Supplements?

I only use probiotics in times of stress (usually when we travel--it can sometimes trigger colitis in my guy).  When I do so, I use the NOW brand 4X6 ---it's something I use for myself, as well.  I do, however supplement with Salmon Oil and vitamin E daily.

i just ordered the now productbecause it's better then the other human supplement i'm using. i only add probiotics to kibble. i don't see how a mfg could add a beneficial amount and keep them stable.

Glenda, um you never have been shy! LOL.  Thanks for the info.

I've only been able to find low fat yogurt .... I've been giving a little bit to Prancer but wonder why whole milk yogurt is preferred.    Is there something bad about the low fat yogurt ? 

That's a really good question.  One I can't answer.  I think it could be because when anything is made low fat they up the sugars to compensate for the lack of taste from the lack of fat??  If you read the labels of the low fat stuff (anything) they are usually a whole lot higher in carbs than are their full fat breathern.

full fat breathern

 
[sm=rofl.gif]   For some reason that phrase gave me a mental image of Friar Tuck, Robin Hood's companion.

I've only been able to find low fat yogurt .... I've been giving a little bit to Prancer but wonder why whole milk yogurt is preferred. Is there something bad about the low fat yogurt ?

 

I think it could be because when anything is made low fat they up the sugars to compensate for the lack of taste from the lack of fat?? If you read the labels of the low fat stuff (anything) they are usually a whole lot higher in carbs than are their full fat breathern.

 
I checked the ingredients - Cultured Grade A LowFat milk and Pectin.  0g Fat, 12G Carbs (all sugars).  I wonder if thats the reason?  Is Pectin bad ??

Thank you all so far...what do I need to look for in the probiotics?

ORIGINAL: Firestorm

What I (JMO) look for in probiotics for my 15 lb Shih Tzu (and for myself!), are:

 

1. high quality human grade probiotics
   
2. probiotics with at least 2 billion count
   
3. very important for dogs with yeast issues: I look for probiotics without FOS (a sugar which helps "feed" the probiotic strains. FOS is also known as a "prebiotic". The bad part is that some say that FOS will also feed "yeast", should the dog have yeast issues -- as my dog did). Regardless of whether the FOS yeast connection is true or not, I choose NOT to use probiotics with FOS in it. Again, this is JMO.)
   
4. probiotics which need to be "refrigerated" (I buy these type), vs those which are "freeze dried" and can be kept at room temp. JMO.
   
5. I stay away from soil based organisms such as Primal Defense and "spores", only because I've read a lot of negative experiences on groups in regard to bad reactions on people. I'm not sure how this translates to "dogs", but I just choose not to use soil based organism strain probiotics.  JMO.
   
6. most importantly, I look for:
   probiotics that are GUARANTEED VIABLE THROUGH DATE OF EXPIRATION, ...and not just "through date of manufacture". This is important because a product could have viable strains at the time they're put into the end product, but they could end up mostly dead by the time they get sold to the customer. 

A:
The probiotics I use on my dog, my hubby, AND myself, are those by NATREN. I order them direct from [linkhttp://www.natren.com[/link] >http://www.natren.com][size=1]http://www.natren.com[/link] 

I use the NATREN Healthy Start System -- Dairy Free Caps for my Shih Tzu, as well as for the rest of my family. The product contains 3 bottles, each with a different strain of probiotic. Each works in a different area of the digestive system: bulgaricus for stomach digestion; a strain for the large intestine; and 1 for the small intestine. The intestine strains included are: acidophilus, and bifidus. I can't remember which is for the large intestine vs the small, though. Also, note that in the product labels, they are called by different names (ie, Digestilac, Mega Dophilus, etc...read label to see which strain is which. The Digestilac is the bulgaricus, for stomach digestion. The Mega Dophilus is the acidophilus strain. I forget what the Bifidus strain product label reads. These MUST be kep refrigerated.
 
Sedona gets 1 capsule per day (rotating the type of strain, daily). I coat with a bit of cream cheese or peanut butter. Other days, I may just open a cap, and pour 1/2 of the capsule onto her food, directly (I do this mainly with the Bulgaricus strain, as it works in the stomach, vs the other 2 strains which need to get INTO the intestines. For those 2 types, I give her the capsule "intact" with the cream cheese.
 
B:
In addition to the Healthy Start type, I also give my dog (DOGS ONLY!) the Natren Canine-Dophilus. It's in a syringe form, and you squirt the gel directly into the dog's mouth. Wash your hands afterwards, as one strain can be hazardous to people, but it's good for dogs (esp helps with garbage-gut ...to protect your dog in case it gets into those gross things that dogs sometimes get into. lol).  These MUST be refrigerated.
 
C:
If like giving BOTH product types to my dog. However, if I had to choose only 1 product, I'd go with the people product Natren (Healthy Start System Dairy Free Caps), as it contains more strains (3), and since my dog doesn't get into "garbage". I just give the Canine-Dophilus as a preventative measure.
 
hth!
Pam
 
ps:
for travel, so that I don't have to hassle with a cooler to keep the probiotics in, I will use Enzymatic Therapy "Pearls" (acidophilus, and bifidus). They can be kept at room temp. I use to rely on these heavily, but I recently was told they were bought out by a new company, and the lady at the health food store said she had less confidence in the product now. Azmira also makes an "acidophilus" in powder form (freeze dried)? I like their products, but I'm not that confident about freeze dried probiotics, so I only use it when I'm traveling, and if I don't have the Pearls in stock.  For all other times, I rely on Natren.
 
 

I put plain yogurt on my dogs kibble for breakast every morning because in the first place it can't hurt them, in the 2ed place, it is good for them, and in the 3rd place they LOVE it.  I also give them 2 fish oil capsuls a day, except the two days a week they get fish.

ORIGINAL: Depot3d

Well I guess that explains why so many people on here have so many issues with their dogs concerning weight, stool issues, stomach issues,  etc.  And what I said was "Would you TAKE THEM OUT for a steak"

Nope, I haven't found a restaurant that can fix a steak as good as I can.

I'm envious. I can't cook a good steak to save my life. I make very good dog food however. My dogs share all our food!

I only use a probiotic when needed. Cord's on an antibiotic right now for a UTI. It's a nasty antibiotic so he's on Probios three times a day also. I use it for sheep, too - there's no real difference in the products marketed for cattle, horses, or dogs.

My livestock guardian dogs are both on a joint supplement with their food. I just started this for Lu, who is a Pyranees/Maremma mix and at nine is getting rather stiff. I put it in both dishes in case Tully does the ol' switcheroo which he does sometimes. I'm using a powdered horse formula, more bang for the buck, very important when you are talking about a 100 pound dog. Though it's not my favorite formula, I've been very pleased with the results - Lu's moving much better now after about a month on it.

All the dogs get a daily B complex. I don't think this vitamin is provided enough in our foods anymore. They also get whole raw organ meats as often as possible (for some reason I have trouble finding a good variety around here), and eggs.

The working dogs all get an antioxidant formula (E/C/A/selenium/zinc/MB/copper), for the same reason.

Ben and Maggie get a cholodin supplement specially formulated for senior dogs. This was a great find and I highly recommend it.

Everyone gets a complete OFA supplement. They also get fish regularly.

Ben and Maggie get a cholodin supplement specially formulated for senior dogs. This was a great find and I highly recommend it.

Becca - what is this supplement for, and where do you get it?

Edited to add - I looked it up and understand it a little bit, but if my senior dog isn't showing any loss of mental alertness, is there any benefit to it?

I found that it just helped a lot in general. Maggie seemed to be aging very well (she's thirteen) but when I started her on the supplement I realized she had been slowing down quite a bit. She's much more alert again, doesn't sleep as much, and she had a slight incontinence problem that I haven't seen since starting the supplement. She plays with the boys all day and when she comes in she's still up to "helping" me fix dinner instead of going in our room and sleeping until dawn.

From now on I'm going to keep all my senior dogs on this supplement. I wish more dog supply places offered it (hint, hint dog.com). I buy all my dog stuff from the place that offers cholodin, to get the free shipping.[]

ORIGINAL: JoAnnDe

I've only been able to find low fat yogurt .... I've been giving a little bit to Prancer but wonder why whole milk yogurt is preferred.    Is there something bad about the low fat yogurt ? 

 
If you're looking for whole milk yogurt, Stonyfield Farms makes whole milk organic yogurt. It comes in plain and french vanilla in 32 ounce containers and 4 flavors in 6 ounce containers.
 
I don't know if you can get it near you. Here's a link to their site and there is a store locator thing on the left side:
[linkhttp://www.stonyfield.com/OurProducts/OrganicYogurt.cfm#javascript:void(0]http://www.stonyfield.com/OurProducts/OrganicYogurt.cfm#javascript:void(0[/link])
 
I like the fact that they sell PLAIN yogurt. Most things I see in the supermarket have a ton of sugar added to them.
 

ORIGINAL: JoAnnDe

I've only been able to find low fat yogurt .... I've been giving a little bit to Prancer but wonder why whole milk yogurt is preferred. Is there something bad about the low fat yogurt ?

I think it could be because when anything is made low fat they up the sugars to compensate for the lack of taste from the lack of fat?? If you read the labels of the low fat stuff (anything) they are usually a whole lot higher in carbs than are their full fat breathern.

I checked the ingredients - Cultured Grade A LowFat milk and Pectin.  0g Fat, 12G Carbs (all sugars).  I wonder if thats the reason?  Is Pectin bad ??

Pectin is fine - it's a soluble fiber, not a sugar. If you're using plain yogurt, the carbs are just from the milk. When you take out some of the fat (in anything) the percentage of protein and carbohydrates will go up, without anything being added.