Probiotics for Dogs, Yes or No?
Probiotics are nowadays a very popular food supplement for dogs. The benefits are unquestionable, but here we will not look at the differences in the quality and type of probiotics for dogs.
Probiotics are nowadays a very popular food supplement for dogs. The benefits are unquestionable, but here we will not look at the differences in the quality and type of probiotics for dogs. But what we want to address is how to enable the probiotic to be maximally effective. Don't waste money buying expensive probiotics without changing your dog's diet. So, what we consider extremely important to emphasize is the fact that if you add probiotics to your dog's food, you have to think about what kind of food you are feeding him. For a dog to get any benefit from probiotics, they have to be retained in the dog's intestines, and they will only be retained if there is suitable food for them in the intestines.
Why do more and more dogs end up on probiotics? Poor microflora in the dog's intestines is a consequence of poor nutrition. Industrial food rich in carbohydrates feeds bad microflora. As a result, various inflammatory processes occur in the intestines, which result in:
- diarrhea,
- more severe forms of intestinal disease,
- but also a severely disturbed general condition of organisms ,
because let's not forget the intestines are the largest immune organ of the body. As long as we feed the dog food rich in carbohydrates, the bad microflora will always overpower the good microflora. In order to create and maintain good microflora in the dog's intestines, it is necessary for the dog to eat fresh food based on meat, offal, bones and cartilage, and a small amount of fruits and vegetables. At the same time, bypassing foods rich in carbohydrates in a wide arc. And here we are not only referring to cereals, but also foods such as potatoes, peas, etc. Because dogs are carnivores, their digestive system has not changed because they live next to humans. And in the evolutionary sense, far too little time has passed for the dog's digestive system to turn from carnivorous to omnivorous. Eighth, it is important to feed the dog with fresh food suitable for its carnivorous digestive system, in order to help good microflora to develop in the intestines along with probiotics, it is advisable to add foods recognized as prebiotics (foods rich in soluble fiber) to the food. Simply put, prebiotics are food for probiotic microorganisms. Prebiotics therefore feed good microflora, and in turn, the digestion of these prebiotics releases substances of exceptional importance for the health of the body, such as vitamins of the B group, into the intestines.
5 great sources of prebiotics for dogs:
- garlic
- bananas
- apples
- asparagus
- green leafy vegetables
Probiotics will only work in combination with a proper diet, which for carnivores raw meat, to be successful in your function!