Probiotics: The Inside Scoop on Pet Digestion
Nearly 2500 years ago, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek philosopher and physician is quoted saying, “All disease begins in the gut”. Presumably he was talking about humans, but overtime we’ve come to understand the importance of gut health for not only ourselves, but our furry friends too.
What exactly are probiotics?
Probiotics are live strains of beneficial bacteria or microorganisms that occur naturally in the body. According to Harvard there are over 500 different species of probiotics, but you’re likely going to come across these two groups when looking at probiotics for pets:
Lactobacillus are more versatile and can be found throughout the digestive tract, providing broader digestive support.
Bifidobacterium are more specialized in supporting the health of the colon and aiding in fiber digestion.
These beneficial bacteria live in the gastrointestinal system of all animals and their main job is to regenerate the digestive system with good microbes that will neutralize the harmful ones. However, these friendly bacteria are often damaged or destroyed, leaving the bacteria in the gut unbalanced which can lead to digestive issues, bad breath, loose stool and more.
This is why you’ll often see long, intimidating looking ingredients like, “dried Bacillus coagulans fermentation product” or “Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract”. These are probiotics added into your pet’s food to help support healthy digestion. Not every food will have them, but a lot of the “sensitive tummy” or digestion focused foods will.
Because naturally occurring probiotics can be damaged or destroyed, and gut health is so important you’ll see lots of people adding probiotics to their pets diet, myself included. There are tons of ways to do this and I’ll point out some of our favorites in a bit, but first let’s talk about
The benefits of probiotics
First and foremost is a general improvement in digestive health. Probiotics help to break food down more efficiently, aiding in digestion and improving nutrient absorption by producing enzymes that support the digestive process.
Probiotics can also help your pets on those bad tummy days when they might be experiencing some loose stool by helping to maintain a balanced gut flora and preventing gastrointestinal upset. In the same realm, they can also help with the opposite problem and prevent constipation by promoting regular bowel movements.
You probably already knew about the benefits of probiotics in the bathroom department, but they can also help with a few things you may not have thought of.
Probiotics stimulate the immune system, making it more effective at fighting off infections and diseases by promoting the production of natural antibodies.
By supporting the immune system they can also help fight allergies and inflammation.
A healthy gut microbiome can also lead to improvements in skin and coat condition and even help to manage more severe conditions like dermatitis.
Probiotics can also improve bad breath, alleviate gas, promote a healthy weight, prevent gas and there are even studies showing that gut health is linked to mental health, which means probiotics can help reduce stress and anxiety in pets.
Not to mention probiotics support healthy growth and development for puppies and kittens alongside helping them to establish a strong immune system early in life.
Probiotics play a vital role in maintaining the balance of beneficial bacteria in the gut, which is essential for the overall health of your pet’s and regularly incorporating them into your pet's diet can lead to improved digestive health, a stronger immune system, healthier skin and coat, better behavior, protection against infections, enhanced nutrient absorption, healthy weight management, reduction in gas and bloating, and overall better well-being.
You can give probiotics to your pet daily and there are tons of ways to incorporate them into your pets diet!
Some items and products I’d recommend include:
A ready-to-go probiotic made for pets like this one from The Native Pet (use code HOLLY20 to save 20%) which you can also find on Amazon here. This product is a powder made up of 4 ingredients, is vet developed and it’s bone broth based so it works great as a hydration!
Raw goats milk & kefir, which I talk about extensively in our blog post, “Raw Milk for Cats?” Raw milks are packed full of probiotics and flavor wise are almost always a hit for both cats and dogs.
Plain yogurts are another great option that you can pick up at any grocery store. The easiest one to find is probably just plain greek yogurt, but make sure you take a good look as I’ve found plain sheep and goat’s milk yogurts as well!
There are also lots of treat/chew based probiotics for pets on the market, but these options aren’t my favorite, but you probably already know if you read our blog post about hip & joint products, “Hip, Hip, Hooray”. Firstly, naturally occurring probiotics are my favorite which is why my number one suggestions are raw milks and yogurts and second, treat or chew based options almost always have a lengthy list of inactive ingredients.
For example, let’s compare the ingredients for Primal Raw Goats Milk and one of the “best selling” probiotic chews on Amazon from PetLabCo
As you can see there aren’t any inactive ingredients in the raw goats milk. It’s just raw goat's milk, a few added probiotics, inulin which is also a probiotic, and then just turmeric, ginger and cinnamon which each have their own benefits.
In comparison while the active ingredients in the PetLabCo chews are totally fine, the list of inactive ingredients includes 12 products, which just seems like overkill. Don't get me wrong some of these ingredients have great individual benefits, but most of them just seem unnecessary. This isn’t a dig at the brand, I actually have a few products from them that we absolutely love, but there is always room for improvement.
Most people just like to keep it simple and add probiotics into their pets meals. Using them as hydration or adding a splash or a spoonful of one of the things I listed before or throwing in a couple of the chews to their bowl keeps things nice and easy.
However if you want to get creative there's a ton of ways to add in some fun and diversity! You can make probiotic bone broth gummy's by adding in some unflavored gelatin to the Native Pet Probiotic, make frozen smoothie treats with raw goats milk or kefir or spread some yogurt onto a lick mat for a fun enrichment activity. This way you're not only getting the benefit of the probiotics themselves, but the added benefits that come from whatever activity you choose.
Probiotics are one of the things you’ll hear us recommending over and over again. Their diversity and lengthy list of benefits are just too good to ignore and every pet can benefit from incorporating them. Of course, you want to support the natural production of strains in the gut as much as you can, but sometimes they need a little bit of backup and that's where we come in.