Homemade Yogurt Recipes For Your Dog

Delicious homemade yogurt or plain yogurt from the grocery store is a healthy treat chock full of calcium and protein that both you and your dog will enjoy. The live acidophilus in the yogurt keeps our dogs’ intestines in balance by protecting the good bacteria and enabling his body to knock out the bad bacteria and fungus. If your dog is on antibiotics feeding him yogurt will also help keep yeast infections away, which are a common side effect of antibiotics.

Why is Yogurt Beneficial? The active bacteria in yogurt acts like a probiotic, enabling the digestive system to build up immunities that ward off yeast and harmful bacteria.

Which Yogurt is Best? When shopping, choose an organic product that is plain and unsweetened. The Greek yogurts are thicker and have more protein then the regular ones. If your dog is getting a balanced diet from his regular food the protein isn’t that important. Never give a dog any yogurt with artificial sweetener as it is toxic to dogs.

Home Made Yogurt Recipes

Tips: if using the “Simple Yogurt” recipe use your own previously made yogurt for starter or buy yogurt starter. Keep your starter fresh and replace it every month. Thoroughly clean or sterilize the jars you will use to store the yogurt. The longer you let the yogurt rest the thicker it will be.

Simple Yogurt

1. Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into a large, heavy bottomed saucepan
2. Heat milk to 180 degrees, until it bubbles and forms a skin and remove from heat.
3. Let milk cool to 120 degrees, you can cool the yogurt down faster by filling your kitchen sink with cold water and setting the pan in the water to cool.
4. Clean 2- or 3-quart canning jars-pour boiling water over and inside of them and let them drain
5. Once milk is 120 degrees, dip out 1 cup of milk and gently pour it into a small bowl. Next, gently stir in ½ cup of yogurt or yogurt starter.
6. While swirling gently, pour starter mixture into the rest of the milk. NOTE: You are not incorporating the starter mixture into the milk just adding it and swirling a bit.
7. Pour into your clean jars – if chunks are visible divide the chunks into each jar.
8. Put lids on jars and put them into the deep pot you used to warm the milk. Fill pot to the rim of the jars with hot tap water and set aside.
9. Let yogurt ferment 10-18 hours.
10. Refrigerate jars

Crock Pot Yogurt

Need: two or three towels, thermometer, crock pot.

Ingredients:

½ gallon of whole milk

6 ounces of unsweetened yogurt

Directions:

1. Pour milk into crock pot and heat to 180 degrees. Once milk reaches 180 degrees turn off and let cook to 120 degrees.
2. While milk is cooking, measure your yogurt and let it come to room temperature. Once the milk has cooled to 120 degrees, mix the yogurt into the milk very gently.
3. Place the lid back on the crock pot and wrap two towels around the crock pot and let alone to ferment for 6-8 hours or overnight.
4. Gently remove the towels from the crock pot and being careful not to shake or disturb the yogurt refrigerate the crock.
5. Once cold, transfer into containers of your choice. Be sure containers are clean with sealed lids.