Probiotics for Dogs

Nourishing your pet’s gut health is essential to healing and preventing disease. The microbiome is an important part of your dog's overall immune health. Good bacteria assist in the digestion of nutrients, synthesize vitamins, prevent infection, and impact the overall immune system.

Many of the conventional drugs that are given to help your dog stop itching or treat an infection will directly impact the levels of good bacteria in their gut. We need to support our dog’s microbiome by replacing the good bacteria or feeding the microbiome the right probiotic foods or supplements.

Prebiotics are nutrients that are designed to nourish and promote the growth of good bacteria that are already living in the colon.

Probiotics are foods or supplements that contain live microorganisms intended to maintain or improve the "good" bacteria (normal microflora) in the body.

In other words, prebiotics feed probiotics.

When looking for probiotics and probiotics remember they are all not made equal - we need to look at the ingredient list, expiry date, what temperature to store them in, etc. I recommend consulting your vet or holistic vet for the best ones for your dog and their specific needs. But here is a good reference you can use to help you find canine probiotics online.

Dog probiotic supplements are produced as powders, capsules, and chews. Each is labelled with recommendations on dosage and frequency of use. You’ll want to purchase a brand that includes probiotic strains, such as Enterococcus faecium, Bacillus coagulans and Lactobacillus acidophilus — which have been shown to offer benefits like protection against infections, parasites and more.

Probiotics are prescribed for maintaining a desirable intestinal microbial balance. A generally healthy dog should be able to maintain the balance of digestive microbes naturally.

But during times of stress, illness, or malnutrition, an imbalance can occur.

Many dogs respond well to a supplement of beneficial microbes to bring the digestive microflora back in balance.

If your dog experiences any side effects from pre or probiotics please TRUST YOUR GUT and check in with your vet right away!

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