How to make homemade probiotics for dogs

8 Homemade Probiotic Dog Treat Recipes

So whats the deal with Probiotics for dogs?

Like humans, dogs also have beneficial gut bacteria that live in their digestive tract. Healthy gut bacteria families (called phyla) have fancy names like:

• Proteobacteria
• Actinobacteria
• Firmicutes
• Bacteroidetes
• Spirochaetes
• Fusobacteria

In each one of these families theres thousands of different types of bacteria. Together these families make up your dogs unique microbiome. A balanced microbiome can improve immune system, digestion, mood, and overall health.Probiotics are nutrients designed to promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria. These are commonly supplemented into dog diets with products such as:

• Yogurt
• Kefir
• Green Tripe
• Goats Milk
• Specialized capsules, powders, or chews.

Of course, this is just a really brief overview, and I recommend you dive deeper into the world of probiotics before jumping in.

Can Probiotics Be Harmful?

Gut bacteria is a complex system that is constantly changing but always trying to balance itself. Drastic changes to the microbiome balance could have a negative impact. We call this Dysbiosis.

Dysbioses can lead to diarrhea, bloating, gas, bad breath, or even more severe effects such as diabetes or obesity. So before supplementing their diet always consult with a vet.

Furthermore, when making homemade treats be sure to exclude human food that may be harmful. See the full guide on human food that dogs can and cannot eat.

DIY Probiotic Dog Treat Recipes

1. Super Healthy Goat Milk Pupsicle

Photo Credit: WearWagRepeat

It may look a little strange (Im sure Gorden Ramsay would love the plating) but what youre looking at is packed full of healthy stuff.

Kale, coconut oil, goat milk (for probiotics), blueberries, and whole fish make up an arsenal of super healthy ingredients to give your dog everything they need. Not to mention its a perfect treat for a hot day.

Check out how to make your own super healthy pupsicle.

2. Frozen Cranberry Probiotic Dog Treats

Another frozen treat but with a mega probiotic kick of goats milk, greek yogurt, and plain kefir. And of course, cranberries.

You may be wondering if cranberries are okay for dogs to consume. According to AKC its okay in small quantities. But if youre worried you can substitute the cranberries for other dog-safe vegetables or fruit.

Heres the full recipe for frozen probiotic cranberry treats.

3. Probiotic Frozen Yogurt Treats In 3 Flavors

Photo Credit: Traditional Cooking School

Heres something thats super easy to make and comes in a bunch of different flavors. Simply add plain yogurt to an ice cube tray, and throw in a few other blended or chopped healthy ingredients for that little bit extra.

It comes in blueberry-mint, parsley-carrot, and peanut butter. Which honestly sounds pretty good for humans too.

Heres the full recipe and tips for making these at home.

4. Make Your Own DIY Probiotics

Probiotics are expensive. Save some money by fermenting cabbage and making your own powerful probiotics at home (you may have caught on that were making Sauerkraut). Youll need a fermenting kit and a little patience (it takes about 21 days to ferment), but youll have a whole jar of the good stuff.

Theres even a recipe for homemade Coconut Kefir, if fermenting isnt your style. Again, its a bit of a process but you might save a ton of money.

How to make Probiotic Sauerkraut and Coconut Kefir.

5. Dairy-free Frozen Dog Treats

Photo Credit: Making Thyme For Health

What I like about this simple recipe is it cuts to the chase. Meaning, theres no fancy ingredients, just a delicious and healthy peanut butter treat with a store-bought probiotic supplement.

This is especially good if you have a picky eater at home.

This is doubly good because it also brings in coconut milk, carrots, and some healthy fats from the natural peanut butter.

See the full Dairy-free Frozen Puppy Yogurt recipe.

6. Homemade Fermented Berry Probiotic for Dogs

Weve talked about fermenting with Sauerkraut. But lets take it a step further by introducing powerful anti-oxidants from berries. Using strawberries or blueberries (or both), and a fermenting kit, you can easily make a super probiotic and disease fighting topping for your dogs food.

Homemade Honey Berry Probiotic for Dogs

7. DIY Dog Treats: Pumpkin Peanut Butter Yogurt Drops

A super simple recipe which introduces greek yogurt, pumpkin, peanut butter, and a little bit of carob powder (a dog safe chocolate alternative). Plain Greek yogurt is typically strained to remove lactose, making it a better alternative for those lactose-intolerant pups. It also has double the protein for building muscles.

And of course, look for yogurt that has a lot of live cultures for that probiotic effect.

Make pumpkin and greek yogurt treats

8. 4-Ingredient Probiotic Pupsicles

Photo Credit: Fed and Fit

Finally we have this super-food packed treat that has loads of the good stuff. Plain probiotic yogurt (of course), sweet potatoes, brewers yeast, and turmeric. So whats the the deal with the last 2 ingredients?

Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant ingredient that has huge benefits for dogs.

Brewers Yeast is commonly used in dog foods, and is also a common supplment for its numerous health benefits (such as being a digestive aid, anti-oxidant, and rich in protein and B-complex vitamins and minerals)

Learn how to make this super healthy recipe at home

Homemade Probiotics For Dogs Good for Their Gut Health

Natural, homemade probiotics for dogs provide significant health benefits. It can help by maintaining the levels of good bacteria in their intestines to fight off the harmful bacteria responsible for infections and other diseases.

And yes, there are good bacteria out there. The balance of good and bad bacteria can either make or break your dog's health.

For instance, the more good bacteria (like Probiotics) that succeed in your dog, the better your pup's overall health.

First, let's discuss what even probiotics are. How can they help with our dog's immune system?

What are Probiotics for Dogs?

If you love yogurt, you've probably read or heard of probiotics. For starters, Probiotics are friendly or good bacteria.

Probiotics are live organisms that are found in your dog's gut. On the other hand, a few health benefits of this organism are:

• Promote dog gut health
• Helps digest food
• Produce critical vitamins like vitamin K and B vitamins
• Influence mood by producing serotonin
• Fight off dangerous bacteria
• Produce enzymes
• Produce fatty acids that help reduce the growth of harmful bacteria
• Helps strengthen the dog's immune system

Dogs have billions or not trillions of good bacteria in their stomach to help battle infections, and this is called Microbiome.

What is Microbiome?

A microbiome is a community or population of bacteria and other microorganisms like viruses, fungi, and protozoa that live inside the dog's ecosystem.

Also, a microbiome is like a fingerprint. It is unique to each dog because every dog is exposed to different environments. These bacteria all work together to make our bodies healthy like any other organs. Scientists have also called the microbiome the forgotten organ.

How Probiotics Support The Immune System

It is believed that 80% of a dog's immune system is in its gut. With that being said, bacteria is one of the most crucial elements to your dog's health.

Bacteria, like Probiotics, live inside your dog's gut because they eat the same foods your dog does. For instance, bacteria love to eat fiber since your pup can't digest it.

When these bacteria eat fiber, they'll poop out or release short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). This means that probiotics are great for promoting health benefits by producing healthy SCFAs for your dog.

These short-chain fatty acids can either live in your dog's colon or travel into your dog's body. These SCFAs play a significant role in your dog's immune system by:

• Feed good bacteria
• Prevents the growth of harmful bacteria
• Prevent leaky gut
• Protection against metabolic disease and obesity by reducing glucose levels
• Helps reduce chronic inflammation by making important T-cells in the immune system
• Protect against food allergens
• Helps absorb calcium, magnesium, iron, and other nutrients

Health Benefits of Probiotics for Dogs

On the other hand, let's discuss the other health benefits of probiotics for dogs. We know that excellent bacteria support your pup's immune system, but there are still a lot of probiotic benefits that can help with your dog's overall health.

Probiotics can help prevent:

If there is even a tiny change to the species of bacteria in your dog's gut, you can easily notice it through the host. The health issues above are all connected to shifts in the bacterial population in your dog's microbiome.

When your dog has a lot of diverse bacteria, bacteria shifts are less significant. However, bacteria shifts happen all the time because of antibiotics, drugs, toxins, aging, and having a high-fat diet.

Natural Probiotic For Dogs

When it comes to natural probiotics for dogs, these are probiotic-rich foods. These are fermented foods that contain a lot of good bacteria that support gut flora.

Foods that contain Probiotics

Yogurt

The first thing on the natural probiotics for dogs list is yogurt. Let's discuss one of the most popular or not the most popular probiotic-rich food known to men.

Yogurt is full of probiotics that you can feed safely to dogs. It is a type of curdled milk but with reduced fat content.

Yogurt is fermented milk that can be a great source of friendly bacteria like bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, S. thermophilus, etc. These good bacteria can help fight off chronic gastrointestinal diseases and fungal infections.

As stated above, yogurt can also help prevent the effects of antibiotic therapy, like diarrhea, vomiting, and irritable bowel syndrome.

The amount of yogurt you can give to your dog will depend on their weight. Some dog owners tend to add one or two tablespoons of yogurt to wet food once a day to help maintain their dog's overall gut health.

However, dairy products have their downsides because they can cause inflammation and immune issues in dogs.

In addition, some yogurt products contain very few probiotics. As the dog owner, it's your responsibility to check if the yogurt is high in sugar to avoid unwanted changes to the gut flora.

Soft Cheeses

On the other hand, certain types of good bacteria cannot survive the strongly acidic environment of a dog's gastrointestinal tract. With this, these friendly bacteria never make it to their intestines.

This is where soft cheeses come in handy because bacteria in soft fermented cheeses can live in erosive gastric juices and finally find their way to the dog's intestine.

A few examples of soft cheeses that can benefit your dogs are Swiss, Gouda, and Cheddar Cheeses.

These cheeses contain lactic acid bacteria that can help kill infectious bacteria, absorb nutrients from digestive food, and help with constipation.

Buttermilk

In addition, another great source of probiotics for dogs is buttermilk. It is important not to heat buttermilk when you give it to your pup because cooking the milk will destroy the good bacteria in them.

Live cultures are added to help ferment sugars in buttermilk. Give it straight from the carton.

Similar to yogurt and soft cheeses, it also contains lactic acid bacteria that can be a great benefit to your dog's digestive system.

Buttermilk powder can help eliminate tear staining in dog breeds prone to runny eyes, like English bulldogs, cocker spaniels, and poodles.

You can buy powdered buttermilk in select stores and sprinkle it on your dog's wet food.

Kefir

This food is a bit similar to yogurt but with a less dense texture. Kefir contains lots of probiotic bacteria, yeast, vitamins, and proteins.

It is made using all types of milk. You can make kefir from cow milk, goat milk, rice milk, or coconut milk.

However, some dogs can react differently to these foods with the probiotic-rich foods above. Some dogs suffer from lactose intolerance from dairy products.

Lactose is a kind of sugar found in milk that the digestive system should break apart before being digested correctly.

It is still best advised to consult with your dog to ensure the proper way to get probiotics because lactose intolerance is no joke.

A few symptoms of this are diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps.

Probiotic-Rich Vegetables and Fruit for Dogs

If your dog is suffering from lactose intolerance, don't worry; other foods are rich in probiotics! A few examples of these are:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Garlic
• Asparagus
• Dandelion Greens
• Seaweed
• Flaxseed
• Chia Seeds
• Chicory Root
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Goatmilk

Dog Probiotic Supplements

If you're looking for supplements, not natural probiotics for dogs, there are now many probiotics or other digestive supplements for dogs that you can buy in-store or online.

However, there are certain factors that you should keep in mind before buying probiotics for dogs. Before giving your dog probiotics, take into consideration the following:

• Quality We all want what's best for our dogs. It's our job to research and search for the highest quality possible for them. Don't waste money on a supplement that might not work.
• Check the type of Probiotic There are many types of probiotics (i.e., Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, and Bifidobacterium breve). It is best to consult with your vet to ensure that you'll be getting the proper probiotic for your dog.
• Expiration date I mean, this is pretty self-explanatory. Why would you give your dog outdated supplements? Also, probiotics will not be as effective for a certain amount of time.

Recommended Probiotics Supplement for Dogs

Here are some of our top picks for the best probiotic supplement for dogs:

1. Purina FortiFlora Probiotics for Dogs
2. PetVitalityPRO Probiotics for Dogs
3. Strawfield Probiotics for Dogs
4. NaturVet Digestive Enzymes for Dogs Plus Probiotics & Prebiotics
5. Nutramax Proviable Digestive Health Supplement Multi-Strain Probiotics and Prebiotics

Homemade Probiotic Recipes for Your Dog

If you're the type of pet parent to cook homemade dog foods, you can try these recipes. With the right natural probiotics for dogs' ingredients, you can ensure that you'll be giving your dog high-quality and probiotic-rich meals.

Here are a few simple homemade probiotic-rich meals for your pup:

Yogurt Treats with Parsley and Carrots

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/3 cups of plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup of chopped fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup of shredded carrots

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl
2. Mix and put into an ice cube tray or a silicone mold
3. Let it freeze for a couple of hours

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Yogurt Drops

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of peanut butter and pumpkin puree
• 2 cups of yogurt
• A pinch of turmeric

Directions

1. Grease a mini muffin pan
2. Place all the ingredients in a food processor
3. Mix all the ingredients until they're well combined
4. Move the ingredients to the muffin pan and freeze it for a couple of hours

Frozen Cranberry Pupsicles

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of plain kefir or coconut kefir
• 1/2 cup of raw goat's milk
• 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup of fresh cranberries
• A pinch of parsley
• 1 daily dose of a fish oil supplement

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it OK to give my dog probiotics daily?

When giving probiotics daily, you have to provide them with the right ones.

And the answer to this question will depend on the dog. If you have a dog with intestinal bacterial overgrowth or excessive gas, it is advised not to take probiotics every day.

On the other hand, most dogs do great with daily probiotics. Dogs that eat kibble or have a high-starch diet can thrive with daily probiotic consumption.

How much yogurt should I give my dog?

Generally, you can give yogurt to your dog by simply adding a spoonful and mixing it with their food. As I stated above in the Homemade Probiotic Recipes for Your Dog section, you can also use it as an ingredient in meals and treats.

Adding one to two teaspoons of yogurt a day to their meal is safe to give to your dog.

How do I know if my dog needs probiotics?

If your dog is planning to be on antibiotics, it'll need probiotics. Why? Because antibiotics can change your dog's gut health.

And these changes can lead to diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal side effects. If you see these signs, your dog needs probiotics.

When your dog's GI tract is out of balance, it increases the number of harmful bacteria in your gut. Probiotics can help balance out and fight off these harmful bacteria.

How Fast Do Probiotics Work?

Probiotics typically work in a couple of days. On the first day, your dog should get some comfort from the arrival of good bacteria.

On the second day, things should be back to normal. If you're unsure about giving your pup probiotics, it is best to talk to your vet about it.

Homemade Probiotics For Dogs: Summary

We all want what's best for our dogs. That includes giving the best natural probiotic for dogs.

Because probiotics can give plenty of health benefits to our beloved best friend, one of the best benefits that probiotics provide is strengthening our dog's immune system.

Probiotics can also help prevent UTIs, diarrhea, yeast overgrowth, and more.

But when it comes to natural probiotics for dogs, these foods might be closer to your home than you think.

Foods like yogurt, soft cheeses, buttermilk, and kefir are probiotic-rich foods to get started.

In addition, you can find probiotics in apples, bananas, carrots, and broccoli. With these ingredients, you can create homemade dog foods focused on probiotics.

On the other hand, there are now probiotic supplements for dogs that you can buy online. But with natural probiotics, you can save a lot of money.

READ NEXT: PREBIOTICS FOR DOGS: 6 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW