Nothing is more important than keeping your dog healthy and happy. Whether it’s picking out the right food, making sure they get enough exercise, or finding a cozy bed for your furry friend, you probably do all you can to make sure your baby is living a happy, healthy life.
One important aspect of your pet’s health that you may not have considered, though, is probiotics. Probiotics are a type of beneficial bacteria that can be super helpful for your dog’s health. These live microorganisms play a super important role in maintaining gut health — not just for dogs but for humans too.
So, what exactly do probiotics do for your dog? And which probiotics are best? There are different types of beneficial bacteria, along with something called prebiotics, which work together with probiotics. The benefits of probiotics go beyond just a healthy gut — they can also improve your dog’s immune system, and help them stay healthy for the long haul.
Probiotics can even help with your dog’s allergies, which is a huge plus. Some probiotic supplements for dogs are specifically designed for dogs with allergies. That said, any type of probiotic should be beneficial, since they provide support to the immune system. Let’s take a closer look at the best probiotics for dogs with allergies below.
What is the Best Probiotic for Dogs with Allergies?
If your dog struggles with allergies — particularly seasonal allergies — certain strains of probiotics might be a helpful solution. By strengthening your dog’s immune response, probiotics could make their allergy symptoms (like itching, redness, and discomfort) less intense, especially during the peak allergy seasons. Here are some pet probiotic options from Under the Weather:
Ready Balance Probiotic Supplement for Dogs
Ready Balance Probiotic Gel is a quick and effective oral supplement that’s designed to help dogs when they’re dealing with severe digestive issues. Stressful situations — like surgery, taking antibiotics, or illness — can mess up your dog’s digestion. This can lead to problems like diarrhea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and even malnutrition.
When used as directed, this vet-formulated gel can firm up your dog’s stools, restore normal digestion and appetite, and help your furry friend feel better quickly. It includes six different types of live (viable) probiotic bacteria, along with plenty of vitamins and prebiotic inulin to support the growth of good gut bacteria and help restore digestive balance. It comes in an easy-to-use dial-a-dose tube, and most dogs love the flavor.
Ingredients
- Soy oil
- Coconut oil
- Sucrose
- Corn starch
- Dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product
- Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product
- Dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product
- Dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product
- Inulin
- Hydrolyzed yeast
- Dried bacillus subtilis fermentation product
- Dried bacillus licheniformis fermentation product, d-calcium pantothenate
- Pyridoxine hydrochloride
- Riboflavin
- Vitamin B12 supplement
Directions
Feed orally to your dog(s) at the rate of 1 gram per 10 lbs of body weight, twice a day.
Probiotic Soft Chews & Anti-Diarrhea for Dogs
This bundle of products is designed to improve digestion, calm your dog’s upset stomach, and quickly stop diarrhea. Let’s take a closer look at what’s included in this bundle:
Anti-Diarrhea Liquid for Dogs
If your dog is experiencing a serious case of the runs, this vet-formulated Anti-Diarrhea Liquid can help firm up their stools and soothe their upset stomach. Ingredients like Kaolin and Pectin work together to absorb bacteria and toxins from the digestive tract. This helps to reduce gas and diarrhea. It also helps ease the discomfort, irritation, and cramping that come with diarrhea in dogs.
Active Ingredients
- Kaolin 8.0%
Inactive ingredients
- Calcium Amino Acid Chelate
- Glycerin
- Lactic Acid
- Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate
- Pectin
- Potassium Sorbate
- Sodium Benzoate
- Sodium Chloride
- Sorbic Acid
- Sorbitol
- Xanthan Gum
Probiotic Supplement Chews
These soft chews are a great choice if you want to help your dog maintain a healthy appetite. They contain live (viable) good bacteria and do not contain corn or artificial flavors. These chews will help keep a balanced level of good bacteria in your dog’s gut. Your pup will also enjoy the chicken liver flavor.
Ingredients
- Brewers dried yeast
- Chicken liver flavor
- Vegetable glycerin
- Fructooligosaccharides
- Sunflower lecithin
- Arabic gum
- Canola oil
- Dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product
- Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product
- Dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product
- Guar gum
- Silicon dioxide
- Tetrasodium pyrophosphate
- Vegetable oil
- Natural mixed tocopherols (a preservative)
- Rosemary extract (natural flavor)
- Green tea extract (natural flavor)
- Spearmint (natural flavor)
- Citric acid
- Buffered white distilled vinegar
The Benefits of Probiotics for Dogs
Probiotics are usually recommended by vets to help keep a dog’s gut health in good shape. The reason for this is that probiotics help to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria in a dog’s digestive system.
Normally, a healthy dog can manage this balance on their own. However, during times of stress or illness, things can get thrown out of whack. Many dogs seem to benefit from probiotics when this happens. Let’s take a look at some of the positive effects of probiotics for dogs below:
Digestive Health
Probiotics help keep the environment in your dog’s intestines stable by adjusting the acidity in their digestive tract and releasing short-chain fatty acids. This can be helpful if your dog accidentally consumes harmful bacteria (like Salmonella).
Probiotics fight off these harmful bacteria by competing for the same resources, which makes it harder for the bad bacteria to thrive. By increasing the number of good intestinal bacteria, probiotics reduce the amount of harmful bacteria to levels your dog’s body can effectively handle.
Immune Health
A large portion of your dog’s immune system is in their gut, so keeping it healthy is super important. Once again, probiotics help to create a balanced environment in the digestive system, which helps the dog’s immune system work more effectively. It also prevents harmful pathogens from spreading throughout the dog’s body.
Your dog is also quite likely to have gut issues during stressful times (like moving, or when you go on vacation). If you keep their immune system healthy by giving them daily probiotics, it’s more likely that they’ll be able to handle their stress without also having to deal with gut issues.
Relief from Seasonal Allergies
If your dog has allergies, probiotics might help them feel better. As previously mentioned, probiotics can help strengthen the immune system (and therefore can reduce allergy symptoms). If you notice that your dog is struggling with allergies, ask your vet if probiotics might be a good solution.
How to Choose a Probiotic for Dogs with Allergies
Choosing the best probiotic for your dog with allergies isn’t exactly a straightforward process. That’s why we’re here to help! When picking out a probiotic for your dog, you should consider these factors:
Identify the Type of Allergy
Allergies in dogs are a serious issue. Consider taking your dog to the vet for help in discovering what kind of allergy they have. It’s important to know if probiotics might make things worse for your dog. Some dogs need to follow very specific diets for diagnosis and treatment, and adding any extra supplements could interfere. Make sure you know what foods your dog is allergic to so you can avoid them.
Check the Ingredients
Look closely at the ingredients in any probiotic product. Make sure it has high levels of live bacteria and avoid anything that might trigger your dog’s allergies. Pay attention to the types of bacteria included. If there are ingredients you don’t recognize, do some research to make sure they’re safe for your dog.
Choose a brand you trust
Only purchase probiotics from brands that have a solid reputation for safety and accuracy, like Under the Weather. Read industry reports and compare them to what’s on the product packaging. Also, check out the brand’s policies and the companies that make and test the probiotics to make sure you’re getting something reliable.
How to Give Probiotics to Your Dog
Giving your dog probiotics shouldn’t be too difficult. Of course, some dogs are good at avoiding pills, in which case you may be better off choosing a probiotic that’s in gel or powder form. Soft probiotic chews usually work pretty well, too. If it’s a powder, you can simply mix it into your dog’s food. You can also wrap a pill or tablet in a pill pocket.
You can give your dog probiotics ahead of time if you know something stressful is coming up — like staying at a kennel while you’re on vacation or moving to a new place, to give you some examples.
Start giving your dog probiotics a few days before the event, so your dog’s gut is in the best shape possible. You can also make probiotics a regular part of your dog’s daily routine — just ask your vet first.
Conclusion
Here at Under the Weather, we believe that your pet(s) deserve only the best. That’s why we’re here to recommend the best supplements (including probiotics) for your furry companions. We have plenty of life-changing products available, so don’t hesitate to check out our wide selection. When your pet is healthy, your home is happier. Help Your Pet Here.
