Probiotics for dogs can be defined as live organisms that are known for the health benefits they provide to dogs. They are also classified as good bacteria and can be found in dog food supplements, fermented foods, and dogs’ guts. We also have some species of yeast classified as dog probiotics.
Some of the benefits that they get to enjoy from probiotics include helping in food digestion, promoting their gut health, positively influencing the mood of dogs, producing vitamins such as B and K as well as serotonin, reducing the pH levels in the gut, producing enzymes, and supporting their immune systems.
As such, they are very important to owners who want to ensure that they are happy and healthy at all times. However, most owners do not know everything that they have to know about probiotics. For instance, is it safe to give a dog probiotics every day?
How Often Should Your Dog Take Probiotics?
Almost all dogs would be healthy if they take probiotics daily. However, this depends on the breed of your dog. According to Veterinarians.org, dogs that take meals with high starch or kibble can take probiotics daily.
Those that have excessive gas or an overgrowth of small intestinal bacteria should not be fed with probiotics every day. This does not mean that they should not take probiotics, but they have to be limited to ensure that their health is not affected in any way.
The best way of handling this is to consult your veterinarian. They will advise you on what is good for your dog and even provide the right probiotics for you to use.
The Best Probiotics for Dogs
There are different types of that you can use to give to your dog. However, you need to know the best probiotics to make sure their remains healthy. Most veterinarians recommend soil-based varieties.
This is because they help in making the dog avoid eating from the ground, something that can make them consume bad bacteria that live in the soil.
In addition, soil-based probiotics are a little bit hard compared to the others. This makes it easy for them to survive in the gut environment of the dogs which is a bit harsh.
Probiotics Side Effects
Even though probiotics are very safe when it comes to their health, they can have some side effects depending on certain things that they might be going through. The most common side effects of probiotics include bloating, gas, and digestive upset.
However, some conditions make it wrong for owners to give probiotics to their dogs. To start with, you should not give probiotics if it is taking any antibiotics. If you do, you will cause a delay in the recovery of the microbiome.
In addition, you should avoid probiotics for dogs at all if they are suffering from an overgrowth of small intestinal bacteria. This is a condition that affects dogs with large numbers of bacteria growing in and taking up space in the small intestines of the dogs.
If you give probiotics to a dog suffering from this condition, you would be fueling the growth of more bacteria, something that would lead to other conditions such as a leaky gut, skin issues, weight loss, and chronic diarrhea among others.
Can Your Dog Take Probiotics for a Lifetime
This depends on the reasons you have for giving probiotics to your dog. If you are doing this as a way of enhancing their health, and they do not have any of the conditions discussed above, then you can have it on probiotics throughout its life.
However, remember to use soil-based probiotics if you want your dog to take them every day. Those that are using probiotics to treat illnesses such as diarrhea can use lactic acid probiotics.
They, however, have to make sure that their dogs take the probiotics for several weeks to ensure that they recover completely.
Finally, those managing diabetes in their dogs or have them suffering from a digestive disorder or chronic diarrhea should use probiotics that come with herbs for soothing the dog’s gut.
They should keep giving them for weeks or even months until they recover.
In a nutshell, probiotics are good for dogs and provide them with many health benefits. You, however, should consult your veterinarian to know the bestoptions available.
