The Truth about Probiotics!

Why the right kind of probiotics matter!

Let’s start at the beginning - do you know what Probiotics are?

We have all heard of Probiotics and there’s a lot of products and articles around ‘Probiotics’ for dogs ​and cats.

Probiotics is a huge category though, there are plenty of different strains of Probiotics as we are simply summarising all kinds of live organisms under this label ‘Probiotic’. 

These organisms that we want to supply our Pets live in the GI Tract and fight harmful bacteria. The right Probiotics can prevent the gut lining from damage and dissolve harmful bacteria and viruses. They even help with nutrient absoption!

The GI tract is home to 70% of cells involved in the immune system and Probiotics support this procss!

The right kind of Probiotics can ferment nutrients found in fibre into short-chain fatty acids, which have powerful anti-inflammatory benefits and are a rich source of nutrition for the gut lining.

We feed Probiotics to help our Pets nurture the right organisms in their digestive system to make sure their gut flora and immunity are smooth. 

Probiotics help in plenty of ways, from nutrient production to detoxing and PH control in the gut, they are essential to health. 

Since our pets can not break down plant matter, having the right organisms in their gut that can do the job for them and fermenting fibre is massively important! 

Actually when the right Bacteria eat fibre they turn it into Nutrients! 

Click here to learn more about Fibre! 

Furthermore the right Probiotics can improve the gut lining, reduce glucose levels, reduce inflammation and help nutrient absorption.

Certain kinds of Probiotics are not strong enough to make it alive through the stomach acids and never get to start working the way we hope they do. 

Curd or Buttermilk just like most lactic based Probiotics are not always strong enough to make it through the stomach acids alive and they can even work against your pets recovery.

That is why we have to pick the right Probiotics for our pets!

The widely available Lactobacillus and Bifidobacillus Strains available are not the strongest kinds and can help with some loosies but are not as powerful in other situations. 

Especially when you have to administer a course of antibiotics it’s crucial to build the gut back up by adding good bacteria back into the system and the common Probiotics mentioned above have actually shown to delay the process of healing after antibiotics. 

Similarly when your Pet has a fungal infection, adding fermented foods for Probiotics is counterproductive - this again is a case for Soil Based Probiotics!

That’s why we are so proud to offer you a range of Spore Forming Probiotics - they form a hard coating that protects them from heat, stomach acids and most antibiotics. 

You can combine different probiotic products or just pick the ones that fit the situation of your pet best at the moment. 

For a healthy pet a mix of ‘normal’ probiotics and soil based ones a few times a week are great, if your pet is recovering from medication or has a chronic disease like SIBO or pancreatitis go for soil based probiotics only!

Don't forget to feed Prebiotics as well, ,which is basically food for the probiotics! Many Fruit & Veggies can supply this! 

As always mixing and matching the right foods for your pet is most important - try our Samplers and find the perfect add ons for your furry!

If you have any questions - talk to us!