Gut health

Disturbance of the normal intestinal micro flora in dogs is closely linked to diarrhea – either acute or chronic, and diarrhea may be both a cause and a consequence of imbalances in the intestinal micro flora. However, it may also give rise to other gastrointestinal problems such as general abdominal discomfort and pain, constipation or loss of appetite. Furthermore it may lead to a general immune-suppression and consequently to an increased risk of infectious diseases in general.

Traditionally, antibiotics were used in managing patients with intestinal bacterial overgrowth, but probiotics and prebiotics are emerging as equally and in the long-term more effective tools for re-establishing and maintaining a normal micro flora in the gastrointestinal tract (Batt 2003).

Probiotics are commonly defined as “ingested microbes that can modify intestinal microbial populations in a way that benefit the host”, and prebiotics are “non-digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the intestine, and thus improve host health”.