Tips for Buying the Best Probiotic & Prebiotic (Fiber) Supplement for Your Dog

Dogs are incredible animals, and we are lucky as humans to have them in our lives. Owning a dog, for many of us, can be compared to caring for a child. You welcome a new member to your family, so it’s understandable that you want to give your dog the best life possible.

One piece often forgotten when it comes to optimizing your dog's health and vitality is gut health! Although under-appreciated and sometimes overlooked, a healthy gut supports optimal digestion and strong immunity - which ultimately leads to a life of vitality and good health for your dog!  

Why do dogs need prebiotic fiber supplement and Probiotics? Just like humans, dogs are bombarded daily by environmental factors such as chlorinated water, pesticides, antibiotics, steroids, preservatives, toxins in food, stresses from travel, kenneling, or sickness. Other factors such as old age, garbage-eating, food changes, or an undeveloped immune system in a young dog can affect the integrity of the gut and the army of good bacteria that protect your dog day in and day out.

Given that 70% of your dog's immune system resides in the gut, it makes sense that the proper care and feeding of the gut has a multiplying effect of healing throughout the body!

Tips when Choosing a Dog Probiotic/Prebiotic Supplement

1) The Probiotic Contains Live Bacteria

Probiotics can't do their incredible work if they don't actually reach their destination: your dog's gut! This is referred to as bacterial viability. Choose probiotics from manufacturers that take great care to maximize bacterial viability and look for a guarantee of live bacteria on the bottle. The last thing you want is dead bacteria when your bottle of probiotic arrives.

2) The Probiotic Supplement Contains a Prebiotic

It's easy to overlook prebiotics (fiber) when choosing a probiotic supplement for your dog. What actually are prebiotics? While probiotics are alive, friendly bacteria, prebiotics are not living organisms. Instead, they are plant fibers which fuel and nourish the probiotics, helping these friendly bugs grow, multiply and survive. This synergistic relationship can produce positive results, helping to improve gut, immune and overall health.

3) The Probiotic Supplement Contains Numerous Proven Strains of Beneficial Bacteria

Research supports that a multi-strain probiotic is preferred over a 1-2 strain probiotic. Multiple strains are capable of affecting gut health at various sites along the intestinal tract. The more strains the intestinal tract receives, the better able they are to respond to the wide variety of stressors that can affect your pet's gastrointestinal and immune system. Properly Rebalance the Gut during and after Antibiotic Therapy

4) Supplement a Probiotic/Prebiotic during antibiotic treatment or other times of stress

Though we recommend routinely giving probiotics to maintain your dog's overall health, a probiotic supplement for dogs can be extremely beneficial during times of antibiotic therapy or other times of stress (food changes, garbage eating, bouts of diarrhea, traveling, boarding, training). Antibiotics destroy the friendly and unfriendly bugs within the intestinal tract. 

Opportunistic, unwanted bugs, like Salmonella or Clostridium, can flourish after antibiotic therapy or stress and cause diarrhea or gastrointestinal upset. During antibiotic therapy, give probiotics two hours before or after treatment. When antibiotic treatment is complete, continue probiotics for at least 7-10 days. Doubling or tripling probiotic therapy during and after antibiotic therapy is recommended to replenish good bugs destroyed by antibiotics.

Not only will you improve your dog’s health and happiness, you may reduce the number of trips to your vet! No matter how old or young your dog is or even what breed or size, you can help your beloved pet out in life by providing him with a little internal boost!