"Help! All three dogs are sick!"

Hey everyone, it’s Samuel Vigil here, founder of NurtureVet. I wanted to share a call that I recently received from my friend in Texas. She has three dogs, all rescues, of various ages and ranging from 7-14 pounds. We are in a networking group together on Facebook, and of course, we hit it off because of our family’s mutual love of dogs. I’m sharing this information with you with her permission because it isn’t uncommon, and so many pet parents experience this same scenario. 

I answered immediately when I saw her number pop up. She sounded very frantic and I barely got a hello out before she said, “Help! All three dogs are sick!” This kind of call was very unusual, and to be honest, I was surprised she called me and not her local veterinarian. I asked if she knew the cause, and she admitted, “Yes, I bought some cheaper wet food and mixed it in with their normal, more nutritious food over the weekend.” 

Aha! Yes, this will do it every time. 

As we talked, I found out that she often does this. Her dogs - like some humans! - get picky about the same flavors every single day. I know for a fact that these three pups also get a bite or two of human food at dinner. She’ll mix in a cheap wet food brand just to get them to eat more of their healthy food when needed.

Just like humans, dogs enjoy “junk” food too. Cheap doesn’t necessarily mean bad, but the composition of what she’d mixed in versus what her dogs usually eat was very different. She had one with diarrhea, one who had vomited, and one with constipation. No wonder she sounded so worried! It seems like each dog had taken to this sudden change in a different way.

I immediately told her not to worry and to look in her mailbox the next day. I overnighted her NurtureVet Probiotics for small/medium dogs. When your dog's GI tract gets out of balance, it introduces an increased amount of harmful bacteria into the gut. While your dog's gut needs different kinds of bacteria, what it truly needs is a balance of good and bad bacteria working in harmony. Probiotics reintroduce good bacteria to reduce and balance out the excess harmful bacteria and bring your dog's gut back into balance. 

Sure enough, another call came a few days later, and all three dogs were back to normal! These probiotics are a product she’ll want to have on hand and use frequently. I was so glad I could help her. 

So many things can trigger a dog’s sensitivity in their digestive system. Diarrhea, constipation, use of antibiotics, or anytime the digestive system is interrupted; it is great to have probiotics on hand. I tell all dog owners to keep some in the pantry.