Any suggestions for a cheap probiotic for our dogs?
We want to get back to giving the dogs a probiotic, we used to give them one but ran out and then never got back to it. We have a lot of dogs tho, and some are very large, so I'd like to do it as inexpensive as possible, but without "cheaping out" and getting something that sucks.
We've been giving the yogurt, but I dunno if it's really giving them all the probiotics they need.
Anyone have a brand suggestion? Or an alternative? I was thinking about maybe incorporating tripe in to their diet, would that be enough with the yogurt?
Currently they get a premium food with some fish & coconut oil added. Plus the plain yogurt.
Thoughts?
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We've been giving the yogurt, but I dunno if it's really giving them all the probiotics they need.
Anyone have a brand suggestion? Or an alternative? I was thinking about maybe incorporating tripe in to their diet, would that be enough with the yogurt?
Currently they get a premium food with some fish & coconut oil added. Plus the plain yogurt.
Thoughts?
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Comments
Currently I just use a grocery store brand for people, but it's not as good as the other one.
I imagine tripe would help, but I've never tried it since I can't find it here. I've never gotten good results with yogurt, it doesn't do anything with Conker and if I give him too much... Yeah. I have used chicory root and noticed an increase in digestion when I give Conker certain foods. A prebiotic like that might be good.
http://rescuingshibas.blogspot.com/2011/08/experimental-outline.html
Jesse
http://www.jarrow.com/product/535/Jarro_Dophilus_Allergen_Free
I found the raw tripe smelly, but not too bad like a cow barn or something..
Since Mypetcarnivore is based in Indianapolis I plan to just make my next order there and get a bunch different tripe they got beef, lamb and I think bison..
I dunno if it helped I just fed it once a week in 1oz since I didn't have much, but man does the dogs love it Saya and Bella thought it was the best thing in the world! lol
I dunno when I'll be getting another order Saya's side of the freezer is still full she and Bella needs to eat up the food.. lol
Not sure on cheap probiotics sorry. I know some people use human grade kind for dogs not sure how much they'd need for each weight sorry.
Saya loves plain greek yogurt she gets couple spoonfuls two to three days a week to mix her cranimal very berry.
My understanding is that one takes (or gives) an 'intro' dose of good quality pro-biotic for a couple of weeks to efficiently build up the colony of helpful bacteria then one goes to a 'maintenance dose'. Perhaps yogurt would provide a good maintenance dose. The larger doses can be reintroduced during times that might undermine the colony (illness, stress, etc).
Have not read this linked to pro-biotic usage per se, but a mother introduces her biotic colony to her newborn via nursing and snuggles (likely dad too when he is closely involved) so pregnancy or immediately following might also be a good time to give pro-biotics. I can't imagine it would cause harm, but I don't KNOW that, maybe pre-pregnancy preparation would be better.
I also give Trip and yogurt, but I don't know. I am not sure it's enough. Tripe would have more than yogurt I would think. Maybe I should look into that.
There are many options. Here's a popular one over at SmartPak
ProBios: available in 25 lb buckets for $122.00
http://www.smartpakequine.com/probios-powder-5168p.aspx?cm_vc=Search
@tjbart17 - We have a few different reasons for needing/wanting to add a probiotic & prebiotic to our dog's diets...
Some of them like to eat poo, which makes us worry that they're not digesting/absorbing their food as efficiently as they should. We've tried several foods, but none of them seem to help with the poo eating. Also, a few of them are kinda crazy about eating grass (if they can find it). Then, our mastiffs have gas sometimes. And we think it's a good thing for them to have anyway. Kaia has had some GI issues as of late too, so we are hoping that a probiotic might help her too (he blood work came back clean).
I was thinking tripe might help with the grass eating. Maybe the poo eating too. We've had them tested to be sure these behaviors aren't a health concern, and they all check out fine (all healthy)... So, now we are just trying to figure out what they might be missing, or if it's just a learned behavior.
Also, we always have a seasonal GI issue here, it goes along with litters too. Just before the pups are born and just after several of the dogs will get sick. Also, they start eating poo more then too. So, we're looking for a long-term solution that might help reduce this cycle. We deworm them every 6 months, which typically goes along with breeding times too... So it's hard to say it's related to the new pups arrival, it could just simply be time for another deworming, or it could be the season change brings out lots of smaller critters and new vegetation that the dogs eat - and that upsets their GI - and so they eat more grass/poo due to that.
I'm a freak about picking up dog poo, I go out and pick up dog poo several times a day. So we manage it fine, but I'm just more worried about WHY they are eating it - and hoping a probiotic & prebiotic might help.
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Koda gets Tripe once a week and yogurt three times per week on his food. He's always had that, but with GI issues it didn't work. He started on the Lactinex as a prescription when he had the Rimadyl issue and we kept him on it through the surgery time, but he's done so well on Tramadal, Metacam, and Rimadyl as needed since he started on the Lactinex. It's been amazing!!!
If you get a human prescription for your dog it's covered under the discounted prescriptions program from the govt. I pick up Lactinex for $1 at Target for Koda. Maybe you could get a prescription for at least Kaia and whoever is eating poop.
We discovered that we have to do non dairy probiotics because the dairy in most probiotics cancels out the benefits for her.
*sidenote* really few things funnier than a dog startled by his own farts.