In this article you will learn:

• What are probiotics for dogs?
• Conditions where probiotics are recommended: health benefits of probiotics
• Beneficial properties of probiotics for dogs
• Where you can get probiotic product for dogs
• Cautionary purchase advisement

The new awareness of the health benefits of probiotics for ourselves and probiotics for dogs brings about new questions. The answer to the main question, What are probiotics? Is that probiotics are the good bacteria and yeast, and are used to restore the balance of microflora (bacteria) in the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics also combat the bad, harmful bacteria that have grown out of proportion due to numerous reasons, such as: disruption of balance by drugs such as antibiotics, or steroids. Dietary change or poor diet. Exposure to a pathogenic virus or bacteria. Exposure to pollutants or allergens, such as pesticides, chemical fertilizers, etc. Inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Stress due to changes in environment, etc.

Probiotics include a variety of bacteria species, most of which are lactic acid bacteria, such as L. acidophilus, and L. bulgaricus. They act as the body’s first line of defense against other microorganisms that your dog eats or inhales. Thus, having a constant supply of these friendly bacteria in your dog’s gastrointestinal tract can help prevent a wide range of health problems. These friendly bacteria must be present in optimal numbers and ratio (approx. 85% beneficial to 15% non-beneficial).

Your dog has their own sense of imbalance within the GI tract. They will often try to eat grass, which can cause vomiting. This is a clue to you that there is something wrong within their natural balance. An imbalance in the intestinal tract has been known to be associated with: Arthritis, Yeast infection (known as Candida), chronic constipation, asthma, food allergies and intolerance, skin irritations such as psoriasis and eczema
Probiotics for intestinal problems: Arthritis, yeast infection (known as Candida), chronic constipation, asthma, food allergy and intolerance, skin irritations such as psoriasis and eczema.

There are two important times that you should consider probiotics for dogs :

1. Puppy:

When born, the puppy’s intestinal tract is relatively ‘clean and sterile’. It’s an excellent time to fortify the tract with the good bacteria. Probiotics are then beneficial when a puppy starts to wean from mother’s milk. It will help the puppy make the dietary adjustment to puppy food and assist in food digestion and nutrient absorption.

2. After Antibiotic Treatment:

Just as in humans, antibiotics kill all bacteria. If your dog has been placed on a regiment of antibiotics, this will remove all of the good bacteria, as well as the bad. Adding a probiotics product to the diet will replenish the healthy bacteria to assist in returning the balance to the dog’s intestinal tract.

How do we get probiotics? It is always recommended to use live bacteria from naturally fermented products such as yogurt. Natural products have a higher health benefit of probiotics. If you are lucky, your dog will love the taste and gobble it up. If not, there are probiotic supplements you can add to their diet. Little study has been done on the supplement products in dogs, but they have the appearance of being healthy.

Always get your probiotics for dogs from a Veterinarian or a high quality pet store. Use the same cautionary examination of probiotic product labels that you would for yourself. Many of the cheaper products are made out of the country, with less than clean manufacturing environments. This was proven during the 2008 pet food poisoning problem. They may also contain a higher percentage of fillers and additives with labels that mislead you.

Probiotics17 Oct 2009