlic, onion or aromatic herbs, the risk of serious poisoning shoots up immediately.

How to give your dog cheese safely

If you decide to use cheese as a reward or to disguise a bitter capsule, the golden rule is strict moderation. Vets recommend that snacks and treats outside the regular diet should never exceed 10% of the animal’s daily calorie intake.

For a large dog, a one-centimetre cube of aged cheese a couple of times a week is more than enough. If you have a puppy or a small breed dog (such as a chihuahua weighing barely 2 kilos), a piece the size of a pea will be enough to avoid a night-time digestive scare.

Healthy alternatives to reward your furry friend

Although an occasional small piece of aged cheese will not do your four-legged companion any serious harm, there are much safer, hydrating alternatives that their stomach tolerates perfectly for everyday use.

You can opt for pieces of apple without the seeds, slices of crunchy raw carrot or small cubes of steamed pumpkin. Do you usually give them a special treat from the kitchen, or do you prefer to always stick to their dog biscuits?