Cheese
CautionCheese is better tolerated than milk because ageing strips out most of the lactose. Fat and sodium are the real risks, not lactose. Never feed blue or mouldy cheese, or anything with onion, garlic or chives.
This food guide has not been reviewed by a veterinarian. It summarises general information from sources and should not be used to decide whether a food is suitable for an individual dog or to assess an emergency.
Check before feeding
Check the precautions before sharing
Risk depends on preparation, ingredients or amount. Read the precautions below; body weight alone cannot establish a safe portion.
Signs and health concerns
This list includes both observable signs and conditions identified through examination or testing. It cannot establish the cause or whether an exposure is safe.
- Diarrhoea
- Excess gas
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Hunched posture
- Tremors
- Seizures
More about this food
Cheese is the friendlier end of dairy for dogs, because ageing removes most of the lactose. Hard aged cheeses — cheddar, parmesan, swiss — are genuinely low-lactose: about 20 g of hard cheddar carries roughly 0.1 g of lactose, against about 12 g in a cup of milk. Fresh and processed cheeses are the opposite. American slices, Colby, cream cheese and cottage cheese hold onto far more lactose, and a dog that gets a slice can loosen up within 2 to 12 hours with diarrhoea, gas and sometimes vomiting.
The dominant risks, though, are fat and sodium. Cheese is calorie-dense, and regular cheese habits produce weight gain and raise pancreatitis risk — expect anorexia, a hunched posture and repeated vomiting at 24 to 72 hours after a fatty binge. Processed and smoked cheeses add a sodium load that matters for dogs with heart or kidney disease. String cheese is the standard American pill vehicle, which quietly turns into a daily habit; keep all treats within 10% of daily calories and keep cheese to a fingernail-sized piece.
Three cheeses are off the table entirely. Anything containing onion, garlic or chives — Boursin-style garlic-and-herb spreads, French onion dips — because alliums are directly toxic to dogs. Blue and mouldy cheeses — Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton — because they carry roquefortine C, a tremorgenic mycotoxin that can produce whole-body tremors and seizures. And high-sodium processed cheese products.
If your dog ate blue cheese or a garlic cheese, or shows tremors, seizures, repeated vomiting or abdominal pain, call your veterinarian immediately, or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. Do not induce vomiting at home, particularly in a tremoring dog — it risks aspiration, and whether to decontaminate is a veterinary decision.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I keep using string cheese to hide my dog's pills?
- Occasionally, yes; daily, it adds up. A fingernail-sized piece of a hard aged cheese carries the least lactose, and all treats together should stay within 10% of daily calories. Ask your vet about a pill pocket if medication is long-term.
- My dog got into the cheese board and ate Gorgonzola.
- Call your vet or poison control now rather than waiting. Blue cheeses contain roquefortine C, a tremorgen that can cause muscle tremors, ataxia and seizures within a few hours. Note the time and roughly how much was eaten.
- Milk gives my dog diarrhoea but cheese does not. Why?
- Ageing removes the lactose. Around 20 g of hard cheddar has roughly 0.1 g of lactose, versus about 12 g in 250 mL of whole milk. Fresh and processed cheeses keep much more, which is why a slice of American can cause what cheddar does not.