My dog was having issues with his uh, poops - they were loose and runny. At a checkup, the vet suggested I try giving him probiotics to help. I Googled various ones. I tried various ones. Some are better than others. I put him on one I had Googled and that was the best one for him. His poops hardened up, and he even quit barfing at night, which he was doing occasionally before probiotics. Oh - my pup is a “polite barfer” - he taught himself to bark on a towel on the floor (not onto the carpet!).
I use probiotics daily, and I eat probiotic foods and drinks. I am confident that it's been helping me stay healthy and replenishing my gut flora. In the same way, I believe it's helping my dog.
Change up the probiotic type every so often - and get a different strain mix when you do. This way your dog will get benefits of the various strains that may be beneficial at times, without getting so used to the same strains that they don't do the job as well.
Here are what I found to be the recommended strains of probiotics for dogs (human strains would be different), with a preferred CFU of 3-6 billion per dose:
- Enterococcus thermophilus
- Bacillus coagulans
- Bifidobacterium animalis AHC7 - for diarrhea
- Bifidobacterium bifidum
- Bifidobacterium longum
- Lactobacillus acidophilus - to help stools
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG,LGG
- Lactobacillus bulgaricu
- Lactobacillus casei
- Lactobacillus planatarum
- Lactobacillus brevis
- Enterococcus faecium SF68 - maybe not as beneficial
A good mix should ideally include a prebiotic in a low amount, as well - FOS, inulin or acacia gum are common ones. The better probiotics would need refrigeration, unless the probiotic is dry and stable. A powdered version is better than a hard pill.
Make sure you give a variety of probiotic strains in the product - if only one, it's not doing a good job in the dog gut.
Replenishing your dog's gut flora with probiotics should help stomach and stool issues (in the same way it helps us). If your dog has no issues, you may not need to supplement his diet with probiotics at this time. He may not be getting what he needs from his diet - especially if it's a fresher type diet over kibble.
I know probiotics have helped my dog manage better - his stools are better and he isn't having other issues, like vomiting or gas.
PR
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