Prebiotics Vs Probiotics For Dogs

How To Give Your Dog Prebiotics

As previously mentioned, prebiotics are found naturally in a number of foods. Such as:

• Sweet potatoes
• Leafy green veggies
• Apples
• Bananas

This list specifically details prebiotic-enriched foods that are safe for canine consumption, specifically. Only one item on the list has a specific dosage: garlic. Give your dog up to 1 teaspoon of garlic daily, per thirty pounds of body weight. Additionally, stick to organic, U.S. sourced garlic for optimal results.

All of the other fruits and veggies on the list can be given daily mixed in with your dog’s regular food, as a stand-alone prebiotic-packed healthy snack!

Prevention Is Always Better Than Cure

A dogs gut is vital to a normal immune function . Healthy guts help corral, eliminate and dispel mycotoxins, facilitate recovery and stave off any number of baddies that will undoubtedly occur in your dogs life no matter what type of a parent you are and how micromanaged your dogs diet is.

With a daily dose of prebiotics, your dogs gut is in the best position to naturally grow good bacteria and fight off the nasties as well aiding the recovery process.

Probiotics & Prebiotics For Dogs

7/21/16

A dogs digestive health is tied to his immune system health health gut, healthy dog. A healthy digestive system provides a dog with the tools to manage stool, allergies, toxins in the environment, and more. Kimberley Gauthier from Keep the Tail Wagging talks about prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes and how to get them into your dogs diet.

When you begin researching digestive enzymes , its not unusual to quickly become overwhelmed with the number of products and information available to dog parents today.

Here are some basics to get you started.

Recommended Reading: Swanson L Reuteri Probiotic Plus

How To Use Prebiotics And Probiotics For Dogs

One topic that can leave dog owners a bit mystified is the difference between prebiotics vs probiotics … and now synbiotics and postbiotics.

Probiotics are important to health, especially gut and immune health. But what are all the others and do you need to give your dog those too?

So lets break everything down

What Exactly Are Probiotics And Prebiotics

Probiotics and prebiotics in dogs affect the intestinal germs and their metabolic activity. In particular, the intestinal floras support using probiotics as a feed additive has a tradition going back over 100 years and goes back to the Nobel Prize winner Metchnikoff.

He developed the probiotics concept, which is successfully used in human medicine. In dogs, there is currently a lack of sufficient studies under clinical conditions to reliably confirm the positive findings of prebiotics and probiotics made so far.

Also Check: Probiotics 10 Billion 10 Strains

The Benefits Of Combining Prebiotics And Probiotics For Dogs

Taking both prebiotic and probiotic dog supplements keep canine intestines, colon, stomach, immune system and overall digestion running well. Some products use a combination of both probiotic and a prebiotic, which according to Dr. Swanson, are known as a synbiotic.

When a product includes the correct balance of prebiotics and probiotics, the effectiveness of the probiotic supplement is maximized. The prebiotic increases the probiotics survivability and activity in the GI tract.

Using probiotics and prebiotics together is the best way to provide your dog with proper digestion and immune system health, Swanson says. The probiotics and prebiotics work together by keeping positive bacteria in the stomach of canines that is needed.

While Prebiotics And Probiotics Are Often Confused Or Thought Of As One And The Same Their Commonalities End With Their Stint In The Intestine

While prebiotics and probiotics are often confused or thought of as one and the same, their commonalities end with their stint in the intestine.

Prebiotics are fiber that feeds the beneficial microorganisms residing in the intestine. Probiotics are live microorganisms that when ingested, can enhance intestinal microbial balance.

Prebiotics have been used in pet foods for decades, probably without pet owners even knowing it. But probiotics delicate handling needs means theyre sold in sachets and capsules. They are in something of a state of hibernation, according to Grace Long, DVM, MS, MBA, director of veterinary technical marketing for Nestlé Purina PetCare in St. Louis. The microorganisms become active when they enter the intestine.

Probiotics are heat and moisture sensitive, so it would be very difficult to incorporate them directly into the kibble, Dr. Long says.

The most effective way of keeping probiotics alive in the packaging process is in a cool, dry environment away from air exposure. Not all probiotics sold in the veterinary market have evidence to support their claims, so veterinarians should make sure that the levels of microorganisms are guaranteed and that the manufacturer can provide support of efficacy.

Read Also: Which Probiotic Contains Lactobacillus Rhamnosus

How To Give Dogs And Cats Prebiotics And Probiotics

Feline and canine probiotics and prebiotics can be given as capsules, pastes, powders sprinkled on the food or even in some cases as special treats with the supplement infused inside.

Other sources include prebiotic foods for dogs such as a substance called inulin, found in chicory toot extract, legumes like lentils, peas, and beans, whole grains, fruit, and vegetables. Dandelion greens and raw garlic are also good sources of the right kind of soluble fibre.

Probiotics are live bacteria, and one option for natural probiotics for dogs that is probably already familiar to most of us is live yoghurt. Kefir is another option. There are non-dairy options available for those dogs that have problems with dairy, and these include water kefir, sauerkraut or microalgae. If you’re buying as a supplement and are looking for the best probiotic for dogs or cats, be sure to check that the strains of bacteria included are the correct ones to benefit your pet, not humans. These probiotics need enough live organisms to set up colonies and live in the intestines effectively.

Best Dog Supplement Powder With Prebiotic

Basic, simple, honest, and transparent are at the heart of Meaningful Trees Super Pet Total Health dog supplement powder. This proprietary formula combines extra virgin olive oil with acacia fiber, a natural prebiotic. While the acacia fiber supports your dogs gut and digestive health, antioxidants like vitamin E found in extra virgin olive oil help fight free radicals. EVOO also contains omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients to support your pups skin and coat health.

Highlights

• Made in the United States with sustainable ingredients
• Adds luster and sheen to your dogs coat
• Acacia fiber promotes solid poops and overall digestive health
• Contains antioxidants to fight free radicals
• Contains polyphenols for brain health
• Easy-to-use powder that you blend or sprinkle on your dogs food

Things to Consider

• Keep the container near your dogs food so you dont forget to serve it daily
• Use ½ scoop for dogs up to 30 pounds and one scoop for dogs over 30 pounds

Sample buyer review: I purchased this as a gift for my sister-in-law who recently visited with her dog. She has been raving about the results. Her dog had no issues with this sprinkled on his food and she has already noticed a shinier coat and improved digestion.

Read Also: Probiotic Skin Cream For Eczema

What Is The Difference Between Prebiotics And Probiotics

Apr 1, 2015 | Cat supplements, Digestive health, Dog supplements

Probiotics are good or friendly bacteria that reside within the gut of mammals, including humans, dogs and cats. Probiotics are living organisms that act as little factories that produce essential nutrients the body needs to function.

Each animal has his or her own unique, preferred strain of probiotics. The preferred strain is the one that will be at the highest level when the animal is healthy. If there are three dogs playing in a park, its unlikely that any of them will have the same preferred strain of probiotics.

Think of our animals digestive systems like vehicles. While they all take fuel to run, there are certain types of fuel that work best for particular vehicles, whether thats high-grade gasoline, diesel, coal or electricity. To help that vehicle run, you need to give it the fuel its body prefers.

Probiotic supplements contain living bacteria, generally sourced from cows, goats or sheep in a dairy form. When you give a probiotic supplement to your pet, you are introducing a foreign strain of bacteria into the system. In our fuel example, this is like putting a low-grade gasoline into a high-performance car. Sure, itll get the car moving, but it wont allow the vehicle to perform at its best.

Prebiotics are an ideal food source for your pets native, preferred strain of probiotics. Prebiotics cannot feed unwanted bacteria.

How Probiotics Support The Immune System

Bacteria like to live in your dogs gut because they eat the same foods he does . Bacteria especially love to eat fiber because your dog cant digest it. When bacteria eat fiber, they poop out short chain fatty acids . So probiotics for dogs are a great way to get more healthy SCFAs into your dog. The three main SCFAs are:

• Acetate
• Proprionate
• Butyrate

Short chain fatty acids either remain in your dogs colon or they travel into your dogs body. Either way, they play a critical role in your dogs health and immunity. They can:

• Feed friendly bacteria and discourage the growth of harmful bacteria
• Help form the protective mucus layer in the gut
• Keep the cells lining the gut close together
• Reduce glucose levels, which protects against metabolic disease and obesity
• Build important T-cells in the immune system, which helps reduce chronic inflammation.
• Protect against food allergens
• Help the body absorb calcium, magnesium, iron and other nutrients

Since 80% of your dogs immune system is in his gut, bacteria are critical to your dogs health. Specifically, a diverse and well-populated bacteria population is critical to your dogs health

Also Check: Davinci Labs Mega Probiotic Nd

The Benefits Of Prebiotics And Probiotics For Dogs

Prebiotics and probiotics for dogs work together to promote a healthy gut biome, which protects your dogs overall health.

Probiotics can strengthen your dogs immune system, improve digestion, and help to maintain a healthy weight. At Animal Care Center of Castle Pines, we often prescribe probiotics for dogs that suffer from digestive disorders and immune deficiencies, or to help rebuild a healthy gut biome after a course of antibiotics.

Best Chew: Petvitalitypro Probiotics For Dogs With Natural Digestive Enzymes

Amazon

Many dog probiotics are available as a chew, which in your dogs mind is practically the same as a treat! Give your dog healthy probiotics and a reason to wag his tail with the PetVitalityPro Probiotic Chew.

This duck-flavored soft chew has more than 20 active ingredients and includes a green superfood formula, so fair warning: it has a green-ish tint. A few pet parents said they were surprised by the color when they opened the container. Most dogs will gladly gobble this probiotic chew whole, but if for some reason your dog isnt interested in an extra “treat,” then these chews crumble easily and can be mixed in with a meal.

The best part about this probiotic chew for dogs is how fast it works for many pets. In cases of persistent itchiness or worrisome diarrhea, pet owners have noticed that their dogs experienced fast relief once they began a regiment that included PetVitalityPro Probiotic Chews. In fact, one pet parent pointed out that these worked more effectively than any other natural or medicinal approach she tried for her dogs digestive distress. Turn treat time into an opportunity to give your dog a daily dose of good bacteria with these tasty PetVitalityPro Probiotic Chews for dogs.

As your dog ages, new problems may begin to pop up. Tackle any developing digestive dilemmas and ease joint pain with a probiotic for senior dogs, like Amazing Nutritionals Probiotics Joint Formula.

Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Probiotic For Vaginal Health

Are Human Probiotics The Same As Dog Probiotics

No, human probiotics for dogs are not the same as dog probiotics.

The main differences between human and dog probiotics are the type of bacteria and the number of live bacteria. This is becuase the dogs gut bacteria is different than the humans.

Specific probiotics or bacterial strains are present in both dogs and humans. However, they will be present in much higher numbers in the human supplement than they would be in dog probiotics.

Another difference is in the added ingredients. Namely, human probiotics often feature ingredients that are harmful to dogs. Human supplements may contain xylitol an artificial sweetener that is toxic to dogs.

What Should I Look For In Prebiotics For Dogs

Prebiotics for dogs not only improve digestive health but also offer several dietary benefits. There are several factors that one needs to keep in mind when looking for the best prebiotics for dogs:

• Natural Ingredients. It is best for your dogs overall health and wellbeing if they are given supplements that contain only natural ingredients. This helps improve the quality of their gut flora. Just like in some dog foods, you can find several supplements that contain these ingredients.
• Vet Developed/Recommended. If your brand has been recommended by a vet, you can be sure that it is a quality product. There are some brands that have especially been developed by vets. This ensures that the supplement has been manufactured with the right formulation.
• Easy Administration. Most pet parents will agree that giving your dog their medicines and supplements is a truly tedious task. Therefore, you have to ensure that your supplement is easy to administer. For instance, a powdered form of the supplement might be easy to give as compared to a pill. This is because you can simply hide it in the dog food. Some prebiotics are available in the form of delicious chews that could be used as a treat.
• Third-Party Testing. If your supplement has been tested by a third party, you can be sure that it is safe and has passed the required quality checks. Just like several pet foods, pet supplements are also tested by these external agencies to ensure quality.

Read Also: Nature’s Bounty Probiotic 10 Weight Loss

Discover Delicious Food Your Dog Deserves

This microbiome consists of trillions of bacteria. Although we automatically tend to think of bacteria as bad and that they all cause illness, there are many good bacteria. These good bacteria are the ones that help in food digestion and keep the bad bacteria in check. The good bacteria levels may sometimes suffer depletion due to a gastric upset or after a course of antibiotics. This is when prebiotic and probiotic supplementation can help to return the levels in the gut to where they should be for health. Given as part of a daily routine, they may also help prevent digestive upsets occurring from the pathogenic bacteria levels getting too high and overwhelming the good bacteria.

So Why Is It So Important To Look After Your Dogs Digestive System

The digestive system is the workhorse of the body. Keeping it healthy is the key to good health. Poor digestion will affect every system in the body from the muscular to the reproductive systems. The digestive system also constitutes 70 per cent of the bodys immune system which means it defends the body against harmful bacteria and viruses.

Taking probiotics and prebiotics daily will help to improve the health of your dogs gut. Together, they help replace beneficial bacteria destroyed by antibiotics or an inadequate diet.

Recommended Reading: Garden Of Eden Probiotics Reviews

Natural Probiotic Source For Dog

The fact is many things produce natural probiotics. Yogurt, kefir, pineapple, garlic, sweetheart, leek, kimchi, and Jerusalem artichoke are frequently mentioned on the probiotic food lists.

Few products are not safe for dogs, such as onions, and huge numbers of garlic are harmful and should be stopped. The safe one is focused on milk items, like yoghurt, depending on the dog.

Some of the best natural source of probiotics are:

Prebiotics And Probiotics For Dogs Whats The Difference

Estimated Read Time: 2 ½ minutes

Summary: Prebiotics for dogs… Or probiotics for dogs. In this blog, learn the difference between prebiotics vs. probiotics for dogs and discover how each individually work for your dog’s gut health but also how they’re actually better together…

So, youre looking to boost your dogs health using a prebiotic for dogs or a probiotic for dogs. Your interest in your dogs gut health is already the sign of an excellent, caring pet parent! However, which supplement is best for your pup? Whats the difference exactly, between prebiotics and probiotics for dogs?

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Testing Of Microbial Strains For Their Qualifications As Probiotics In Dogs

Several bacterial strains, mostly lactic acid producing bacteria isolated from canine faeces, some originally used in other species or people, have been tested for their probiotic potential in vitro . Studies have especially focused on the survival properties of these strains at low pH , to resist degradation by bile acids in the small intestine, their adhesion properties to intestinal mucus and their potential to either produce antimicrobial peptides or to inhibit in vitro growth of pathogens . Some other functional and genetic properties have also been assessed. These studies and their main outcome are summarised in Table 1.

Probiotics And Gut Health

Probiotics present an appealing approach to treatment and prevention of many conditions because of their potential to be effective and safe and to result in decreased use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine.10 Rather than encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria and suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria, probiotics actually introduce these beneficial bacteria into the environment. Current knowledge suggests that the best use for these products is treatment of GI disease, such as diarrhea and other GI abnormalities, potentially including inflammatory bowel disease.10

Studies in different animal species have often demonstrated bacterial strain-specific results. Thus, unless you use the exact product on the same species used in the study, at the exact same dose and delivery method, your results will likely not be the same as those the researchers showed.10

To function as a probiotic, the bacteria must be able to:

• Survive the acid and bile found in the GI tract
• Adhere to the intestinal cells or transiently colonize various areas within the GI tract
• Exclude or reduce pathogenic bacterial adherence
• Produce acids, hydrogen peroxide, and/or bacteriocins that antagonize the growth of pathogens
• Coaggregate to help achieve normal balanced microflora population
• Be safe, noninvasive, noncarcinogenic, and nonpathogenic6

Recommended Reading: Probiotics With Lactobacillus Acidophilus And Bifidobacterium