BBC broadcaster and host of the award-nominated podcast ‘A DOG’S LIFE’ Anna Webb lives in London with her two dogs and has over 20 years’ experience in nutrition and behaviour. Read below as she gives us some of her expert insights explaining why & how probiotics can help your dog’s digestive health.
"Developing science on gut health agrees that the gut lining (or microbiome) houses between 80-90% of our immune systems. And that’s not just in humans, but in our dogs too! Growing evidence highlights the vital role of the microbiome i.e. the home to a microbial colony of bacteria that live in your dog’s body. With the largest and most important colony being the one that lives in your dog’s intestines and gut.
We often think that all bacteria is bad, but the microbiome thrives on being a balance of good bacteria and bad bacteria. The good bacteria keeps the bad ones in check, creating balance or ‘homeostasis’. According to microbiologists, the greater the diversity of bacteria, the healthier the microbiome is to maintain optimum health.
As well as helping with digestion, the bacteria in your dog’s microbiome helps regulate the immune system by excreting enzymes (proteins), small chain fatty acids, trace minerals and vitamins that trigger healthy cellular function. Common digestive upsets can be triggered by a dysbiosis or imbalance in the microbial colony and can be shown in symptoms from vomiting to runny stools, gassy tummies, bad breath, acid reflux, anorexia or obesity.
One way to easily identify the barometer of your dog’s health is in the daily ritual of picking up after your dog and assessing their stool quality and consistency. Put simply – always, look at your dog’s poo! The ideal stool is easy to pick up, dark in colour, not slimy and a torpedo shape. Maintaining a ‘perfect stool’ can be challenging and stool quality can be affected by many factors including: stress, a course of antibiotics, diet changes, drinking water changes, and other environmental factors.
As dogs have a remarkably acidic gastric pH compared to humans, some bacteria struggle with the acidity of a dog’s digestive system or can be impaired by medication. Recent research1 suggests that soil-based probiotics (SBOs) which are natural organisms found in soil and water, better help the dog’s gut pre or post a course of antibiotics as they are generally ‘antibiotic resistant’ and will not be harmed by medication.
SBOs are spore-forming bacteria, including Bacillus and Bifidobacterium, that act like ‘bouncers’ to bad bacteria. They colonise easily in the right conditions and can withstand the acidic pH of a dog’s digestive tract. Protected by a seed-like shell, SBOs survive their journey to your dog’s colon. This is also good news as they don’t hang out and feed in the small intestine, which can cause digestive issues like SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth).
Vital to the success of any probiotic to thrive and colonise is the addition of appropriate prebiotics. These are minute fibre particles from fruits and vegetables that allow the probiotic bacterium to eat and thrive.
Dorwest’s new Probiotic Plus is a three in one formulation that’s tailored with your dog’s gut health in mind, combining Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin as its prebiotic.
Inulin is found in vegetables like leeks and Jerusalem artichokes, but it’s provided by Dorwest in a bioavailable and appropriate dose. Inulin successfully transfers through the digestive tract and remains in the colon (gut) where it fuels the appropriate colonies of soil based probiotic bacteria.
Also containing the live probiotic bacterium known as Bacillus Valenzensis DSM 15544 – Calsporin. This is a robust soil-based probiotic, which is proven to improve stool consistency in dogs. Complemented by an inactive post-probiotic bacterium, known as Bifidobacterium longum CECT 7347, which also belongs to the soil-based family of probiotics.
Interestingly science is also revealing that gut bacteria produce hundreds of chemicals that act on the brain, including serotonin – the happy chemical that’s key to mood. The ‘Bifido’ bacterium is not only recognised for digestive health, but also as positively contributing to mood and cognition. There have been anecdotal studies of puppies weaned to a raw diet that show in stool samples that they are born with a large supply of Bifido bacterium, which sadly depletes as dogs age.
With so much going for the hundreds, if not thousands, of bacteria in your dog’s gut, adding a canine specific probiotic supplement, like Probiotic Plus, from a trusted supplier like Dorwest, makes sense for optimum health - inside and out!”
Anna Webb lives in London with her Miniature Bull Terrier Prudence, and Mr Binks, a re-homed English Toy Terrier. As a Canine Nutrition and Behaviour Expert, Anna combines her psychology degree with study at the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies (CIVT).
If you have any questions or need any help choosing which product is best for your pet's gut health - feel free to reach out and contact us our expert and friendly team on 01308 897272 or email info@dorwest.com.
