Probiotics

edhammo59

New member
Is anyone using probiotics for your dogs? My lab has had loose stools ever since he was a pup. I have tried switching diets and had tests done on him and nothing shows up or helps. Just wondering if probiotics might help.
 
i'm assuming the vet has ruled out any parasites?

Have you tried increasing fiber. Ask your vet what they recommend. Real Canned pumpkin (not pie filling) does a pretty good job of bulking up the stool. add a spoonful to their food. Just make sure they get plenty of water with added fiber.

As far as Probiotics, you could try Probiotic Max. Certainly won't hurt anything. Bout as good as it gets for Probiotics for dogs. A whole lot more than giving your dog yogurt. https://naturesfarmacy.com/store/products/dogzymes-probiotic-max-1lb/
 
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Vet ruled out all parasites. Tried the pumpkin also for a couple of weeks and it didn't seem to help. Vet says its just due to him being high strung. think I will try the probiotics and see if that helps.
 
I know what you mean by high energy. I have an 18 month old that gives new meaning to the word.

Yeah go ahead and try Probiotics, it's actually extremely healthy for them regardless. A two pound container of Probiotic max will likely last one dog damn near a year. Shelf life is like 2+ years.
 
My last lab could not handle high protein food. For her, 27% crude protein was the max, or she would sh1t through the eye of a needle! LOL I certainly would not hesitate to give your dog the probiotic additive, but based on my experience (admittedly - just the one dog, not exactly a huge sample size!), I would pick up a small bag of lower-protein (but still high-quality) food and phase pup over to that and see if things firm up.
-Dave
 
Thanks to all for the advice. I switched dog food to Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach along with a probiotic my local feed store carries. It has made a remarkable difference. The dog food is pretty expensive but its well worth it.
 
There has been a whole bunch of issues with several dog foods these days. Every one seems to be pissing around with recipes to go with the new designer berry, fruity nut job stuf. Makes me mad I tell ya. Started with Native for me. Turned to crap and went through the roof on price. Diamond naturals went to designer berry crap, food went to crap, Exceed from sams just did the same thing to me, berry junk, 10 lbs less for the same price. No clue what proplan had going on but something was. Bad issues with that for a while. I am now on 50-50 exceed with the last few original bags mixed with proplan to go back to that again. It never ends. And why some decent foods seem to have went through the roof on price back when gas and ingredients went sky high. But yet have not came back to earth since the market crash and cheap shipping etc???? Gougers and greed, plain and simple. Dog food can literally drive a person nuts.
 
I have never had a dog with loose stools like this one. Extremely healthy and very active but going into his pen was a nightmare. We tried every type of dog food out there and had finally found a brand at Tractor Supply that was lower protein and with lamb as the main ingredient in it and it helped to some degree. Magic spent 4 months at the trainer this summer and when he came home the loose stools started all over again and still the vet couldn't find anything wrong. As a last resort before trying the Vet only formula of IAMS I tried this Purina Pro Plan Sensitive stomach and it seems to be working.
 
Good to hear things are better. Find something that works and stick with it...

Do you think the Probiotics had anything to do with getting better?

One way to find out i guess and feed the sensitive formula by itself and see what happens...
 
PS. Dogzymes probiotic MAX is a great product. I have used it for a long time. Forti flora can work in a pinch and can be found around town at some vets. But it is not as good. It works, and has saved my rear a couple times. But Max is a much better product. Helps build muscle, digest the good parts of food, gives nice coats, just over all health will improve.:thumbsup:
 
I had a dog years ago that had loose stools. Not diarrhea but soft. Ran several test for parasites and nothing. I was feeding Pro Plan and switched to Eukenuba nothing changed. Switched vets and the new vet discovered Giardia. Giardia is very hard to identify sometimes. Might be worth a shot to look into. With Giardia the soft stools can come and go. Took a couple of days of Panacur I believe and problem was gone forever.

That is the only dog I have ever had a problem with in over 40 years. I start them all on heart wormer at 8 weeks and have never had a parasite problem or a dog with a stool problem other than the one I mentioned.
 
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Giardia is easy to spot. But, they have to run a separate test. Not the standard stool test for parasites and coccidia. For whatever reason there sure seems to be a bunch of changes in feed, and big price points this day and age. It gets depressing.
 
I'm not sure if its the ProBios or the Purina Sensitve food. I tend to think its the food as I saw improvement on the second day and I'm not sure the probiotic would have worked that fast. He was tested for the giardia and nothing was found so all they could come up with was a nervous stomach. Anyway it looks like I found something that works and plant to stick with it. Thanks all for the help. Its great to have knowledgeable folks to discuss things with.
 
Probiotics will work that fast, or faster rather, then diet change. One thing to point out since I have tons of experience with this, is that remember, anytime you give your dog antibiotics for anything. Moxi tabs, doxycycline, clavimox and so on for whatever reason. You are not only killing bad bacteria, but also the good bacteria in the GI tract. It is always good to supplement antibiotics with probiotics. Many times you will have loose stool after using antibiotics. And that can drag out for a long time. The body sometimes can not replenish the good bacteria needed to digest food properly fast enough.:thumbsup: That's where products like forti flora are real nice to have on hand. Works for me every time. But I don't like it for daily use. I personally like the MAX for that. Just my 2 cents. Maybe ask your vet about that if you did happen back then to use any antibiotics. Many times they will give proviable paste, and capsules with them. Which is way more expensive.
 
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