What to look for when Choosing a Probiotic for your Dog

We have become a “pro” at probiotics, lately! You may recall that we’ve talked about the value of adding a probiotic to a dog’s daily routine in the past. In fact, it’s probably been just about a year since we tried probiotics for the first time with Bean and Yoda. Since that point, we have been using a few different brands to see which is best for the dogs. I think, after twelve months, we have been matched with the best probiotic option for the creatures! Sound the trumpets! It’s name is MitoMax from Imagilin and I am excited to share more information with you about it. Before I do, though, I think it’s important that I share why a probiotic is important and what features you should be looking for when deciding which option is best for your beloved pet.

First, let’s talk about what a probiotic is and why it can help your pet, then we’ll talk a bit more about our experiences with MitoMax from Imagilin.

We received probiotics and compensation from Imagilin in exchange for an honest assessment of our views and experiences. This post also contains an affiliate link. If you make a purchase using the link and code provided, we will make a small commission. We only share products that we have tried and love and our opinions are our own.

Bean is balancing a capsule of probiotics from MitoMax on her nose. It took approximately 800,000 photo attempts to get this image.

What the Heck are Probiotics?

THEY’RE ALIVE! But not in a creepy, scary way. Probiotics are made up of live microorganisms like bacteria and yeasts. There are hundreds of thousands of these tiny organisms that can be considered probiotics. This is why, if you pick up containers of probiotics in a pet store (or in a store selling supplements for humans) and look at the ingredients, they can be so varied and still be considered probiotics. It’s also why each individual may react differently to different strains.

How do they Work?

Don’t get freaked out when I tell you this, but we all have living organisms in our bodies, including bacteria. They have different jobs to do, and reasons for being there. One purpose is to help ward off pathogens. Probiotics can help the microorganisms that are already in our bodies to do their jobs by working as a team and booting bad bacteria to the curb.

Which one is the “right” one?

Well, as with many answers related to health, it depends. Each creature is different as are their needs and their makeup. It would be foolish to claim that there’s a “one size fits all” answer to which probiotic is the best option for our pets. That being said, there are certainly some key items to look for that may differentiate which probiotic to choose.

There are a few key things you should be looking for when deciding which probiotic to add to your pet’s life. First, is whether or not the active strains of microorganisms are alive. I know it may sound odd, but probiotics need to be alive to do their job. Certain brands are better than others at ensuring this is the case, which is true with MitoMax.

A second thing to be looking for is a product that resists oxygen because it’s normally toxic for probiotics, therefore killing them once they are exposed. MitoMax does this through putting their probiotics in plastic capsules which are resistant to oxygen. You can give the capsule to your dog like any other pill or you can open it right before using it and mix the powder into your dog’s food. Whichever is easier for you. We normally do the latter, since Bean and Yoda aren’t really easy pill takers like some other dogs.

To keep probiotics alive, sometimes the strains need to be refrigerated and away from moisture. The probiotic we have from Imagilin, MitoMax can stay alive for up to two years in room temperature, which is certainly helpful for things like traveling with your pets or even just having to worry about one fewer thing each day before your cup of caffeine.

Lastly, probiotics can’t do their job if they don’t survive on their way through your dog’s digestive system. A lot of probiotics die as they make their way through stomach acid because, well, it’s acid. MitoMax is able to make it through the trials and tribulations of stomach acid so it’s able to perform its intended duty when it arrives in your dog’s intestinal tract! I mean, if it doesn’t make it to where it needs to go, what’s the point of spending money on a probiotic anyway?!

So, there you have it! Not all probiotics are created equal and we are glad that we’ve had a chance to add MitoMax from Imagilin into our dog’s routine. Please follow the link below to Pets Max City and use coupon code: dogwalksintoabar for a 10% discount on your purchases of MitoMax or other Imagilin products!