Does natural yoghurt really provide probiotics for your dog or cat?

Does natural yoghurt provide probiotics for your dog or cat?

Let’s take a look…

 

1. Pasteurisation kills live bacteria strains

Store bought natural yoghurts are pasteurised which kills off the good bacteria. Research shows that pasteurisation can cause more stress to the immune system and increase the risk of infection.

2. Some dogs are lactose intolerant 

Like humans, some dogs and cats don’t make enough lactase, the digestive enzyme required to digest milk. Your dog may experience diarrhoea, constipation (usually with cheese), gas, nausea and stomach cramps after consuming dairy.

3. The high acidity of your dog/cats gut kills any live bacteria strains before reaching the large intestine

Your dogs intestinal pH if healthy and not kibble fed should be much higher than humans. Any bacteria strains present in yoghurt is killed off by their gut acid before they reach the large intestine.

4. Some yoghurts contain added sugar or dangerous artificial sweeteners like Xylitol 

Natural yoghurt in moderation can still make a tasty treat if your animal digests it ok. If not, try sugar-free coconut yoghurt.

What to do instead? Source a good quality multi-strain probiotic made specifically for dogs/cats. Count the number of strains – there’s a lot of expensive gimmicky ones being marketed with only 2-3 strains.

Reduce or eliminate kibble which strips the gut of all diversity. Feed a wide variety of fresh whole foods to populate and diversify your animals microbiome. Fermented vegetables are also excellent. Intermittently add a good quality greens powder such as Super Greens Fusion or a Digestive Enzymes and Probiotic in 1 such as Digestive Care.

As a general rule, probiotics should not be given at the same time as antibiotics as the antibiotic will just kill off the probiotic strains, however we do have a probiotic - Saccharomyces Boulardii (SB) which can be given at the same time as antibiotics, which is great for animals or humans that are on long term or repeated antibiotic courses.

If your dog is experiencing gastro upset, mild vomiting or diarrhoea you could consider a 2-in-1 Probiotic and Digestive Soother such as Digestive Support.