Probiotics and prebiotics for a dog are one of the catchiest declarations on food or supplement. How to choose a probiotic for your dog? Are there really prebiotics in every food? How do they differ and how do they affect the balance of our animals’ gut microbiota?
Definition of a canine probiotic
Probiotics are preparations containing potentially “good bacteria” that:
1) have a specific beneficial effect on the dog’s body,
2) are delivered in a specified quantity on the packaging,
3) they are in the preparation in a form that allows them to be delivered to the place of action, i.e. to the dog’s tummy.
The probiotic label should include the following information:
- The name of the bacterial strain with its exact strain number,
- Amount of probiotic measured in Colony Forming Units (CFUs)
The description of the effects of a given probiotic on the dog’s body should be supported by studies with appropriate references.
Safety of probiotic administration for dog
Many people wonder about the safety of introducing live bacteria into the body. You need to know what strain you are introducing into the body, which is why it is so important to include the above-mentioned information. This becomes especially important if you are looking for a protective probiotic for a sick dog receiving antibiotics.
After reading the product description, you may find that the probiotic is not intended for dogs. It can be a product for rodents, chickens or calves, or a bacterium intended for acidifying feed with untested health-promoting properties. The dog’s owner must consider the use of the product in the situation if the product has not been tested for this purpose.
Due to the growing antibiotic resistance, it is recommended to give especially sick animals proven probiotics with studies of confirmed clinical efficacy in dogs. The owner should check this on the label before giving it to the dog.
A probiotic is a dietary supplement, i.e. complementary food. Therefore, from a legal perspective, its description is regulated similarly to snacks. The detail of the description on the product label depends on the manufacturer’s reliability.
The strains approved as specific probiotics for dogs in the European Union are: Enterococcus faecium SF68 (NCIMB 10415), Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (MUCL 39885), Bacillus velezensis (DSM 15544) – data as of January 2023.
The use of non-specific preparations with live bacteria may have benefits as well as potential risks that should be considered.
What is a prebiotic in dog food?
Prebiotics for dogs are non-digestible food ingredients that are a selective nutrient for beneficial bacteria that inhabit the dog’s digestive tract.
Substances that selectively affected the growth of beneficial bifidobacteria had already been observed. On the other hand, the definition and indication of specific components was made only in the mid-1990s. These are mainly fractions of specific carbohydrates, classified as fiber or fiber. Quite quickly, in order to improve the quality and regularity of bowel movements in dogs, they were introduced to food, at the end of the twentieth century.
The first prebiotic added to dog food was inulin. It is extracted from chicory fiber. Inulin affects the growth of bifidobacteria in the dog’s intestines over 30 days, supporting digestive processes. Through this action, inulin indirectly improves other body functions, m.in. passive immunity.
Currently, most complete foods, many snacks or supplements, have the addition of prebiotics in the form of specific fractions of dietary fiber (fiber). However, it should be emphasized that not every supplement has a prebiotic effect. The most common prebiotics in dog food come from fermentable fiber from vegetables, fruits or mushrooms. They must have a proven positive and selective effect on the local microbiota in the gut and, indirectly, on the dog’s entire body.
The composition of dog food includes prebiotics under names such as: inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), pectins, guar gum, and their sources are, m.in, chicory, beet pulp, artichokes, bananas, apple pomace, carrots, soybeans and others. Bacteria in the large intestine feed on fiber not digested by the dog’s body, producing nutrient molecules for intestinal cells. However, if the fiber level is too high, the dog may suffer from bloating, so choosing the right types of prebiotics and the final composition of the food is very important.
Learn more about the vital function of fiber in the gastrointestinal tract of dogs and cats.]
What is not a canine pro- or prebiotic?
There are many functional foods in Polish cuisine, but we cannot confuse them with functional additives with specific properties. Fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, cucumbers and sauerkraut are undeniably rich in bacteria, but they are not probiotics.
There are bacteria in fermented foods, but we do not know exactly what and in what amounts, which may not be beneficial, especially in the case of disease. Therefore, it is not recommended to give such foods instead of probiotics, neither to humans nor animals, when we want to achieve a specific clinical goal.
Similarly, in the case of dietary fiber, which has a regulatory effect on the digestive system , it cannot be said that every type of fiber (or fiber) has a prebiotic effect (selectively supporting a beneficial microbiota).
Of course, the addition of bran, flaxseed or psyllium husk to our dog’s diet can have an impact on the quality of our dog’s bowel movements. The ingredients of the meal complement each other, so such an addition must match the entire recipe.
Achieving stable effects of supporting the dog’s gut microbiota is possible if we take into account the overall lifestyle of the dog, and not by changing one or two ingredients in the diet.
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