Probiotics for dogs

Did you know that gut flora plays a hugely important role in your dog’s overall health? For example, the intestines are an important part of the immune system and digestion affects the quality of the skin and coat. Because a dog’s digestive system is very sensitive, you can offer support with a probiotic. But what is probiotics, when is it suitable to give to dogs and are there any side effects? In this blog we will tell you more!

What is probiotics for dogs?

In a dog’s healthy intestinal flora, there are an enormous number of bacteria. These bacteria are very important for the function, health and protection of your dog’s digestive and immune systems. Probiotics are live microorganisms (bacteria) that have a beneficial effect on health in the intestinal flora. A probiotic specially formulated for a dog’s intestinal flora can in this way support your dog’s intestinal flora, digestion and thus immune system. After all, did you know that the immune system is largely dependent on intestinal flora? For optimal resistance, good intestinal health is therefore necessary.

Influence of probiotics on intestinal flora of dogs

Intestinal flora plays an important role throughout a dog’s digestion. For example, the intestinal flora ensures that all food particles that have not been broken down earlier in the digestive process are still broken down in the body. Once there is an imbalance in the intestinal flora, food cannot be digested properly and important nutrients can be lost. Probiotics can help keep gut flora in balance or restore balance when needed. Thus, a probiotic contributes to a healthy gut flora which ultimately contributes to smooth digestion and good overall health.

Difference between pre- and probiotics

Probiotics and prebiotics are often confused. Although the words differ by only one letter and both are intended to improve gut flora, they are two different things.

Probiotics are live, good bacteria that have a positive effect on intestinal flora. Thus, pro stands for “promoting” and biotic means “consisting of living organism.

Prebiotics are not live bacteria themselves, but nutrition for the live gut bacteria that are in the gut flora. Pre here stands for “contributing something to. Thus, prebiotics are like the food for the probiotics.

Why give probiotics to my dog?

Most dogs have a one-sided diet. In principle, if this diet is balanced and contains the right nutrients, this is not a problem. Unfortunately, in practice this is different and most dog food is not complete enough. When important nutrients are missing and your dog ingests too many unnecessary fillers such as sugar, the intestinal flora can become unbalanced. An imbalance in gut flora can affect a dog’s overall health. Not enough good bacteria are then present to fight off the bad, pathogenic bacteria. This can cause various unpleasant symptoms, such as problems in digestion but also itching, a lowered immune system and allergies or itching.

• Probiotics for dogs for itching

A dog’s gut has a major impact on the immune system. Therefore, when gut flora is out of balance, it can lead to a reduced immune system. However, a functioning immune system is essential for preventing allergic reactions to stimuli that cause skin problems and itching. So giving probiotics when your dog suffers a lot of itching is definitely a good idea.

• Giving probiotics for stress in dogs

There is a clear link between gut health and stress. In fact, as in humans, stress has a negative impact on dogs’ physical health. For example, stress can cause digestive problems such as thin stools. In addition, a connection has also been found the other way around: problems in the intestines can cause stress. Not surprisingly, probiotics are often given when a dog shows stress signals.

When to give probiotics to my dog?

There are many different situations when probiotics can support your dog. For example, unbalanced diet, stress or medication can cause stomach and/or intestinal problems in a dog. Think of flatulence, problems with stool or weight loss. Also, if your dog has recently needed medication, the intestinal flora may be out of balance and your dog may benefit from a probiotic supplement.

Probiotics is a complementary nutritional supplement and not a medication. This means it never hurts to give your dog probiotics, and you can also give it preventively when your dog is going through a stressful period, for example, or is receiving medication such as antibiotics through the veterinarian.

What are the side effects of probiotics in dogs?

Probiotics are generally well tolerated by dogs. In some cases, side effects are noticeable. These mostly involve changes in the stool. This has everything to do with the intestinal flora being brought back into balance. Sometimes the intestines have to get used to this and it can temporarily cause some complaints. In almost all cases this will go away by itself as soon as the intestines get used to the probiotics and the intestinal flora is brought back into balance. In addition, it is important not to overuse probiotics. With probiotics, the amount of live bacteria is very important to contribute to the balance of your dog’s intestinal flora. Therefore, always follow recommended dosage with a probiotic supplement. For example, for FlexRex Probiotics, a course of 3 to 4 weeks is recommended.

What is the best probiotic for dogs?

There are many different types of probiotics available for dogs in different varieties. When choosing the appropriate probiotics for your dog, you can pay attention to a number of things. For example, it is important that you choose a probiotic supplement that consists of multiple probiotic bacterial strains, such as from the genera Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.

When you choose a good probiotic supplement that contains live bacterial strains, it will always contain some form of sugar. This is necessary because sugar serves as nutrition for the bacterial strains to stay alive. Also pay attention to the form of the supplement when choosing probiotics. Candies may seem convenient and look nice, but consider that to form a candy requires (unnecessary) fillers and binders. In addition, a flavoring is usually added to candies to make it more palatable. To avoid unnecessary fillers and flavorings, you can choose powdered probiotics.

Natural and pure probiotics for dogs

Are you looking for natural and pure probiotics to support your dog’s intestinal flora? FlexRex Probiotics is a custom formulated probiotic of various healthy, live bacterial strains that support your dog’s intestinal flora. Thus, it supports your dog with various complaints that can occur in digestion, contributes to a well-functioning immune system and provides support for allergic reactions such as itching.