Solid Gold Seameal Powder

[blynn03]

I wonder why you use a probiotic when plain yogurt will do the same, or in may cases will.  Good quality yogurt will have that acidophilous (sp) in it and will help regulate that beneficial bacteria. And yogurt is less pricey...

You have to feed a lot of yogurt to the get same levels of acidophilus that you can get in a supplement....plus the supplements have multiple types of probiotics in them (or at least mine does) that yogurt may not always have.  I used yogurt for a lot time and got decent results, but never as good as what I get when I started using a supplement instead.

Also, yogurt was not cheaper in my case....the higher quality yogurt I bought was like $4-$5 for a large container.  To give the amount of yogurt needed to be equivalent to the supplement I give now, that container would have lasted less than a week.  The probiotic I bought was like $30-something for a 2 pound container, which at this point has been used for almost 6 months and isn't even half gone yet.  I haven't actually done the math here, but I know the supplement is a better/cheaper route for me.

[Boxermom,K]

I wonder why you use a probiotic when plain yogurt will do the same, or in may cases will.  Good quality yogurt will have that acidophilous (sp) in it and will help regulate that beneficial bacteria. And yogurt is less pricey...

You have to feed a lot of yogurt to the get same levels of acidophilus that you can get in a supplement....plus the supplements have multiple types of probiotics in them (or at least mine does) that yogurt may not always have.  I used yogurt for a lot time and got decent results, but never as good as what I get when I started using a supplement instead.

I think it depends on the specific needs of the dog. I use Mountain High Yogurt for Laila plus a supplement that has probiotics in it. Vik gets the supplement (because it also has glucosamine/chondroitin in it) and a dab of yogurt just as a treat because he only needs the one for optimal health whereas Laila needs both.

[blynn03]

I think it depends on the specific needs of the dog.

I completely agree....some don't need as much "help," some do.  I should have said you have to feed quite a bit of yogurt to get the same "dose" (we always say "a spoonful on your food" on here, but you'd actually have to feed a bit more than that to get the same amount of probiotics you get in a dose of the supplement).....but that some dogs may not need that much.

[Samsons Mom]

I wonder why you use a probiotic when plain yogurt will do the same, or in may cases will.  Good quality yogurt will have that acidophilous (sp) in it and will help regulate that beneficial bacteria. And yogurt is less pricey...

i used to give samson yogurt daily for months. didnt do anything for him. the probiotic twice a day works wonders for him.

[Boxermom,K]

you have to feed quite a bit of yogurt to get the same "dose" (we always say "a spoonful on your food" on here, but you'd actually have to feed a bit more than that to get the same amount of probiotics you get in a dose of the supplement).....but that some dogs may not need that much.

You have a good point. My vet recommends (when a dog really needs probiotics) to feed 1/4 to 1/2 cup yogurt once or twice a day for a dog ranging from 60-75 lbs.

[Samsons Mom]

i buy 100 acidopolis(sp) for about $4 samson and i share them tho.

[BoxerWB]

Yep, we started out trying yogurt for Dash - it actually made it worse if I gave him more than a spoonful. So then we moved to Solid Gold Seameal - 1lb was about $19.  It did OK but it was a pain to wet the food down (we have to filter our water) and I didn't want to worry about citric acid in the kibble or too much iodine in the powder.

Dogzymes is the same price, no kelp (iodine), you don't have to wet it down, and for Dash it is more effective.  It also has 5 different probiotics, not just acidophilus. The site says it costs approximately 5 cents per day to feed it to a 50# dog:
http://www.naturesfarmacy.com/store/details.php?prodId=197&category=48

[BoxerPerson]

you have to feed quite a bit of yogurt to get the same "dose" (we always say "a spoonful on your food" on here, but you'd actually have to feed a bit more than that to get the same amount of probiotics you get in a dose of the supplement).....but that some dogs may not need that much.

You have a good point. My vet recommends (when a dog really needs probiotics) to feed 1/4 to 1/2 cup yogurt once or twice a day for a dog ranging from 60-75 lbs.

Well I stuff the large kongs with it and they get a kong a day, about 1/4 or better cup each.  I have NO problems now, and when I did they ceased after giving this.  I do mix with a bit of PB or fruit, depends on what I have on hand.  I do go thru a large container every week and a half, maybe even less time especially if I am out of town.  Might be costly (what isn't lately) but they seem to enjoy this way better than a supplement just sprinkled on their food...and I feel like I am killing 2 birds with 1 stone...giving them something to occupy them when they are in their crate and something good for their tummy & digestive tract.

[BoxerWB]

Sounds like their digestive tracts are less high-maintenance than ours. 

Mine whine with excitement when I pop the top of the probiotic powder - they LOVE it.  And I can still give small amounts of yogurt for kong stuffing treats.

[blynn03]

Well I stuff the large kongs with it and they get a kong a day, about 1/4 or better cup each.  I have NO problems now, and when I did they ceased after giving this.  I do mix with a bit of PB or fruit, depends on what I have on hand.  I do go thru a large container every week and a half, maybe even less time especially if I am out of town.  Might be costly (what isn't lately) but they seem to enjoy this way better than a supplement just sprinkled on their food...and I feel like I am killing 2 birds with 1 stone...giving them something to occupy them when they are in their crate and something good for their tummy & digestive tract.

I don't mean to say like there's anything wrong with just giving yogurt.  I was just saying that *some* dogs might need a little more than what the average "spoonful of yogurt on the meal" that we often recommend can give.....with all of her allergy/tummy issues, Bella really does need the probiotic.  Most dogs probably don't NEED it, but since I've been using it, it's the first time I've been able to get her to (and keep her at) a good weight.  She still could use another pound or 2, probably.  Even Griff was having soft poops more often than I'd like when I was using just yogurt.  Mine still get yogurt on their food sometime because they love it, it just doesn't have as much of an affect on either of them that the stuff I use does.

[ltournat]

So then we moved to Solid Gold Seameal - 1lb was about $19.  It did OK but it was a pain to wet the food down (we have to filter our water) and I didn't want to worry about citric acid in the kibble or too much iodine in the powder.

Julia,  I went back to putting the Seameal on Felix's food, and am wondering if it's completely necessary to wet the food down?  I didn't even know I was supposed to do this.

Did you switch from Seameal to the Dogzymes?