Tuesday, March 26, 2024

What Are Probiotics For Dogs

Best Tasteless Probiotics For Dogs

Choose The Right Probiotic For Your Dog

This tasteless, odorless, high-potency probiotic formula safely and effectively eliminates common pet health concerns, including diarrhea, yeast infections, constipation, and even poop eating. Just scoop and sprinkle the powder on your pets food and let the blend of seven carefully selected strains of diverse beneficial bacteria get to work. Within just two weeks, look for improved energy and vitality in your dog or cat, plus a shinier coat and healthier skin, thanks to a strengthened digestive tract and immune system.

Highlights

  • If your pet is sensitive to probiotics, a half-dose is recommended for the first week
  • May not help some pets, depending on the underlying cause of the symptoms

Are Diy Probiotics Safe For My Dog

Yes, homemade probiotics for dogs are safe. DIY, homemade probiotics for dogs are prepared with ingredients that are safe and health-boosting for dogs.

Probiotics help with digestion, improve overall gut health, manage bad breath, and strengthen the immune system. On the modern market, there are many probiotic supplements and dog food with probiotics.

Homemade probiotics for dogs are an excellent alternative to those products. They allow owners to get creative and decide on the exact ingredients to include in the recipe.

What We Think Of The Pro

One issue many probiotics face, including those made for dogs and humans alike, is survivability. Unless the probiotic organisms can remain alive, the probiotics are completely ineffective. This is why you can find so many cheap probiotics that do not get the job done. Their organisms do not survive, making them a cheap and ineffective product.

When you select a high survivability product, however, you are much more likely to get the results you want from the probiotic. More so, the result is much more outstanding and effective than other probiotics, even those with some survivability.

The PRO-Pets Probiotics for Dogs and Cats include a time release feature, ensuring that the probiotic organisms can actually survive. This allows the probiotics to be 15 times more effective than many other products.

I was impressed with this. It is super easy to feed. I do not have to use a pill gun because I can just place it in my cats mouth. It just rolls in and makes feeding so much easier.

Salmonmeh

In addition to having high survivability, we love that these chews are designed to be easy to swallow. This makes them perfect for dogs or cats that are aged or have some other mouth issue. Though these probiotics are perfect for dogs of any age, the easy to swallow feature makes it perfect for aged dogs specifically.

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Pros And Cons Of Probiotics For Dogs

Probiotics interact with and displace pathogenic bacteria. In addition, probiotics can generate wholesome short-chain fatty acids which are important for a dogs gastrointestinal health.

One of the downsides of probiotics is that they can not survive the gut’s pH and eventually die before they enter into the intestines. The benefits of probiotics need to come before they enter the gut in which some scientists argue that doesnt happen.

However, some scientists believe that only the DNA of probiotics needs to survive for health benefits in a dog. They claim that even dead probiotics can cause interesting immune changes in the host which can benefit a dog.

Probiotics to fed dogs would have a significantly higher number of Immunoglobulin A and Immunoglobulin G antibodies. This helps to provide antibodies that help prevent both bacterial and viral infections.

There are thousands of studies that show that probiotics can improve health and the immune system even if the probiotics live only for a few days.

What Are The Signs My Dog Needs Probiotics

Probiotics for Dogs

A lack of friendly gut bacteria can cause several symptoms in your dog that otherwise seem to have no cause. It could be that until recently theyve been perfectly healthy, and then suddenly started to develop one or more of the following symptoms:

  • Diarrhea
  • Infection elsewhere in the body
  • Eating bad food

There are other more serious illnesses that can also cause sickness in your dog, so be sure to get them to the vets soon. Its important to rule out more serious issues.

If your pet gets an otherwise clean bill of health, the vet may certainly recommend a course of probiotics for dogs. In many cases theyll instead recommend an antibiotic antiprotozoal drug like metronidazole .

Whether you opt for the drug route or a more holistic probiotic route is a decision youll need to make.

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Yogurt Or Kefir With Live Cultures

If you give your dog yogurt or kefir, keep in mind yogurt cultures are used for the manufacture of the product live cultures may not be present. Only give your dog unsweetened, plain yogurt. Read the label carefully to ensure there are no artificial sweeteners in the product.

Live probiotic cultures can be found in other fermented food products, such as raw goat milk, fermented vegetables, kimchi and tempeh.

What To Look For In Canine Probiotics

There is no one probiotic supplement suitable for all dogs and every health condition. The best approach is to set up an appointment with your veterinarian to determine the best probiotic strains for your dog and any health issues they are experiencing. The following probiotic strains have scientific evidence to support their safety and efficacy in dogs.

  • Enterococcus faecium

Probiotics for dogs comes in several forms, including:

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What Are Natural Sources Of Probiotics For Dogs

Certain foods are considered natural sources for probiotics. For example, probiotic yogurt, fermented food, and prebiotic foods are all natural sources that can help your dogs GI tract by adding healthy prebiotics and probiotics.

The issue with most natural sources of probiotics is that dogs do not like them. Both probiotic yogurt and fermented foods are made through a fermentation process. This creates a unique flavor that most dogs simply do not like. Even humans do not often like fermented food taste.

Allergies & Food Sensitivities

Best Natural Probiotics For Dog Skin Allergies (5 BEST Probiotics For Dogs)

Improving your dogs gastrointestinal health will work wonders for other parts of their body, too, including reducing skin issues.

More often than not these are spoken of as allergies, but in most cases they should be referred to as food sensitivities. To reiterate once more, the first step in addressing allergy and sensitivities is diet. Only then should probiotics be considered as an additional aid.

Symptoms of allergies & food sensitivities in dogs are:

  • Scratching
  • Pawing of ears and face
  • Biting or chewing skin and paws
  • Skin rashes, inflammation, flakey skin, and dry coat
  • Sores and lumps
  • Hair loss

Dogs who scratch a lot may well be suffering from food sensitivities because their poor gut health results in their immune systems not working effectively.

It means that their skin doesnt ward off allergens as well as it normally would.

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Rules Of Probiotic Inclusion

1. pH The food eaten is the largest controlling factor here. pH is a critical factor for the intestine tract where probiotics live. Dry dog food is not your dogs friend in this case, because the pH shifts on the total gut environment towards a more basic pH too fast!

2. Diet A Dry dog food-only diet fails our dogs. Species appropriateness is key! Raw meats, bones, and organs set ideal gut environment conditions, as do fermented products .

3. Pre-biotic support Microbes have to eat if you want them to hang around. Prebiotic fibers and plant material serve as food for the microbes. Feed the bugs!

4. Bacteria Diversity Specifically, Lactobacillus strain diversity is key to improving total health across many health issues seen in dogs. Select sporulating strains serve bigger roles as directors to other microbes in the gut.

5. Potency Numbers are important to a certain point! As in total CFU should be used as a measure to judge a product. Total CFU counts matter as the amount needed to be effective varies given the qualifier conditions presented above. This is why Origins 5in1 can have much bigger health & performance changes using less CFU. Its the power of a systems approach!

Nom Nom Probiotic Support

Image courtesy Nom Nom

Probiotics are live microorganisms that may help with a variety of health issues, including gastrointestinal disorders. There are many different strains of probiotic bacteria and each has specific characteristics that can benefit your dog in multiple ways. Probiotics for dogs come in two forms: full spectrum and GI-targeted probiotics.

The “NomNomNow” probiotic supplement includes live cultures such as Lactobacillus probiotics. They also include reuteri, Pediococcus acidilactici, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium animalis, Lactobacillus

The Full-Spectrum Probiotic Blend also includes a probiotic and seven varieties of bacteria to aid with digestive tract health and immunological function.

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When Should You Give Probiotics

One way to use probiotics with your dog is if your dog is prone to diarrhea in stressful situations. You can start her on probiotics a few days before the big trip or a vet visit to support her intestinal health.

Another way to give probiotics to your dog is by noticing if or when their microbiome seems out of balance. Signs your dog needs a dose of healthy bacteria include:

Best Natural Probiotics For Dogs

4 All Natural Probiotics for Dogs we Love in 2020

FullBucket is a 100 percent all-natural yeast strain probiotic for dogs. Sprinkle one 5-cc scoop onto an adult dogs food daily or ¼ scoop for puppies. The complete transparency of 5 billion CFUs of a specific yeast strain coupled with prebiotics, probiotics, and L-glutamine make this a pet parents go-to product for their dogs. Given daily, FullBucket is designed to support a dogs gut microbiome, help digest key nutrients, and boost overall health. The company also has a Daily Cat Probiotic, which offers the same features as the Daily Dog Probiotic but contains a lower amount of CFUs for our feline friends .

Highlights

From the company behind Cosequin and Dasuquin joint supplements comes Proviable DC capsules for dogs or cats. Each capsule contains seven strains of beneficial bacteria, each with its own unique set of properties. Each strain has a higher potential to colonize versus a single strain probiotic product. Capsules are designed to give as-is or sprinkled over food.

Highlights

Things to Consider

  • Proviable DC is available from many pet supply retailers, but advanced formula Proviable-Forte is available from veterinarians only.
  • Some reviews note diarrhea continued in their dogs while taking Proviable DC, but every experience is different.

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When Should I Give My Dog A Probiotic

Any dog who has recently been treated with a course of antibiotics may benefit from a probiotic supplement. Additionally, you may wish to give a probiotic for ongoing maintenance for any chronic gastrointestinal, skin, or allergic condition.

Anecdotally, probiotics are often reported to assist dogs with chronic gastro condiitons such as a sensitive stomach, recurrent diarrhoea, vomiting, food sensitivities, bloating and gas, as well as those with chronic allergies. It’s possible that these dogs are also treated with courses of antibiotics more frequently than other dogs, which may be the reason for the noticeable improvement. But regardless of the reason for the success, many believe that probiotics are worth a try – and they certainly can’t do any harm.

The Power Of Probiotics For Pets

May 20, 2019 | Pet Advice, Probiotic

Science supporting the use of probiotics in humans has been established over the past 100 years and is now well accepted. Peer-reviewed science supporting the use of probiotics for pets has been available for more than 30 years, but this knowledge has been slow to disseminate to the pet-owner population. Kallangur Veterinary Surgery has been recommending probiotic use in dogs and cats for years and there are many clinical instances where we have witnessed dramatic, life-changing health benefits.

In humans, it is clear that the makeup of bacteria within the gut influences the likelihood of having conditions like irritable bowel or colitis psychological states like depression or anxiety skin disorders like eczema or psoriasis neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons or Alzheimers Disease inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis and ankylosing spondylitis even susceptibility to being overweight can be mediated by the microbiomes impact on thyroid autoimmunity and insulin resistance. We will elaborate on the specifics of some of these conditions in future posts.

If you havent been aware of the effects of the microbiome previously, please re-read the paragraph above and take time to reflect on the profound influence that the gut microbiome has on health and wellbeing. If you wish to find more information on how the microbiome influences human health, look here.

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How Can I Add Prebiotics To My Dogs Diet

There are two ways to add a prebiotic into your dogs diet: supplement or natural food. Most supplements utilize common microorganisms, but youll want to research the supplements because quality can vary. You can add supplements to your dogs meal or as a treat, depending on how much your dog likes the supplement.

Natural foods you can add as part of their meal or as a snack. There are lots of natural foods that contain prebiotics that promote healthy digestion:

  • Chicory Root
  • Flaxseeds
  • Yacon Root

Other natural foods contain prebiotics like bananas, onion, garlic, and cocoa, but these foods can be toxic or disruptive to your dogs digestion.

Nusentia Probiotic Miracle Supplement

Probiotics for Dogs

Image courtesy Nusentia

If you’re looking for a low-cost pet probiotic, pay attention to the quality but avoid individual packaging. Nusentia Probiotic Miracle Powder is our top pick for an inexpensive dog’s probiotic.

The powdered format is completely safe for dogs and cats to consume, which provides further savings and convenience for multi-pet families. It’s also shelf-stable, so you won’t have to clear any space in the refrigerator or worry about it going rancid in the pantry.

There are six types of probiotics in this blend, and each serving has approximately 1 billion CFUs. This may not have as many CFU per dose as some others, but the findings show that it is still highly beneficial.

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Greatpet Care Great Poop

Image courtesy GreatPet

The Great Poop supplement from Pitbull Pets Care is the ultimate weapon, brimming with high-fiber probiotics, to battle any gut-related issues your dog could be suffering from. These chews are chicken flavored and have 2 billion CFUs in each chew, making them far more effective than other supplements.

All of the important components found in these chews, such as amylase, cellulase, lactase, lipase, bromelain, and protease enzymes, help to enhance a dog’s digestive enzyme activity.

Probiotics For Dogs: Buyers Guide

Pet parents should be aware that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not recognize dietary supplements for animals as a special category.

Christman shares these tips before administering probiotics to your dog or cat:

  • Do not give a human product to dogs or cats, as their intestinal flora is different from that of a human.
  • Look for a product backed by solid research.
  • Ensure the probiotic contains a source of live, viable naturally occurring microorganisms, antibodies , and even antioxidants.
  • Some probiotics may contain prebiotics , which include D-mannose, beta-glucans, and galactosamine.

When looking for a specific probiotic for your dog, talk to an expert. Consulting with a canine nutritionist, your dogs veterinarian, and/or a holistic vet you trust is essential in selecting the right combination. Not every probiotic is appropriate for every dog, so what works for one pet may not have the same results on another.

Most probiotics for animals contain a variety of species and strains, such as Bifidobacterium animalis or Lactobacillus acidophilus. Labeling includes CFUs in the product, which means colony forming unit, and indicates how many live bacteria cultures are active and can divide so the helpful colonies form. Always check with your pets vet before starting any new supplements or medications.

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Benefits Of Yakult For Dogs

As a responsible pet owner, you want to do everything you can to ensure your dog lives a long, healthy life. A big part of that is providing them with the proper nutrition. Just like humans, dogs need probiotics to maintain a healthy gut.Probiotics are live bacteria that are essential for good gut health. They help keep the digestive system functioning properly and boost the immune system. Yakult is a probiotic drink that contains the live bacteria Lactobacillus casei Shirota.This strain of bacteria has been shown to be effective in restoring and maintaining gut health in dogs. There are many benefits of giving your dog Yakult. Probiotics can help relieve digestive issues like diarrhea, constipation, and gas.They can also help boost the immune system, which can help your dog fight off infections and disease. Yakult is a great way to keep your dog healthy and happy!

How To Properly Choose Your Dog Probiotics

Probiotics for Dogs

Even when you know which products are the best, it can be difficult to know which product you should opt for. After all, knowing which probiotic to get often requires some sort of scientific knowledge.

To make the process a bit easier for you, we have broken down choosing dog probiotics into four important factors. If you look at these four factors, you are most likely to select a dog probiotic that is effective and tasty.

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How To Purchase And Care For A Probiotic Product

Gail Czarnecki-Maulden, Ph.d., a senior research nutritionist for Nestle Purina and one of the developers of FortiFlora, says that the big problem with these products is that they are delicate living things. When you look at a probiotic, you are looking at live bacteria that have been adapted to living within the GI tract, she explains in a Canine Health Foundation podcast. Exposure to air, moisture, or temperature extremes will damage their viability. Thats why some of these products are sold in individual serving packets. She also says that people should be mindful of temperature conditions when purchasing a probiotic product. You dont want to buy your probiotics when its 110 degrees outside and you go to the mall for four hours and your probiotics are sitting in a hot car for five or six hours. Its not likely that the probiotics will survive.

Also, there are a few things you should look for on a probiotic package label, for example:

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