Could probiotics help my dog?

[MoanyMcMoanington]

We have a 4 year old rescue dog.

He has been with us for just over 2 years and in all that time he has had tummy issues. Not helped by the fact he is a very anxious dog. He was purchased as a lockdown dog, most probably from a back yard breeder and then abused for the first year of his life.

We have seen several behaviourists and he is getting better but we have resigned ourselves to the fact that he will always be a very anxious and at times reactive dog and not a lot will fix that (especially as I suspect he was from a back yard breeder so god only knows what his history is).

He had very bad diarrhoea when we first got him but I put that down to him being so stressed as we are his second rescue family but even now with him living the very calm and small world to help him relax as much as possible he still has diarrhoea most days. It's strange because he actually starts off the day with normal stools but ends up going 5-6 times in a day and by the end it's like water.

We have changed his diet several times and have found that a higher protein and low to no grains works best (he vomits with higher grain food) and dry food works better.

I have wondered if a probiotic would help him? Has anyone had success with their dog on these?

It would be definitely be worth talking to your vet. I know when ours get a bout of diarrhoea we get a tube of what looks like chocolate paste which is basically a probiotic. If I can find the name I will leave another post.

Oh yes, with had that for past dogs.
I should have added that it's a nightmare getting our dog to the vet, he has to be seen in the car park as he barks so loudly in the building but they often won't prescribed anything without seeing him first.
I was hoping to get something online first.

I really think you need to get him seen by a vet. If he is having such loose stools, he can't be absorbing the nutrients from his food properly. You can't just assume it's anxiety.

My dog has had soft stools since he was a puppy. He has Yumove probiotic tablets, two with his supper. His stools are mostly normal now, thank goodness. But I would ask your vet as something else might be causing it. Perhaps a calming supplement might be worth trying too.

Have you tried eliminating foods other than grains? My dog doesn't do well with chicken for example (but all other meats, including duck, are fine).

Yes my vet told me chicken is the main culprit.

High anxiety and a tortured gut regularly go hand in hand. I hope your dog is already on ongoing anxiety medication to ease his fears.
This is an uncomfortable way to live, and while you certainly should try a probiotic, if you see little improvement in a month, you should see your vet again. Pre-visit calming medication will make it a less nerve-wracking undertaking.
Be aware that solving this type of thing can be complex and take time.
Diet will be a key component.
Also be aware that while certain dogs may do better on grain free food, we are also seeing a significantly increased number of very serious heart defects in dogs fed grain-free food, especially that high in legumes.

Yes, it could be another ingredient in his food causing problems. My dog can't tolerate chicken either or grains and legumes such as lentils and peas. She's doing great on a meat and veg based diet.
Maybe you could try a dog food such as Years dog food or Different Dog, they're similar to the more well known Butternut Box, but without the lentils etc.

His ongoing stomach issue could be the reason, or at least part of the reason, for his anxiety, so once you sort that out he might not be quite so nervous. I know when my dog isn't feeling well (even before there are any more obvious signs), because she gets very anxious and clingy.

I've used Lintbells probiotics in the past and found them to be good.

Forgot to say that he also has a sensitivity to chicken. He does very well on a salmon and rice kibble.

Thanks all.

A few things that I should have added on my op.

Our dog is on fluoxetine prescribed by the vet. Vet is aware of his tummy issues as this has been an issue since we got him.

We have experimented with his diet and found turkey and salmon seem the easiest on his gut and grain free dry complete food recommended by the vet.

Vet doesn't seem too concerned about our dogs tummy problems as he doesn't have diarrhoea all the time (he did a stool test a year ago) and he starts off the day with normal stool and it becomes looser as the day goes on. He only passes stool on his walks (one walk in the morning and one later in the afternoon) and never has any accidents in the house.

We were wondering if a probiotic may help to ease the afternoon issue and settle his tummy a little.

We experimented with various products and find he's does the best on Millie's Wolfheart. Swop between the turkey and the salmon.

We give our dog yumove probiotic tabs every day, and NO chicken. She gets scrumbles salmon dries food. Poos are great now! If we miss the probiotics you can tell within a day or 2.

Try them - can do no harm?

Thanks LDpuppy I've just bought some, fingers crossed. I'll check out those salmon dried food too.

Hope they work @MoanyMcMoanington . When I said I used Lintbells probiotics in my above post I was referring to Yumove, they used to be known as Lintbells Yumove but just go by Yumove now, I think. It's been a while since I used them. Anyway, they're very good

Our dog had chronic diarrhoea, we were back and forth to the vet and they recommended hydrolysed dog food (not hypoallergenic that's different apparently). It is expensive but fixed our dog's gut issues immediately. She now does perfectly formed, easy to pick up poo 🎉.

Probiotics are a good idea but they tend to help more in the long term.
For now, you might want to try a clay based supplement and slippery elm.
Have a look on the Aniforte website. There's loads of different products from different retailers to try but it's a good place to start.
Just be aware to feed them at a different time to the fluoxetine and separately from each other.

I always have a supply of probiotic paste tubes in case my dog gets the runs or seems to have tummy ache that doesn't go away quickly. It is cheaper on line. The one I get is Promax.

That's fine for occasional episodes of the runs but this dog has chronic diarrhoea.

Op speak to your vet about hydrolysed feed, it has the protein broken down for dogs with chronic problems. Honestly, it is awful for both dog and owner to cope with constant diarrhoea. Ours used to have a normal ish one a.m but it deteriorated in to watery yellow slop as the day wore on.

Second then Yumove probiotic daily. We have a mini schnauzer and he is much better on that. Also high protein and low fat diet works for him, he is on Acana Light and Fit Kibble. I also have the paste when he gets the runs which is very rare now, usually because he has managed to scavenge something revolting

Most dog food is highly processed. All the nutrients are removed through processing and then synthetic vitamins etc added.
Dogs get very little addition/variety/benefit to their microbiome with this food.

Dog food is not regulated in any way. You can stick anything in a can or bag and call it dog food.

Try a complete raw with your own mix of veggies and some fruits/seeds added.
Ideally, feed whole prey. As they come, or minced whole, but I appreciate this isn’t always possible with busy lives/space/squeamish/access to variety of prey animals…….

Also, don’t ask a vet about diet. They will just prescribe another highly processed food. Research someone knowledgeable in dog nutrition (not anyone affiliated to a dog food brand) and get a diet plan from them.

I just noticed he only goes when he is out on a walk. And he is fine in the morning and it builds through the day. I wonder, what with his anxiety, if the stress of being out on a walk is causing him to go.
I used to live rurally and we'd sometimes see - or she'd sense deer - and she'd get so over stimulated she invariably produce a liquidy poo.
I wonder what would happen if you didn't walk him. Just gave him enrichment activities in the house and garden. Take him out just to toilet if you don't have a garden or he won't go in the garden.

Also, re his diet, I'd try uber low fat. I have to be careful with mine and fat as she has a sensitive tummy and fat causes her to have loose stools.

It's not a whippet is it?

We had to move to raw feeding, firmed everything up in a week.

Yes my dog has 1/4 tablespoon of natural Greek yoghurt every morning now, she used to have just if she ate something while on a morning walk, but now all the time, never has tummy trouble and her poos are absolutely perfect. 1st class poos. I highly recommend it,

Had loads of issues, dog fed grain free bougie ass food etc went vets abroad as they are WAY more affordable (we travel a lot to eu and stay long periods sometimes) and just wow. Whole different dog.
So she had her butt glands checked idk the proper name. She had the poops for a month as we fought with food, including feeding her the food she had in the UK, similar foods but nothing was helping. Vet cleared glands, they weren't even infected etc but she said they were thick. Switched her to hypoallergenic food way cheaper than what she was eating and on specific type of probiotics and vet said not the same probiotic, one for two weeks and then a different one for a couple of weeks and back to original and some probiotics have something that can also irritate dogs so I have two types. We did bloods, poop samples, nothing was coming up. Urine samples, scans. We made it rain because in uk garden open, someone always let the dog out 4am etc but here it snows 😬 like snow snows. I'm not freezing my butt off and losing sleep in mad minus numbers.
After the anal gland clearing and new food plus probiotics she's been perfect. Perfect. Longest she has been without the poops since I can remember. She's also not reactive docile type so it wasn't anxiety etc fireworks don't even bother her.
We did so much from all angles, gland clearing, new food, specific probiotics on top of tests making sure it was nothing else - and idk which it was out of this lot but something worked.
She also had reflux so would vomit some mornings but this new food has stopped that.
Oh and no more probiotics needed for a long time too, just the hypoallergenic food. It's salmon and herring dry and surprisingly much cheaper than other food she was getting. First two months I wasn't convinced but by month four I realised that its just been good.

Sorry for the essay, know the stress of dog with non ideal poop plus the stress. The care and monitoring I had in the eu is wild plus I get the probiotics in a regular pharmacy! A lot of meds I had were prescribed and bought via pharmacy for the dogs and at affordable prices. Really opened my eyes to the price I pay in a hospital type vets in London.

No, he's a terrier.