Keeping your dog gut check in health is actually a bit more complicated than it seems. While, yes, dogs can and do eat things off the ground, most of the time they come out unscathed. And yet there are other times when they eat things they shouldn't, you're left cleaning up for quite a while. Often times a sensitive digestive system is one of the the signs that your dog needs probiotics.
Probiotics are a powerful solution, and a must-have for all pet parent's pantries.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS THAT YOUR DOG NEEDS PROBIOTICS?
There are quite a few signs that your dog needs probiotics - but we also want to give you proactive information. If your dog is or plans to be on antibiotics, it is time for probiotics. Antibiotics change your dog's gut health. These changes of microflora often lend themselves to diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal (GI) side effects. This is why your vet recommends giving your dog food along with the antibiotics.
Tip: When Your Dog Is Taking Antibiotics, Get Probiotics!
The other signs that your dog needs probiotics is during an episode of diarrhea or constipation, as well as gas and bloating. Particularly when these symptoms are triggered by stress. When your dog's GI track gets out of balance it introduces an increased amount of bad bacteria into the gut. While your dog's gut needs bad bacteria, what it truly requires is a balance of good and bad bacteria that works in harmony. Probiotics reintroduces good bacteria to help eliminate the extra bad bacteria, and bring your dog's gut back into balance.
How Fast Do Probiotics Work?
Typically, probiotics work in a couple of days. On the first day your dog should get some relief from the influx of good bacteria, and on the second day things should be back to normal. However, if your dog has some underlying condition (e.g. parasites), you'll want to discuss this with your vet as probiotics will not help 100% in these cases.
Selecting and Storing Probiotics
Typically, dogs do best with pure or treat-based probiotics and not those that come packaged in dog food. This is because the amount of probiotics are lower by serving in dog food. Look for probiotics that contain the types of bacteria typically found in the canine gut:
- Lactobacillus acidophilus
- Enterococcus faecium
- Bifidobacterium lactis
- Lactobacillus casei
- Bifidobacterium breve
Because probiotics are live bacteria you'll need to limit their exposure to air and moisture, as well as temperature extremes. You want to be very mindful of hot temperatures and climates - purchase your dog probotics and store them in a kitchen cupboard as a best practice.
I have a 5pound chiwawa does anyone know how much prebiotic powder I can give him?
Can these be given every day continually