09/08/2020
Probiotics for your Pets: Not everything you read is TRUE
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐬: 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄
Paul A. Cardenio DVM, MSc
“Ok ka ba tiyan?” a popular tagline of a commercial probiotic for humans. Though being marketed for human consumption, it is gaining attention to pet owners, particularly those who self-medicate.
Your pet's gastrointestinal tract contains a lot of bacteria but in low numbers. It is a constant war zone for beneficial and pathogenic bacteria. But the good bacteria should always win, and we might win the “battle” if we supplement the dog’s gut with probiotics and other supplements that would improve the health of the intestinal mucosa and immune response.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬?
Probiotics are live microorganisms given with the intention of improving host health. They are believed to enhance the mucosal health by several mechanisms such as displacement of intestinal pathogens, acidifying the pH to prevent growth of pathogenic bacteria, production of antimicrobial peptides, enhancing growth of favorable endogenous microorganisms, competition for epithelial colonization sites and enhancement of immune responses.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧?
Probiotics commercially available for dogs and cats have their own recommendations that should be followed. Very little is known about the appropriate dose of probiotics in general in small animals, let alone in specific diseases.The European-approved probiotics as feed additives for dogs include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium animalis, Enterococcus faecium strains (E. faecium NCIMB 10415 E1705, E. faecium NCIMB 10415 E1707).
Other bacterial strains available as over‐the‐counter supplements for dogs contain different strains of Lactobacilli (L. acidophilus, L. casei, L. plantarum, L. paracasei, L. lactis, L. rhamnosus, L. salivarius ), Bifidobacteria (B. infantis, B. lactis, B. longum, B. bifidum ), Bacillus subtilis or coagulans and in some cases yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) or other fungi (Aspergillus oryzae ). However, limited data are available about the safety and efficacy of these microorganisms/products or the health claims associated with them.
𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞
In a recent systematic review (one of the highest forms of scientific evidence), it was concluded that probiotic supplement seems not to add significant improvement in prevention or treatment of clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease of dogs. Hence, it was suggested that larger randomized controlled studies should be conducted in the future to get better conclusions on the benefits of probiotics in dogs and cats with gastrointestinal diseases. However, in our own practice, we believe that it is still more beneficial to prescribe probiotics to patients with diarrhea or we suspect of having gut microbiota imbalance.
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫?
The mechanism is unclear on how the probiotics can eliminate worms. It is believed that the enhancement of IgA immune response and increase in intestinal mucin production may boost the intestinal clearance of intestinal worms. Numerous studies were conducted in mice infected with protozoans, roundworms, and whipworms. Also, a study reported that L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, and L. delbrueckii have 90% efficacy against hookworm in naturally infected dogs. However, since only few studies have demonstrated its efficacy on different species of roundworms, whipworms and tapeworms in naturally infected dogs and cats and the effect and response could be strain-specific, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐭 Would you drink probiotics when you see a worm on your own p**p? And you know the right answer, don’t you?
𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬?
Your vet could have prescribed probiotics to your sick pet while also being prescribed with antibiotics. Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis in human studies, it was concluded that probiotic use may be beneficial in the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea among outpatients. Meaning, the probiotics were given to prevent the diarrhea caused by taking up antibiotics. Remember: antibiotics can kill both good and bad bacteria. So it was found to be a safe practice to prescribe probiotics to patients taking up antibiotics, but not mixing them in the same container! If you do, you just killed the good bacteria and therefore will no longer be beneficial.
One bad example circulating online is dissolving a tablet of antibiotic to a probiotic. A bad combination. Imagine mixing your medicine (probiotic) with its antagonist/antidote (antibiotic) at the same time and hoping to create a miracle cure. ᴡᴀʟᴀɴɢ ɢᴀɴᴜɴ, ᴍᴀʀꜱ!
𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡?
With the right product and preparation, it may help but not a guarantee. I have seen one veterinary product used in a study have shown that their 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚-𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 can reduce bacterial load in the mouth of dogs and cats and qualitatively improving the smell of the breath of their pet. Also this could be strain-specific response, temporary and intake-dependent. But I believe that is only an option for those who can’t and will not give time to brush their dog’s teeth! Do you drink probiotic to make your breath smell fresh? Nothing beats good toothbrushing, and you know that!
𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬?
Your healthy dog will not die if given with human-prepared probiotics alone. But your sick dog 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩 if you give it as “home-made cocktail miracle cure” together with antibiotics, antidiarrheal drugs and whatever “sugar, spice and everything nice” you think of.
If you want to give your pet a probiotic supplement, it will be better if you will give dog/cat-formulated probiotics. There are a lot of choices in the market and the price is comparable to your usual bottle or capsule of human probiotics. As mentioned, your dog’s gut is a lot “dirtier” than ours since they keep on licking the floor, they eat their p**p and some may have access to raw foods and left-overs. So a single strain of probiotic not indicated for them may not be enough to get the beneficial effects of probiotics.
This post is long but I hope you learn more about probiotics. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 but not everything you read from “nagmamalasakit na pet owners” and dog groups are true. Ask your vets on veterinary-formulated probiotics available on them and don’t self-medicate!
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