Prebiotics for dogs are fibers that stay in a dog’s gut. It helps to maintain all-round health in your dog’s digestive tract. These prebiotics tend to function better when ingested with digestive enzymes as well as canine probiotics.
However, as against their biological counterpart: probiotics, the far-reaching capabilities of prebiotics are usually underestimated. Prebiotics indeed are high stimulants for the growth of friendly bacteria in your dog’s glut. This fiber also aids digestion greatly. They also curb skin and coat conditions, as found in adult dogs.
Generally, prebiotics are produced as supplements. However, these artificial supplements turn out to be difficult to feed your dog as they sometimes react to meals that taste way different than normal. Therefore, there are natural alternatives to artificial supplements. Among others, they include the following:
- Mushrooms
Mushrooms pass as great prebiotics for many reasons.
They have the superb capacity to boost the autoimmune, anti-allergy, and anti-cancer capacities of the body.
They also are very high in carbohydrate content, its major constituents being mannans and xylans, which make mushrooms excellent natural options for prebiotics.
Turkey tail mushrooms turn out to be the best type of prebiotic mushrooms. This is because it boosts intestinal health, improve cardio health.
Be sure to cook your mushrooms till it is tender before feeding it to your dog as raw ones turn out to be toxic.
- Garlic
Garlic is also an excellent natural prebiotic source for your pet. Wait! You think garlic is really toxic to dogs, right? Well, that’s true, but only when it is administered in large quantities. When applied moderately, garlic does a great deal of good for your dog.
Garlic reduces the cholesterol pile in your dog. It also helps to regulate its blood temperature. It also stimulates the lymphatic system to release waste. It also occurs to be a natural anti-parasite and antifungal.
To feed garlic to your dog, crush or chop it then follow this guideline for feeding according to its weight:
- ½ clove – 10 to 15 pounds
- One clove – 20 to 40 pounds
- Two cloves – 45 to 70 pounds
- 2 ½ cloves- 75+ pounds
- Chicory Roots
Chicory root is essentially high in protein, and it also aids quick digestion and reduces constipation as well. It also reduces your dog’s exposure to the risk of intestinal inflammation.
To feed chicory roots to your dog, do well to consult your vet first as its dosage depends mainly on the health status of your dog. And guess what? Chicory roots are semi-sweet, so your dog would have no hard time taking them.
- Burdock Root
At first sight, the burdock plant looks like any other annoying weed only that burdock is a giant one. However, its roots have awesome health benefits. Containing practically the same insulin level as the chicory roots, the burdock roots contain health benefits such as:
- Reduces inflammation
- It also creates balance in sugar level
- Superb bladder and renal support
To feed your dog, you boil 1 to 2 tablespoons of dried herb or two tablespoons of fresh herb for 20 minutes. Then strain the liquid and store up in a tightly covered container. Refrigerate the beverage for 6 to 7 days. Afterward, you can pour it freely over your pet’s food.
- Dandelion Greens
This is a whole pack of minerals and vitamins containing a high level of insulin. It aids in liver support and serves as a detox agent as well. It also corrects a lack of appetite in your dog.
It is available in stores as a dried herb or can be got from your yard, but be sure it has not been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides.
To feed your dog, you can sprinkle it over its meal using one tablespoon per 20 pounds.
Do well to also note that dandelion greens make your dog pee a lot. So always be set to see him make a run for his wee corner.
Prebiotics are great, but rotating them can be greater. Mark out your dog’s favorite and feed him well with it! Your strong dog is coming on!