Probiotic Opinions, As Well As Slippery Elm For Loose Stools

[WHanson12]

My 12 year old Grey girl, Molly, has puddin poop, sometimes formed when she initially poops then turns into diarrhea the last bit. This symptom was part of her gastritis or mild pancreatitis she developed a week ago, coincidentally (?) after starting a new bag of Canidae Platinum for seniors which I've since discontinued. She has been to the vet a couple times last week for bloodwork, fecal, fluids & meds. I've been feeding her the bland diet all week. She's been on the Flagyl all week & a probiotic made by Iams called Prostora Max (expensive! $26.25 for 15 tablets at the vet!!) with limited results. Can the probiotics generally aid a Grey's digestive process? Is it worth keeping her on it long term? Is there a better brand than another & are any of them sold over the counter? I was also researching the use of slippery elm bark to help firm her poop. Any opinions on this herb in Greys? Effectiveness? Powder form or loose, dried leaves you brew as tea & mix with their food? Dosage of powder form & tea mix? Any specific brand or place to purchase it from?

This is the first chronic loose poop our senior girl has ever had that didn't clear up. I've added a small amount of pumpkin to her diet daily which she likes. I'm not confident in the vet's Greyhound competence, although diarrhea treatment is probably the same in any breed of dog. But the vet said that I shouldn't give Molly people yogurt for the probiotic purpose as their intestinal flora is different than humans. But the probiotic in Canidae Platinum is the same as what's in the human yogurt (non fat, plain)...Makes me question the vet's overall knowledge--maybe not a fair conclusion, but we've probably all been there before, right?

Thanks for any feedback y'all may have--I greytly appreciate it!! (sorry for the novel!!)

[Houndtime]

I have given my dogs slipper elm. Open the capsule and sprinkle it over the food. Make sure to add water. Have you tried home cooked oatmeal? That is my new go to for stomach upsets. All of your sensitive stomach foods contain oatmeal.

 

Forgot to add: I purchase over the counter, human probiotics.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Houndtime

[a_daerr]

Fortiflora is pretty commonly used by GT'ers. I used it on a few fosters with good results.

Edited May 28, 2013 by a_daerr

[Guest Giselle]

If it's not toxic and you find that it helps, go ahead and stick with it. I've known many dogs with chronic pudding poops, and I think it has much more to do with inherited issues than diet. So, if you find something that works, go ahead and use it. Go ahead and experiment. There really is no one size fits all diet.

 

In defense of your vet, I personally believe that gastroenterology is very poorly understood in comparison to the rest of the body. From my experience, I feel that "probiotics" are basically a nice marketing gimmick. Why? For one, we know that the natural bacterial community in our guts is VERY different between individuals. My gut flora is nothing like your gut flora! And your gut flora changes day by day, hour by hour. It changes according to your age! And I strongly suspect that this is true for all other animals, including dogs, as well. Thus, I find it hard to believe that mass-marketed "probiotics" do much good in the long run for most people or animals. If they help you and your dog, great! If not, well, I can't say it surprises me! Gastroenterology has a long way to go, and we're JUST barely understanding the gut microbiome.

[racindog]

I like Primal Defense probiotics. I think it is the only one that has the "earth organisms" in it. I believe it is helpful. Usually get off EBAY where it is cheaper than most vet supplies. It is reccommended by my holistic vet as well. She also recommends Pearls.

[LaFlaca]

FortiFlora works well for my Wendy.

[Guest FreeholdHound]

Naturvet Diestive Enzymed with Pre/Probiotics. Forti Flora made things worse for Harry - go figure

[rschultz]

Lexie tried several probiotics but the one that works the best is the vetri probiotic chews.

[Guest mameyer]

I also use human OTC probiotics for Ari. Costco sells truNature 100ct for $19. We've spent the past year and a half getting his gut straight since I brought him home. Pepcid, Tylan and a daily probiotic keep things pretty perfect. I have tried to wean off probiotics a couple times without changing anything else (purely because I was skeptical that they were making a difference), but both times resulted in diarrhea.

[Guest driser]

Oh, I feel ya! Our GH had diarrhea for a myriad of reasons the first YEAR we had him. We've nailed down the right food, finally won the battle over hook worms, and have found the probiotic that suits him the best... Proflora. We get them from www.entirelypets.com

 

He LIVES for them. He doesn't get this excited over biscuits as he does for his morning and before bed Probiotic chew.

[Guest WhiteWave]

Just started Joey on this one.http://nusentia.com/dog-supplements/probiotics-for-dogs.html

 

Luna came with it and I gave some to Joey. After first dose- poop started firming up. Just looked it up, it is expensive, but if it continues to work it is worth is. I will have to order another container soon.

 

I was looking at this too when ordering dog food and it has enyzmes and probiotics. http://www.k9power.com/wholistic-pet-organics/wholistic-digest-all-plus.html

[Guest Scarter55]

Our breeder warned us that Lady's poops had been pretty soft before we picked her up. So we got Fruitables in preparation for it. Nothing medical, just high fiber veggie mixes to top the food with. We still use it as Lady liked it and it seemed to work. http://fruitablespetfood.com/fruitables_products.html Bonus: I actually know all the ingredients listed! I'm not sure if this has any benefits over just plain old pumpkin or not. We also mix in cooked grains with her food, including oatmeal sometimes.

 

On a side note:

I feel that "probiotics" are basically a nice marketing gimmick.

As a marketer, you are 100% right. Just as organic, free range, cage free, grass fed, etc are. Basically, everything is marketing! (which keeps me in a job!) For some foods, there is no difference between organic and not, so by default they are "organic". Grass fed cows need only be fed grass their last meal before slaughter. Eggs can't actually be cage free, but there is nothing to stop them from putting it on labels. I remember during the Atkins craze seeing bread that was "Atkins"...what? In a perfect world, I would buy all my food from sources that I know, but we all do the best we can.

[Guest bearanddingo]

My Grey also was diagnosed with pancreatitis and we had tried several foods including Diamond Seniors and Blue Buffalo Weight Management (for the low fat content). Currently he is on NutriSource Lamb Meal and Rice that has added probiotics and his stool has been great! Of course he is also on a powdered digestive enzyme (NaturVet) and GNC multivitamin, but he was also on those with the other foods. I believe the NutriSource (if you are willing to change foods) is a great option for a food containing probiotics.

[TheFullHouse]

My vet started Bullitt on Proviable-DC after he was diagnosed with kidney disease because his stools were awful. It worked like a charm. You can purchase them on Amazon, 80 capsules for $26.00 and he only takes one a day.