NATURE'S LITTLEST MIRACLES.... PROBIOTICS              by Jeanette Pickett
                                                                                                                                                     Copyright 2003. All rights reserved.

Why should you use DogZvmes

Over the last 20 years, Nature's Farmacy has literally pioneered the search to understand how PROBIOTICS work in canines, felines and carnivores in general. We think we have the greatest customers any business could ever hope for. Over the years we have depended on our wonderful customers to give us the feedback we needed to determine the effective use of probiotics. Our mission began in an effort to find a way to reduce bloat and gastric dilitation volvulus in dogs. The word PRO-biotics was "coined" to mean FOR LIFE, in contrast to ANTI-biotics, which means AGAINST life. It is, indeed, a good term, because without the microbes that are called probiotics, there would not BE life in people, animals, and all breathing things. Without these microbes the body can't digest food, fight bad microbes, yeast, fungus infections or maintain the pH ranges that allow the body to function correctly. In this quest, customers using probiotics saw not only benefits in reduced episodes of bloat, but also dramatic improvement in dogs with allergies, chronic itching, poor coats, chronic ear and urinary tract infections, fading puppies, gas and digestion difficulties, poor appetites, diarrhea, vomiting, grass eating, all the things we deal with at times. Understanding how the addition of probiotics in diets is so beneficial has become a real goal for us. We have worked to bring recognition to the benefits of probiotics for years, and only just recently have others acknowledged the evidence.

About a year ago, we began developing a new probiotic product that is more powerful and more compatible to the canine and feline. DOGZYMES  was introduced last year. We knew the product had to outperform all others in canine and feline protection. We were extremely fortunate to associate ourselves with a company that could understand our ideas and literally make our new products do what we needed. For example, greater protection from bloat, gas, better management of pathogens such as Ecoli, Salmonella, etc., strengthen the immune system, allow superior absorption of nutrients, plus have an extended shelf life up to 2 years without refrigeration. All this is accomplished in DOGZYMES. We also wanted to have the people behind the formulas available for customer consultation and to hear our customers' needs. We are happy to say we accomplished this. This is not just "another probiotic". All our years of experience in using probiotics in canines combined with the knowledge and expertise of the top people in probiotic production in the world has given us a "stand alone" product. We can now offer you a unique service to custom blend products for individual dogs (or other species) when needed. Make sure you ask about this service if you have a dog, cat or horse with special needs.

For the sake of space and time here, I will not attempt to give you a "microbiology class". I will, however, list some FACTS. Over the years we have been involved in many situations with our customers' dogs. Starting with dog shows and the stress situations, thousands of you have seen how dramatically your dogs improve if given Fastrack and more recently DOGZYMES to stop"show diarrhea" or get the non-eater to start eating again. You have reported your dogs show better because they feel better once the GI tract is normal again. There have been cases when dogs bloated, and we super-loaded them with Fastrack and in a short time, the dogs normalized and the bloating episode ended. DOGZYMES can work even better because of special ingredients to decrease the production of gas. Please understand that there is STILL no research yet to prove or disprove the benefit to canines on the effectiveness of using probiotics in bloat cases. In other species there is direct evidence that probiotics are unquestionably valuable in bloat management. We have tried for years to get funding for specific bloat studies, but without success. We still keep trying. However, from what we have seen, there is definitely protection when using probiotics, especially DogZymes, to manage bloat. Ask us about it.

Probiotics seem to be beneficial for virtually every situation from birth to old age. However, the most appropriate time to use probiotics is during GOOD health. Much is said about using probiotics for problems, but years of experience proves that the sensible program is to use Dogzymes for maintenance to PREVENT a health crisis.

We learned that ANY dogs fed commercial feeds - even super premium - need daily probiotic and enzyme blends added, especially one with the enzyme performance of DogZymes. This insures correct digestion of highly processed, grain/carbohydrate/fiber loaded diets and to prevent poorly digested proteins from becoming allergens. If you feed a NATURAL, RAW DIET, you might assume that DogZymes is unnecessary. This is not the case. The specific bacteria and enzymes in these products provide the exact natural protection that would occur in nature when the wild animal feeds and takes in bad bacteria (along with the food). Good bacteria and special enzymes control the growth of bad "bugs" (E-coil, Salmonella, Clostridium) things that would cause severe GI problems if the "good" bugs weren't there in high enough numbers. Good bacteria ensure the correct gut pH and also prevent the growth of bad bacteria that naturally enter the system. Nature has always had this pretty well figured out. Feeding carnivores  (your dog and mine) abnormal diets such as commercial animal feeds without adding a high quality probiotic can actually CAUSE the environment of the gut to encourage the growth of bad bacteria. Dog food companies are now trying to "finish" their foods by adding yogurt sprays to the surface of the kibble. While this sounds like the answer to the problem, it isn't. A SINGLE dose of DogZymes is equivalent to 80 CUPS of yogurt or more. So does adding a couple spoonfuls of yogurt to the dog's dish help much? NO. Does yogurt spray on a dog food mean much? NO.

We have been a driving force in the use of probiotics in canines for many years. We did so because we needed to find some answers when no one else had any. Our experience has been that the bloat, skin and digestive problems were very much widespread through all breeds of all sizes. For example, we have never believed that the "deep chested dog" theory in bloat/GVD research is a causal factor in the incidence of bloat. We know that breeds such as Chihuaua, Chinese Crested, Shelties, Lhasa,s DO die of bloat just like the large breeds. There is more to the story than the shape of the dog, and we are convinced after all these years that diet is the key, and that probiotics also have an important role in preventing bloat and many other conditions.

We are committed to better understand the NATURAL ways to feed our pet carnivores. They ARE still carnivores, regardless of what anybody tells you. Their brains might be domesticated, but their digestive systems are STILL able to go out and hunt and survive just like thousands of years ago. You cannot make the digestive system of the carnivore bend to fit what the dog food company wants to sell. If we are to improve the health of dogs and cats, we MUST MAKE THE DIET FIT THE NEEDS OF THE CARNIVORE. There is simply no other Way. Much is written by many "experts" and it is very confusing to figure out how to feed your dog correctly. We have a program with a simple, logical, common sense approach to figure out how to feed your dogs better. It is a starting point. It isn't rocket science, it is DO-ABLE,, doesn't cost an arm and a leg and is easy. If you want to know more, ask for our home made diet plan. If you want to try a 30 day test and see if you can help your dog recover, we will work with you. We have a consultant available to answer questions, and we monitor your case with you. We can make suggestions and evaluate the results. We can suggest alternatives. And we are pleased to report customers see a success rate of about 80%. People are so relieved to get the dogs off drugs and actually see a complete recovery and have a happy, healthy dog again. It is worth trying natural feeding with real, whole food and top quality probiotics and nutritional supplements, especially from the DOGZYMES line.