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Originally Posted by hcelsa A high quality probiotic is MUCH better than adding yogurt. To actually get a beneficial amount of probiotics from yogurt you'd have to feed very large quantities (and for many dogs yogurt can actually cause stomach upset)! |
This is very good advice, especially for a dog like Elmo who is still in the recovery stage of a severe gastro upset. You'll get the benefit of beneficial bacteria without adding anything else to potentially have a reaction to and complicate things further.
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Originally Posted by hcelsa Also its important to remember that dogs can have allergies/reactions to seemingly harmless supplements (and in some cases different brands of the same supplement--after all, every dog is an individual), so it helps to remove all of that stuff for a few weeks and then start adding one thing in at a time so that you can be sure it isn't what is causing the reaction. |
Also good advice. My dog will never be able to tolerate a commercial diet of any kind for this very reason....it is not possible to identify or isolate the offending agent when contained in a commercial food. Even with vitamin/mineral supplements I have to pay attention. When first introducing a supplement to balance her primary elimination diet, I tried several of the best human quality supplements only to have each one set her back a step. The one that ultimately agrees with her turns out to be a very generic human grade supplement, no frills attached. Something or a number of somethings contained in those higher priced supplements is not present in your everyday, run of the mill, economical vitamin/mineral supplements...and that is the one that works for her.
Also, when adding a new ingredient (supplement or otherwise), you need to give it some time before you'll be able to determine if it's tolerable. A dog may seem just fine for a few days and then develop a reaction to the new ingredient. I gave each new addition a minimum of 4-5 weeks before even thinking about adding anything else.