Client Education Series: Probiotics
What you do not know about probiotics can deprive you, your dog and other pets of a huge health advantage. Probiotics benefit dogs, cats and people by helping prevent chronic health problems. They benefit your dog and cat by reducing toxins, strengthening organs, removing bound, decaying matter, and fortifying your dog’s system with important nutrients lost with processed foods, antibiotics, illness or stress.
Probiotics should be selected based on the health and stress level of the animal, and compliment any veterinary therapy.Nutrition is the bridge between cells of the body and the microorganisms that inhabit the healthy gastrointestinal tract (GIT), extends from the mouth to the anus, hosting approximately 400 different species of microorganisms, called endogenous flora or microflora.
All mammals require these beneficial organisms and biologically produce substances to create a hospitable environment for them to take up residency, for necessary health and proper functioning of the GIT.Processed foods and stressful environments deprive dogs and the rest of us of these valuable organisms and nutrients we need to metabolize.Endrogenous micro flora play an intrinsic role in your dog’s digestive issues: gas, bloat, bad breath, inflammatory bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, vomiting, stool eating, chronic skin problems and allergies. Included in the list are parasites, worms, endurance, fatigue, hypertension and joint problems, especially for elderly dogs, and immunology.
The microflora and the immune system are intrinsically connected. Few diseases are isolated in nature, and repercussions throughout the body are probable.Stress, PH changes due to antibiotics, or cessation of nutrient flow in your dog or any mammal can kill off endogenous microflora attached to the walls of the GIT. As a result, areas within the GIT are stripped of the naturally protective microorganisms, creating an open invitation to opportunistic pathogens that can make animals sick by competing for available nutrients and starving the beneficial microorganisims, or more seriously, through the production of toxins. The smallest amount of toxin can make an animal sick to deathly ill, and it can happen quickly.
Probiotics May Assist in Pets’ Faster Recovery
Probiotics for our dogs, cats and other mammals act as replacements until the endogenous microflora, decimated by antibiotics, stress or illness, can recover.Antibiotics can kill probiotic microorganisims. Probiotics help control infections and prevent secondary infections, not in the GIT but by stimulating the immune system.To help your dog or cat get the best protective coverage, rather than opportunistic pathogens, use a wide- spectrum probiotic, containing required amounts of the widest selection possible of different species.
No one species is the best for every requirement or need and it can take 10-14 days for probiotics to fully activate in your dogs system.Giving probiotics to your pet helps produce natural antibiotics, which fight harmful bacteria. Probiotics benefit your pet’s digestions of food, and aid in the absorption of nutrients, antioxidant and iron from food digested. They can help your dog with food intolerance while aiding in absorption of B vitamins, biotin and folic acid.
Probiotics for dogs assist in controlling the growth of yeast, regulating hormone levels, stimulating the immune system, reducing inflammation and increasing energy levels.
