5 Situations When Pet Probiotics are Needed

Pet probiotics are gaining momentum now in dog and cat care, but many are wondering, "When does my pet need a probiotic?"

The fact is, researchers are discovering new benefits and applications for pet probiotics every year. Thus, pet owners who incorporate probiotics into their daily diet are learning the benefits first hand. Probiotics for pets are so impactful because the health of the gut has many connections to the overall health of the body, so much so, that the gut is referred to as the "second brain." Probiotics are always beneficial to your pet's daily diet, but, here are the five top conditions where probiotics are absolutely necessary.

When Are Probiotics Necessary for Pets?

1. As Puppies and K ittens

When animals are born their intestinal tracts are basically a sterile environment.  This changes as colonization of the gut takes place by a vast majority of microbes. This ends up being favorable or unfavorable for health, in the long haul depending genetics, diet, etc.

Here is the point: tilt it heavily in you favor by feeding your pet health microbes- Probiotics! This will establish a great foundation throughout life, against allergies, against GI disorders, and against host of other health challenges.

2. Diarrhea

A nasty little bug named clostridium difficile is the main culprit for diarrhea.  Many use antibiotics for this, but the strain is becoming somewhat resistant to the drug. Never fear—probiotics work great to stop C. difficile in its tracts. If your dog has diarrhea or loose stool put them on probiotics immediately.

3. Constipation

This is the flip side of the coin to diarrhea but it’s the same root cause; an imbalance of unhealthy bacteria to good bacteria. It’s the same simple remedy—give the "good guys" a lift so they can win the battle. Use Probiotics and this balance will return, and your dogs gut health (and bodily functions) will get back to normal.

4. Yeast Infections

Pathogenic yeast can cause compromise in the immune system and lead to infection. Yeast can express itself as an ear infection, bad breath/odor, or tear stains, but may also result in allergies and bacterial infections. It can be due to poor diet, genetics, or overuse of antibiotics. Again, this goes back to establishing the good bacteria in the gut. The first step is to overpower yeast with good bacteria via pet probiotics. Then look to improve the diet. (read: How to Attack the Yeast Beast)

5. Post-Antibiotic Therapy

Sometimes antibiotics are needed and they can be very effective. But they are not too selective. They basically kill both the good and bad bacteria, especially over multiple uses. Then the problem comes back, because the body is on a course for unfavorable gut health or gut inflammation. A gem in the nutrition world is the knowledge that you absolutely should use pet probiotics post antibiotic therapy to restore the gut to a healthy mix of microbes.

Pet probiotics are really useful for these 5 conditions and even a host more health benefits can be gained when you support your pet's gut with probiotics. Additionally, probiotics are safe for pets, and Nusentia® makes it easy and affordable to utilize healthy bacteria to improve your pets health.

CITES AND REFERENCES

Anim Health Res Rev. 2012 Jun;13(1):78-88. doi: 10.1017/S1466252312000059. Epub 2012 May 30. Current state of knowledge: the canine gastrointestinal microbiome. Hooda S, Minamoto Y, Suchodolski JS, Swanson KS. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2012 Apr 15;146(2):185-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2012.02.013.

Epub 2012 Mar 1. Early exposure to probiotics in a canine model of atopic dermatitis has long-term clinical and immunological effects. R, Santoro D, Ahrens K. Björkstén B, Sepp E, Julge K, Voor T, Mikelsaar M (October 2001).

Allergy development and the intestinal microflora during the first year of life. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 108 (4): 516–20. doi:10.1067/mai.2001.118130

Portrait of a canine probiotic Bifidobacterium–from gut to gut. O’Mahony D, Murphy KB, MacSharry J, Boileau T, Sunvold G, Reinhart G, Kiely B, Shanahan F, O’Mahony L.?Vet Microbiol. 2009 Oct 20;139(1-2):106-12. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.05.002.

Epub 2009 May 19. Can J Microbiol. 2013 May;59(5):347-52. doi: 10.1139/cjm-2012-0472. Epub 2013 Mar 19. Synbiotic administration of canine-derived strain Lactobacillus fermentum CCM 7421 and inulin to healthy dogs. Strompfová V, Lauková A, Cilik D.

Evaluation of efficacy of probiotics in prevention of candida colonization in a PICU-a randomized controlled trial. Kumar S, Bansal A, Chakrabarti A, Singhi S. Source Department of Pediatrics, Advanced Pediatric Centre, Chandigarh, India.

Eksp Klin Gastroenterol. 2013;(2):54-64. Perspective applications of multi species probiotics in the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea.