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pro-bios vs. Nzymes bak-pak plus vs. yogurt

8K views 33 replies 8 participants last post by  countryboy73703 
#1 ·
I've been raw feeding for 3 or 4 months now, started with my husky mix, everything went good, so when i got my GSD pup I started her on raw at like 10-11 weeks old. everything is still going good.

what I'm trying to find out is if one is better than the other. I've only used the pro-bios that you can buy from the Leerburg site. but now that i"m raw feeding 2 dogs, I'm blowing right thru the pro-bios. the cost isn't really the issue, as is't about the same cost as the Nzymes bak pak plus, BUT the pro-bios dosage is about 5 times as much as a daily supplement as the Nzymes is. there's a guy on you tube that I watch that was using nzymes for it raw feed, and he seemed very happy with it. anywho, if I can get about 3-5 times the length of nzymes, and its just as good or better then the pro-bios then I'll consider switching, cause I'm tired of ordering a new thing every month or 2. Also, I used yogurt when I originally made the first 2 weeks of food just to trying it, and switch over to raw. and it seemed to work good, the price difference isn't much difference to the pro-bios, and its available at the store.

Any knowledge is welcomed. FYI when I prepare food, I use ground beef at the main ingredient. and RMB comes from chicken legs or necks. and every now and then ( every other week or so) i'll buy some 1 pound cornish game hens, and split it between both dogs as a meal. I prepare the food for a whole month for both dogs, and i freeze, and thaw out enough for a weeks food at a time. other stuff is added into the mix, ofal and such, as well as kep, and alfalfa powder, and puried brocoli, and sometimes a potato, and also eggs are added. thanks for the help.

Josh
 
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#4 ·
All of the products have different properties:


PROBIOS - Ingredients: Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, and Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product.

Nyzmes Bac Pac: Ingredients: Dried Whey, Active Dried Yeast, Ground Flaxseed, Yucca schidigera extract, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract Product, Silicon Dioxide

Yogurt is a dairy product made by culturing cream and/or milk with live and active cultures. The cultures in yogurt are living organisms. Yogurt that's produced in the U.S. is made with two specific live and active cultures: Lactobacillus bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus) and Streptococcus thermophilus (S. thermophilus). These metabolize some of the milk sugar (lactose) in the milk into lactic acid. This action helps change the consistency of liquid milk into yogurt. L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus are required by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards for a product to be called yogurt.

Here is some Pro Biotic information that may help you decide exactly what your dog needs by Dr. Karen Becker:
Probiotics are considered "beneficial" or "good" bacteria. There are many different kinds, or strains, of these bacteria. Each works to create a healthy balance in your pet's gastrointestinal system.
Individual strands are helpful for maintaining overall health as well as uniquely responding to the variety of daily stressors, both emotional and physiological, that your pet encounters.
Research shows that 10 or more strains are recommended for promoting optimal health.
So, if you find a pet probiotic product has 1-2 strains of bacteria – as is the case with many probiotics available today – that's fine. But, in my opinion, selecting a probiotic that has 10 or more beneficial strains is a much preferred option.
Why? The more beneficial strains you have in your probiotic, the better able they are to respond to the wide variety of stressors that can affect your pet's GI system.
Many products today contain between 1 and 3 million beneficial bacteria per serving. This is okay. Any amount of probiotics can be helpful. However, in my opinion, if you really want to make sure you're promoting optimal health and wellbeing, you can do far better. Ideally, I believe you'll want to find a probiotic formula with 20, 30, 40 million or more beneficial bacteria per serving.
1. Bifidobacterium lactis: a friendly bacteria often found in yogurt that is known to help stimulate immune responses.
2. Bifidobacterium animalis: a unique bacteria that promotes optimal health and protection within the digestive tract.
3. Lactobacillus acidophilus: guards the health of your pet's entire digestive tract.
4. Bifidobacterium longum: keeps your pet's digestive system running smoothly, and helps enhance their immune system.
5. Bifidobacterium bifidum: helps promote a healthy balance of flora in your pet's intestine. What's more, this organism is especially helpful for enhancing immune response.
6. Lactobacillus casei: works with other helpful organisms, and helps to encourage the growth of other "good" bacteria.
7. Lactobacillus plantarum: helps to ensure that the nutrients in vitamins and supplements are getting to your pet's cells.
1. Lactobacillus rhamnosus: assists your pet's elimination and occasional intestinal discomfort by working to stabilize their intestinal microflora.
2. Lactobacillus bulgarious: works with other Lactobacillus strains to provide your pet with a potential source of dietary antioxidants.
3. Bacillus coagulans: helps enhance your pet's intestinal health and provides back-up for sporadic intestinal discomfort.


Moms:)
 
#11 ·
Now I'm wondering if I really even need a probiotic
Wolves’ (Dogs') were designed to get live enzymes from the fresh prey that they killed. Their pancreas only produces a certain amount of enzymes (they didn’t need a lot b/c they ate live foods) and if they are not getting the enzymes they need from their prey’s guts and entrails, they have to get it from somewhere to be able to digest, absorb, and assimilate their food PROPERLY. Not having enough enzymes to do this can create mal-digestion and or mal-absorption in some dogs. The dog may end up only partially digesting its food in the stomach, and partially fermenting it in the gut and not absorbing all the nutrients and vitamins in the food. A dogs’ gastrointestinal system protects them from allergens. Since 70% of the immune system lies in the digestive tract, a dogs’ immune system HAS to be functioning properly to fight off the allergens. That is why Digestive Enzymes and Probiotics are so very important to your pets.
 
#9 ·
Oooops! ;)

*Active Dry Yeast and Flax seed can give some dogs reactions.

*IMO, Dairy products are not for dogs except for an occasional treat.

This one has most of the items in it:
Vetri Science : Vetri-Mega Probiotic: Vetri-Mega Probiotic for Dogs and Cats

Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product
Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product
Dried Bifidobacterium bifidum Fermentation Product
Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product
Dried Lactobacillus brevis Fermentation Product
Dried Bifidobacterium longum Fermentation Product
Dried Enterococcus thermophilus Fermentation Product
*FOS (Fructooligosaccharides)

This is Mercola's "For Pets" Probiotics, which has all of the strains mentioned but may not be as cost effective: Pet Probiotics | Optimal Digestive Health for Pets - Mercola.com

Hope that helped a little!
Moms:)
 
#13 ·
When I was feeding Ralphie kibble, I supplemented with a plant enzymes & probiotics powder. Once I switched to raw and gave him a spoonful of green tripe with each meal, that's all he needs to keep his digestive tract on track. I get Ralphie's food (green tripe included) from MyPetCarnivore; not sure if you're in their delivery radius, but I highly recommend them if you are!
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the info. That is a new site for me to order from. And it seems pretty cheap? Unless I'm just mis judging the amount per serving that I'm actually going to use between 2 dogs.

On a side note, they eat the same mix of food. My gsd pup gets gas.. And it stinks. The other grown husky mix doesn't have any problems at all... Any idea? I can handle it if there's nothing I can do, but no gas it preferred. Thanks.


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#15 ·
Thanks for the info. That is a new site for me to order from. And it seems pretty cheap? Unless I'm just mis judging the amount per serving that I'm actually going to use between 2 dogs.

On a side note, they eat the same mix of food. My gsd pup gets gas.. And it stinks. The other grown husky mix doesn't have any problems at all... Any idea? I can handle it if there's nothing I can do, but no gas it preferred. Thanks.


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Could either be the eggs (are you doing them raw or cooked?) or the broccoli causing gas, all dogs guts are unique, just like ours. You'll need to stop both in the pups food, wait several days, then add one at a time, for a few days, to see if gas reappears and you will have your answer!;)
 
#19 ·
Ok so most likely it's eggs or braccoli... It's not bad, some days are worse. I was just curious... And I mixed the eggs and shell in raw, then the entire batch is weighed out and bagged and frozen until I thaw a weeks worth for feeding


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Next time you make a batch nix the eggs. If eggs are fed every day it could mess up their biotin uptake. Eggs can be fed safely 4 times per week. So you can just break opened an egg on each dogs food! Also, if feeding the shell, it must be ground up to a very fine texture for the dogs to be able to assimilate them properly. A Coffee grinder is great for this! If you are counting of the egg shell to provide the needed calcium, it must be balanced with phosphorus. But I think you said you were also feeding bones which is perfect and will supply the "bone meal" needed.

Sounds like you are doing a great job with raw feeding!:D

Moms:)
 
#17 ·
broccoli - indigestible fibre and not good for dogs isothiocyanate which over long term and with volume can damage a dogs liver - toxic

gas produced by cruciferous vegetable matter --

not being digested , will ferment , gas is by product

egg on the other hand is an excellent bio available protein and lipid source
 
#30 ·
Potatoes have carbohydrates and starch, which can ferment in the gut, so yes, if your dog is having digestive problems potatoes can hurt.

Less is more when it comes to feeding dogs. I have found that the more bells and whistles I add, the worse off he is. Keeping it simple has made a big difference. If you want to add something that is truly good for them, research Olewo.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Kibble has alot of things that are not good for dogs....ie. corn.

There are some that believe our dogs need veggies and fruit, I am not one of them. All I was getting at, was you don't have to stress about replacing anything with potato.

My dog has never had them and he has been raw fed right from weaning.

As for supplements, I use Feedsentials, Shemp oil and Sundae Sunday.
 
#31 ·
both the CVMA and AMVA had broccoli on a list of toxic foods.
There is a liver enzyme which is inhibited which causes damage like cirrhosis --
You do know about grapes and raisins ? and xylitol ?

the dog can benefit from soft fruit , and leafy greens -- run a romaine lettuce and an English cucumber through your blender -- dandelion leaf, nettles, barley grass , wheat grass -- greens through leafy greens not cruciferous vegetables .
 
#32 ·
recovered from a previous thread "

I have it right here -- just an excerpt from this article ---

"although some experts and book authors think broccoli is good for pets, the
isothiocyanate it contains can kill livestock and cause gastrointestinal irritation and goitres in smaller animals, such as dogs. In small amounts broccoli's serious side effects are unpredictable and difficult to catch . But when this crucifer exceeds 25% of the diet , it is clearly fatal .
Sources for this information include US Veterinary USVMA , ASPCA, Humane Societies , and a list of 8 links .

This interferes with the thryroid
 
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