Yogurt vs FortiFlora

[Carol and Banjo]

Banjo went for his 1st vet check yesterday.  He arrived here Saturday evening and by Sunday night he started with diarrhea and vomiting.  I started feeding him boiled chicken and rice with a bit of pumpkin.  Things have improved.  The vet recommended putting FortiFLora in his food once a day for a few days. When I asked him if yogurt would have the same effect he told me that studies have shown that dogs do not get the same intestinal benefit as people.  Naturally I bought the FortiFlora but I can't help wondering if this is just another pet industry marketing "scam".  Does anyone have any info on this?

[Julie B.]

I put my dogs on forti flora for awhile. You can buy it online for a lot cheaper than at the vets. Anyway I know a lot of folks in the food group would steer you away from it because it is made by Purina but I figure it does contain the bacteriums that they could use in their tummies so I use it anyway. My puppy has gone through a lot of stomach issues as well. Why are we bringing home these puppies with so much trouble in the GI tracts? Mine had quite an infestation of giardia which accounted for a lot of her stomach issues. Hopefully your vet will get your pup back on track. I highly recommend the bland homecooked diet for awhile too. It really helped to firm up her stools and gave her tummy some relief. I would also ask your vet about putting her on clavomox if you think she may have the beginnings of colitis. This also helped my pup get over the slimy, mucosy stools. Good luck....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Julie, please read the part of the discussion that I linked below to find out why you should not use Fortiflora.
As to why we are bringing home these puppies with so much trouble in the GI tracts, it's because we are buying them from incompetent breeders. I don't care what they tell you about "all puppies have giardia" etc...I am here to say it isn't true. I have had many puppies in my life, and not one of them ever had giardia, coccidia, GI problems, worms, etc. It is because so many of these breeders have too many dogs, too many litters at one time, and allow them to run around in filth.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Wow- two discussions about Fortiflora within a month's time, when we had never heard of it before! The Purina sales reps sure must be pushing this new product hard with their vet clients.
Here's the info on this from our recent discussion. Bad news is, you wasted your $ and bought a lousy product. Good news is, now you know better for next time:
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/fortifl...

[Carol and Banjo]

This vet spent a generous amount of time with us yesterday and I have a very good feeling about him - he was also highly recommended by several acquaintances - but it really bothered me that he not only led me to believe that plain yogurt wouldn't be the way to go but also tried to encourage me to feed Science Diet. I'd like to think we were working with someone who had only the best interests of the dog in mind. I will continue with the chicken and rice for a week and then begin to add veggies.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Carol, if you spend some time reading through our discussions here in TFG, you'll see that it isn't really the vet's fault. The entire nutritional education that vets receive is sponsored, funded, and provided by Big Dog Food like Hills and Purina. They write & publish the textbooks, too. Their sales reps come in with these products, and the vets listen to their claims. They aren't nutritionists.
Keep in mind that veterinary school, like medical school, is focused on medicine. Food is a minor area that is barely covered. Your primary care physician doesn't know much about what you should be eating, either. My dad was an OB/Gyne and a professor of medicine at the University of Illinois, and he didn't know what to eat either, lol.
I love and implicitly trust my vets. But I don't turn to them for advice on food or nutrition, because I know more about that than they do. Education is very specialized these days. Your vet is probably a great vet...he's just a lousy nutritionist.

[Carol and Banjo]

Thanks Karen. I'll put that to bed! And I'll also read through all of the great stuff here on DK.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I will echo Karen's thoughts - I love my vet - they have helped me with so many issues and I truly trust them...except for nutrition. They have suggested Hills for I/D for Taquito and now k/d for his kidneys. I have refused and have kept him on other foods after much research here at DK.
Tomorrow we have a big day of bloodwork and I am coming armed with the nutritional analysis of T's food vs. the recommended Hills. Pray I prove them wrong and his kidney function is better! That will shock 'em!

[Carol and Banjo]

Well good luck with the blood work!!! Fingers are crossed for you! When feeding yogurt - how much on a daily basis?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think a big spoonful once or twice a day should be good. Many people just put it on top of the homecooked food.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I would start with just plain yogurt too. Not Greek plain...just plain. For some reason, T has stomach problems with Greek but not with regular old plain yogurt. Just food for thought - literally :)

[Ann]

I love my vet too, and my vet has never ever recommended any pet food to me. They sell food at the vet, but he has never pushed me to feed Samson anything other than what I felt was right. I give Samson plain yogurt with his kibble. He loves it. When I got Samson, he had no problems with his stomach. The only time he had problems was when he ate a tennis ball. I also give Samson cottage cheese, and sometimes fruit! No grapes or raisins.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I use a heaping tablespoon on top of his food and use the low fat. He gets fats with the meat and chicken and fish. ( altho I do rinse all his cooked food in hot water to get the excess fat off) He loves yogurt and I had recently read to use Activia as well. I have a hard time finding Activia plain and have used vanilla. Don;t see an issue with a little vanilla flavoring. RIght now he is getting more yogurt than normal as he is just getting over a case of giardia. I know exactly when and where he came in contact with it and I acted on it quickly, but he was pretty sick with GI issues and the yogurt helps. Giardia seems to be quite prevelant in my area right now (per the vet).
We go to a Animal Hospital that has some very young new vets and you can certainly see that they are totally unfamiliar with the better quality foods or homecooking. Again , it's not what they were taught and Hills and Purina were all over their textbooks and literature during Vet School. Maybe as more of us speak up, showing them first hand how healthy our dogs are on homecooking, even with kidney problems, they will start to look into it more themselves and take it more seriously. Change will come, I'm sure, as more people are educated, so will the Vet's be.
The sweet young pretty little Vet I saw last week looked at me like I was some overprotective extremist dog owner because I homecooked and fed Orijen. She asked why he is on such a special diet...'Does he have food alergies?" I proceeded to explain that he does not and I like knowing the quality of ingredients that go into my dog, just like I did my children" and she snickered and looked at the Vet Tech like "Oh Brother, here's a winner". I'll be changing to a different practice as soon as I can find one that has similar philosophies as I do. But haven't come accross one yet.