Probiotics for Dogs

What are the Risks?

Since we're dealing with live organisms that communicate and operate inside the body, it is smart to know the basics about the individual species of probiotics, their activity, and how they affect the body of your dog. [4]

The most common side effect would be during the transitional phase when your dog is first introduced to probiotics. Your dog may experience excess gas or bloating. In some cases, your dog may appear more thirsty. These are all signs that your dog is detoxifying, and generally subside within a matter of days, or at worst, a couple weeks.*

• Read: Introducing Probiotics, What to Expect

With any diet change, you can expect your dog to experience some physical changes, but in the end, probiotics are a generally safe way to promote wellness long term in your dog.

Are there any risks with probiotics?

Each species of dog probiotics has unique characteristics and perform some specific function in the gut. Of the innumerable amounts of species of probiotics for dogs, some, such as E. faecium, are more controversial than others their ability to become pathogenic [1, 2, 3], not just to your dog, but to the human delivering the probiotics on the food.

Learning about each species of dog probiotics, including innocuous (safe) and potentially hazardous ones, can be helpful in understanding what's right for your particular dog.