Top 13 Best Probiotics for dogs

Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that live in the digestive tract. Millions of these bacteria live in the gastrointestinal system of many animals, including dogs. These beneficial intestinal microorganisms balance the internal environment to prevent disease and promote our dog's health.
Dog next to a container that contains the best probiotics for dogs.

The Top 13 Best Probiotics for dogs

These are some of the best probiotics for dogs

Fortiflora for dogs

Probiotic with a minimum of 5 x 108 CFU per gram of the probiotic Enterococcus faecium SF68. This SF68 strain is the same as the aforementioned DSN 10663/ NCIMB 10415. It is a powder supplied in powder in sachets.

The differentiating feature of Fortiflora compared to other products is the presence in its formula of two vitamins, namely vitamin C and vitamin E, as well as a series of essential minerals (zinc, manganese, iron, copper, iodine and selenium) and beta-carotene, an antioxidant.

It is a product that promotes the dog's immune system with a better immune response against pathogenic elements (1).

It also has the ability to shorten the duration of non-specific diarrhea in dogs, accelerating the recovery process (3) as well as diarrhea associated with stress that our pet may suffer (4).

Manufactured by Purina, a brand with more than 80 years of history in pet food and with the guarantee of belonging to the Nestlé group. One of the products with the highest number of positive ratings from dog owners.

It is, therefore, a very complete and excellent quality product for our pet. The administration of probiotics is always beneficial to regulate their gut health regardless of whether the animal feels sick or shows any symptoms.

PROS:

  • Trusted brand
  • With vitamins and minerals

CONS:

  • Only one probiotic strain
  • Does not contain prebiotics
Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Supplements FortiFlora Dog Probiotic Supplement, Canine Nutritional Supplement - (72) 30 ct. Boxes
Price: $24.97
You save: $6.02 (19%)

Yumove for Dogs Lintbells

Another of the probiotics for dogs with Enterococcus faecium DSN 10663/ NCIMB 10415 that we can find in the market is YuMove for Dogs from the firm Lintbells, one of the most important veterinary supplement companies in the United Kingdom.

In addition to the probiotic Enterococcus faecium, it is a product rich in prebiotic fiber, having in its composition three types of fibers: short chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS), manooligosaccharides (MOS) and Betaglucan.

With YuMove for Dogs the quality of the feces is improved, the flatulence of the dog is diminished, and its appetite is improved.

It is supplied in tablets that you can crush and mix with his food in a meal or distribute it throughout the day's meals. If you prefer, you can give him the tablet from our own hand.

Each tablet contains 2 x 108 CFU of the probiotic Enterococcus faecium DSM 10663/ NCIMB 10415 4b1707

PROS:

  • Chewable. Easy to administer
  • Rich in fiber

CONS:

  • Less powerful formula
Yumpro Bioactiv Tablet (120 Tablets)
Price: $46.33
You save: $34.01 (42%)

Probiocin for Dogs - Oral Pet Gel

Product of the Probios brand, with the guarantee of belonging to the Danish multinational Chr. Hansen, a real reference in the field of probiotics with more than 100 years of history.

The product is a gel for oral administration that is administered by means of a type of syringe with a graduated plunger that allows the measurement of the grams of dose to be administered to the animal.

Each gram of product contains 1 x107 cfu of viable cells, a lower amount than the rest of the products analyzed.

This product, in addition to Enterococcus faecium, has three other probiotics:

Lactobacillus acidophilus, which has beneficial properties to promote intestinal health and improve the dog's immune system (6).

Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, which regulate and stabilize the dog's intestinal microbiota and also help to strengthen its immune system (7)

PROS:

  • Probiotic microorganisms from proprietary strains

CONS:

  • Not so easy to administer to the dog
  • Low power formula

Dogzymes Complete

We could say that it is an all-in-one.

Very complete product as it contains a wide range of probiotics from the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium as well as Enterococcus faecium.

It is supplied in powder form and each 3.2 g dose contains 19 billion of a total of 7 different probiotics.

It also has a series of fungi, basically of the Aspergillus genus, very rich in digestive enzymes (lipases, proteases, etc) that provide the product with excellent characteristics to improve the dog’s digestion.

Not everything ends here since it also contains more than 20 mineral components (Copper, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc or Selenium) and vitamins (A, E, D, C, group B), all of them essential elements that the dog cannot synthesize and that need to be contributed by means of the diet or thanks to these supplements.

It is supplied in powder form that can be mixed with the feed or dissolved in liquid and fed directly to the dog.

It is therefore a very complete probiotic for dogs because of its content in probiotics, enzymes, minerals and vitamins.

PROS:

  • Very complete product
  • With Aspergillus niger

CONS:

  • It does not identify the strain to which each probiotic belongs.

Vital Planet Flora Dog Probiotic

Probiotic for dogs with a very complete formula since it contains not only Enterococcus faecium but 9 additional probiotic species of the Lactobacillus genera as Bifidobacterium, being one of the probiotics for dogs with a greater spectrum of probiotics beneficial for the health of our dog.

It contains a total of 20 billion viable cells per dose (one 3.7 g scoop), which also makes it one of the probiotics for dogs with the highest concentration of viable microorganisms.

Supplied in powder form that can be mixed with the dog's feed.

PROS:

  • Formula 9 probiotic strains
  • Powerful formula

CONS:

  • Does not identify the strains, only the genus of each probiotic.

Glandex Anal Gland

This product contains a probiotic but is actually designed to promote and maintain clean and healthy anal glands (or anal sacs) of our pets. The obstruction of these glands is a common problem, not only in dogs, but also in cats and can significantly affect their well-being.

The product contains a probiotic species, 1.9 billion cfu of Lactobacillus acidophilus that helps, like all probiotics, to have a better intestinal health in the dog.

It also has other components such as Bromelain, a protease type enzyme that aids digestion, fibers in the form of Pectin and Pumpkin seeds, which helps to have firmer stools and, naturally, helps to empty and maintain healthy anal glands of the dog.

Finally, this Glandex product also has Quercetin, a flavonoid with beneficial properties as an antioxidant to prevent dog diseases more associated with age. Therefore, this is a probiotic product, but more focused on the problem of anal glands than on intestinal problems.

Glandex is an American company that was born precisely to combat this problem in our pets. Today it also makes other products for animal health.

PROS:

  • Good product for anal glands
  • Suitable also for cats

CONS:

  • Formula with 1 probiotic only

Naturvet – Digestive Enzymes

Product with a single probiotic species: 1.0 x1010 cfu of Bacillus coagulans, a probiotic widely used also in humans and with numerous studies on its benefits for intestinal health.

Bacillus coagulans has as a differentiating characteristic over the rest of probiotics, the capacity to form spores which gives it a greater resistance to the passage through the gastrointestinal tract.

This probiotic also has a series of digestive enzymes: amylase, protease, cellulase and lipase that help promote digestion since these enzymes are an important aid in the metabolism of starch, protein, cellulose and fat.

Manufactured by the American company Naturvet, with more than 25 years in animal care and an extensive catalog of products for dogs, cats and even horses.

PROS:

  • Resistant probiotics
  • With digestive enzymes

CONS:

  • Does not identify probiotic strains

Naturvet – Digestive Enzymes and probiotics

Another supplement from NaturVet with a similar composition but with an additional probiotic: Bacillus subtilis.

That is, it is a probiotic supplement with 2 probiotic strains belonging to the same genus. One of them is Bacillus coagulans and the other is Bacillus subtilis, a probiotic that when added to the dog's food, together with its feed, improves intestinal health and the characteristics of the feces, being drier and with less ammonia, as demonstrated in this study with 12 dogs (9).

It is supplied in the form of chewable tablets containing 1.1 billion cfu of the probiotic strains Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus coagulans.

PROS:

  • Formula with 2 resistant probiotics

CONS:

  • Does not identify probiotic strains

NutriVet Defense for dogs

Product with 1 x10microorganisms per capsule of three probiotics: Lactobacillus acidophilusBifidobacterium bifidum and Streptococcus thermophilus.

These three species are very common in probiotic products (S. thermophilus, is even one of only two species recognized by official bodies as a constituent of yogurt). They therefore have a beneficial role in displacing other pathogenic microorganisms and preventing their proliferation.

It also contains inulin, a prebiotic that acts by promoting the growth of microorganisms native to the dog’s intestine, thus stabilizing its intestinal microbiota.

PROS:

  • Contains several strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium
  • Contains Inulin, a prebiotic

CONS:

  • Does not identify probiotic strains

NUSENTIA Probiotic Miracle for Dogs and Cats

Symbiotic with prebiotic (Inulin) and 1 billion of a series of 6 probiotic species, all of which are acidic bacteria: Lactobacillus acidophilusLactobacillus plantarumLactobacillus reuteriLactobacillus rhamnosusLactobacillus salivarus and Bifidobacterium animalis.

Of the six species contained in the product, five of them belong to the genus Lactobacillus, that is, to the majority genus in the dog’s intestine, and in particular the species Lactobacillus acidophilus, which is the predominant one among all the lactobacilli (10).

Precisely, on L. acidophilus, a study was carried out in 15 dogs where it was confirmed that this bacterium crosses the gastrointestinal tract and reaches the colon where it exerts its beneficial effect, improving the intestinal health and the immune function of the dog (11).

There are also other studies that show how lactobacillus can produce a reduction in cholesterol levels in dogs diagnosed with enteritis or gastroenteritis (12).

In addition, the product contains Bifidobacterium animalis, a probiotic with the ability to reduce the resolution time of acute diarrhea in dogs (13).

This product can be combined with digestive enzymes: amylase, protease, lipase, cellulase and lactase that help the digestion process, as well as Bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme that acts in the same way, favoring the metabolism of proteins. This product also contains a series of minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium necessary to maintain good health in our pet.

PROS:

  • Very complete with 6 probiotic strains
  • Rich in lactobacilli
  • Contains Inulin

CONS:

  • It is supplied in powder form, which must be measured for administration

Jarrow Formulas Pet Dophilus

Probiotics for dogs and cats from the prestigious company Jarrow Formulas, with a composition that helps maintain a balanced intestinal microbiota while strengthening the immune function.

Jarrow Pet Dophilus formulas contain, per gram, a total of 1 billion viable cells of live species of the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and Pediococcus acidilactici, a species that is rare in these products but with studies showing its beneficial effect in the treatment of acute diarrhea in dogs by reducing the convalescence time(14)

This probiotic also contains Inulin, a prebiotic that promotes the growth of the dog’s native microbiota, as well as a component called Metabolin® which, according to the manufacturer Jarrow Formulas, is a mixture of components that act synergistically with probiotics.

PROS:

  • Formula with identified strains

CONS:

  • Supplied in powder form

Nutrition Strength Probiotics for Dogs

Very complete probiotic supplement with 10 strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus but also has bacillus coagulans, a microorganism with the ability to form spores which makes it more resistant to pass through the gastrointestinal tract.

It is supplied in the form of chewable tablets with an amount of 5 billion cfu of probiotics per tablet.

In addition, this probiotic supplement has several enzymes that aid digestion such as amylases, proteases or lipases, as well as bromelain and papain.

In addition to probiotics, it has prebiotics, specifically inulin and fructooligosaccharides that promote the growth of the dog's native microbiota.

PROS:

  • Formulated with several probiotic strains
  • Contains digestive enzymes
  • With Inulin (prebiotic)

CONS:

  • Unidentified strains

VSL 3 for Dogs

This is not the original VSL#3 whose formula was created by Dr. De Simone (that one is currently marketed as Vivsbiome).
The product we are analyzing here has a formula very similar to Dr. SImone's original, but it is not exactly the same.

It is a product designed for administration and therapeutic effect in humans, but there are also studies in which its efficacy has been evaluated in the treatment of certain intestinal pathologies in dogs, such as inflammatory bowel disease (15).

This product consists of a mixture of 8 probiotics:

  • Lactobacillus paracasei
  • Lactobacillus plantarum
  • Lactobacillus acidophilus
  • Lactobacillus helveticus
  • Bifidobacterium longum
  • Bifidobacterium infantis
  • Bifidobacterium breve
  • Streptococcus thermophilus

This VSL#3 is also characterized by very high concentrations of probiotics: 112 billion bacteria (1.12 x 1011) per capsule.

It is perhaps the probiotic with the highest concentration of bacteria in the market and several studies have demonstrated its efficacy also in dogs.

PROS:

  • Very potent formula
  • Human supplement with clinical studies in dogs

CONS:

  • Price
VSL#3® Probiotics Medical Food for Dietary Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), High Potency & Dose, 1 Gastro Recommended Multi-Strain Probiotic, 112.5 Billion CFU, 60 Capsules
Price: $74.95 ($1.25 / Count)


All bibliographic references to scientific articles ----> Here

Eduardo Santos de Paz

Pharmacist - Complutense University - Madrid - Spain
Diploma in Ophthalmic Optics and Optometry - Univ. of Barcelona - Spain.

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