She was a lovely German Shepherd, even after she squatted in my office and spewed stinky diarrhea all over the rug. Her owners told me she’d always had digestive problems, but her aggression toward strangers hadn’t begun until she was about five months old. I can’t remember her name, because she could have been any one of hundreds of dogs I saw who had problematic gut health and who were also extremely fearful. That fear often led to “aggression,” translated as agitated barking, snarling or even biting when confronted with unfamiliar dogs or people.
An “Aggressive” dog I’d classify as “terrified” (not my client’s dog!)
Not to mention my Willie, whose projectile diarrhea resulted in my writing three of the best pages of my career. You’ll never read those pages in The Education of Will, because the editor begged me to take them out, so effective were they at evoking the reality of liquid shit. For some reason she thought that readers might be put off . . . And, of course, Willie indeed became reactive to unfamiliar dogs around early adolescence.
I bring this up now because our knowledge of the connection between gut health, brain and behavior is growing exponentially. That’s true for both human and canine health, and if you’re interested in helping a dog who is fearful or over reactive, it’s important information. I also mention it now because of a thread on the Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists email list about the use of probiotics as a way of treating/modulating problem behavior due to its effect on the microbiota of the gut. That led to a great set of references from Dan Estepp of Animal Behavior Associates.
First, Bravo et. al. published a study in 2011 whose title pretty much sums up their findings: “Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve.” You can read the full text in the link, although I suspect I don’t need to warn you that it’s not beach reading. But the conclusions are of great interest–that what they call the gut-brain-HPA axis pathway, in part mediated by the neurotransmitter GABA, is significantly effected by the microbes in the gut, which can be altered by the addition of a particular strain of Lactobacillus. In other words, what’s in the gut effects behavior, and modifying what’s in the gut can modify the behavior as well.
A more recent literature review by Clapp et. al. (2017) found that gut health in a variety of species, including humans, are affected by the microorganisms living in the gut, and that the administration of probiotics could significantly increase gut health, and accordingly decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, the authors include an important cautionary note: Probiotics are not a regulated substance, and at the moment it is impossible to know exactly what is included in a purchased commercial product. They briefly discuss the potential of natural probiotics (yogurt, kefir, for example) as another way of stimulating gut health.
Another study by Kirchoff et. al. (you may have to search for “probiotics, aggression, dogs), found “statistical associations between aggression status and the gut microbiome”, based on a small number of dogs rescued from dog fighting rings by the ASPCA. The plot thickens.
Thus, it’s not surprising that we are seeing the potential of probiotics in managing canine behavior problems. Purina has recently come out with that very product, called Calming Care. I first heard about it from a friend whose Cavalier’s normally sweet behavior morphed into something altogether different when on steroids critical to his survival. Once on the probiotics his behavior dramatically returned to normal, a huge relief to his owner. At that point in time, my own Maggie was still pretty much a wreck after Willie’s death (heightened startle response, hand shy (hadn’t seen that before), hesitant on sheep, whining, no interest in play) and one of her vets had just received a sample of Calming Care. We decided to give it a try.
She’s been on it for three weeks, and yes, she is better. Much much better. But so much else has changed that I couldn’t possibly say if it has had a significant effect on her.
Curious, I reached out to my applied animal behaviorist colleagues to see if they’ve had any experience with Calming Care. One noted she had two clients whose dogs were on it, both with serious aggression issues. (But I don’t know any more about motivation or context.) One dog went to sleep for two hours after administration, but then woke up ready to fight. The other’s behavior didn’t change. Another second colleague is using it in a shelter setting, and thinks it might be helpful, but again, hard to know with so many confounding factors.
Conclusion? Argh, too early for much of one. However, what we know for sure is that gut health and the microflora in it are tightly linked to the brain and behavior. After that we’re just beginning to scratch the surface. Given that, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend any new product at the moment, given how little we really know, but I would recommend paying a lot of attention to this issue, especially if you work or live with a dog with anxiety or fearful behavior, including “aggression”. If that describes your dog, it’s worth doing more research, and/or talking with your vet or a behaviorist about ways you might support your dog’s gut health.
Lucky for us, there’s an entire Webinar on this very topic, originally broadcast in March from the Behavior Education Network. All BEN offerings are free if listened to live, but you do have to pay for them if you’re not a member after the fact. I look forward to listening myself sometime soon, and just as much to hearing about your own thoughts and experiences on this issue. Have you seen a correlation with a dog with gut issues as well as behavior issues? Tried any probiotics? Other physiological changes? I look forward to learning more.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Spring is busting out all over 🎼 “… all over the meadow and the hill.” (Sorry Carousel.) A musical note is relevant here: As I write from inside the house I can hear the songs of a Rose -breasted Grosbeak, a Blue-winged Warbler, a Yellow Warbler, a Wood PeWee, a Robin, a House Wren. I pretty much guarantee you there are a lot more, but those are the ones I know best and hear well.
Flowers and flower buds are everywhere too. Here’s the white version of bleeding heart, my favorite:
This might be Vasey’s Trillium. Not native here in WI, but gorgeous nonetheless.
Best of all, here’s one of the native Jack in the Pulpits I transplanted from an at-risk area in our yard that made it through the winter! But actually, the one below is actually a Jill. (I wonder how many politicians people know that many plants and animals (fish especially) start out as small males and become females once they are robust, large and hardy?)
And of course, lambs. This is probably our last year of raising lambs. (Eeps, that’s hard to write. Okay, just maybe . . .)
I hope spring (or fall!) is treating you kindly.
Alan says
Any chance you’ll share those three best pages? 😉
Trisha says
Ha! But if I look at them again I’ll probably decide they weren’t so good? But now you’ve got me curious, so I’m going to try to find them in the depths of the gazillion drafts that I might have saved.
LisaW says
Seems like everything starts (and ends) at the gut. It’s like the boiler room of the body.
We give both dogs a probiotic (Geneflora) and a spoonful of plain, low-fat yogurt with their breakfast. Phoebe has a very sensitive stomach, so any pain med or anything outside of her normal affects her. This routine seems to help. She’s not an overly anxious dog, though. More neurotic than anxious.
Olive gets the probiotic and yogurt, as well as L’Theanine. Recently, we stopped the probiotic, and she would get up early (this is a dog that likes to sleep in), go outside, eat grass, and throw up the grass and a little bile. Back on the probiotic, back to “normal.” I don’t know if it has an effect on her anxiety. She’s on a few supplements for that, so it’s hard to tease out. And, I’m not sure if the getting up early and eating grass was physical, mental, or both.
How are Maggie and Tootsie doing? And you and Jim? I haven’t listened, but this Ted-ED talk is on my list: https://ed.ted.com/featured/Zkzjst9e “We don’t move on with grief, we move forward with it.”
(I’d love to read those three pages, too.)
Nicola says
Fascinating what we are learning about the microbiome and just how critical gut health appears to be to our health. Most of the cells we have in our bodies are eurokaryotic which never fails to fascinate me. It’s been described as an organ in itself…
1st population study to show association of specific gut bacteria and depression (humans) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-018-0337-x
I had a chronically anxious and reactive girl who often developed upset tummies. When we first adopted her she was so anxious, upset and ill she had blood in her stools for at least a week..
The jury is still out on probiotics but I did treat with one for a few months. I’ll be watching carefully as it’s a fascinating area of discovery, linked to autoimmune disorders, nutrition, drug effectiveness.
Another interesting paper on personalising nutrition based on microbiomics http://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/02/opinion/sunday/diet-artificial-intelligence-diabetes.amp.html
Trisha says
Fantastic references Nicola, thank you so much.
Margaret McLaughlin says
Cobie, my first Keeshond, who was diagnosed with insufficient pancreatic enzymes, and had a lot of diarrhea, had separation anxiety, and was dog-aggressive towards large, hairy, male dogs. He was on Prozyme, which did help with the bowel issues. I never even thought of a connection between that and his other issues (he was a puppy-mill, pet-shop dog who was surrendered to rescue, and the family who gave him up also had an Akita, who had evidently used him for a chew toy, so they seemed to have more than adequate causation). Time to rethink that.
I also vote for the three pages.
Trisha says
Okay, I am really, really going to have to find my old drafts of The Ed of Will. Who knew when they would come in handy?
Kathleen Vaughan says
This is SO interesting! I have a fear reactive standard poodle who came at 8 weeks with gut issues, which persist. He has many food sensitivities including cow-based dairy; often has gas, esp when stressed; once had bloat (surgery and gastropexy). He has a tendency to soft stool, with the ONLY making a difference for him being to eat ground raw with bone in (beef or lamb only). On this, he has FABULOUS poo. Chicken of any kind gives him projectile bloody diarrhea whose description I will not evoke … I know you can imagine what I mean (and I would love to read your 3 pages worth, too).
My question in: how do milk-based (yoghurt/kefir) probiotics affect those with milk sensitivities? Are there other probiotics that can be readily substituted? I’ve been afraid to give my dog probiotics because of his milk sensitivities and wonder whether the bacteriological benefits would outweigh the dairy issue. What do you think?
Thank you so much for your fabulous, thoughtful, loving, readable and fun writing! And for loving your dog(s) so much!
Joy Waddington says
There’s loads of research now for humans on the gut biome so should help with dogs too. I think the best start is to feed a good raw natural diet as commercial foods have so many associated problems. Adding in pre or probiotics later if needed.
Erin says
Thank you for this post! I was actually going to ask you what your thoughts were because AlC Family dog magazine’s most recent issue was about gut health and references the same studies here. We have an anxious and fearful dog that we recently atatted on fluoxitine after some nasty dog on dog agression (despite my best BAT trainkng over the last 3 years). I dont really want to medicate and its too soon to tell if its helping him. I’ll definitely keep an eye on the literature surrounding this topic to see if its a more natural alternative.
Also, im just down the way if you need help looking for those pages. Id be happy to come over and help 😉
Helen says
Wow! Makes sense. We’re only just figuring it out in humans, why wouldn’t dogs be affected the same way.
I had to laugh at your editing of who would benefit from knowing Jack often becomes Jill…here in Oz they need to know that too!!
(Now i must go and read all the attached references.)
muttzrule says
Aww, no more lambs? 😞 I love the one that looks like it’s nuzzling Mom in the picture.
This topic is so timely at my house it’s spooky. For the past month we have had almost daily thunderstorms or threat of them. No fun for thunder phobic Duncan. For the first time in his life, he has had a couple of instances of bloody, mucousy diarrhea. Stress induced colitis. Thank God for piddle pads. Last week, no storms at all and no potty problems. So now his meals are garnished with a spoonful each of pumpkin and plain yogurt. And lots of prayers that this doesn’t turn into a life threatening illness (had a Lab with mild colitis since puppyhood who at 12 had hemorragic gastroenteritis..he recovered, but it was a scary few days).
It’s raining again and time to go to work. ⚡Oh crap (not literally I hope).
Margaret says
@Erin–My Nina has been on Prozac for anxiety–not aggression–since January of 2018. It has helped a lot, and there have not been any negative side effects that I can see. We’re working with a behavioral vet at Purdue, and the medication is just one piece of a larger training protocol. I got a second dog, Kate-the-Keeshond–in July, and that has also helped a great deal.
Sharon says
Have had my OCD Border on this product, Calming Care for 6 weeks now. No change yet.
Will continue to 8 weeks then decide. Weaned him off Fluoxetine last fall…behaviours came back full on. Very interesting to see but tough to live with. His mind gets latched onto sunlight, dust, motion, He does not read cues . Very sound reactive. Hard to engage and train.
Hope this gives him some relief.
I believe this dog has autism but very little info on that I can find.
Barb says
This is great information and good timing for me. I have an anxious boy who also has a sensitive stomach. It never occurred to me to connect the two! I’m going to try some natural probiotics for him. I also have a pup who just started some antibiotics so I’m sure she could benefit too. Regarding a comment above about a dog with milk sensitivities: I use a lactose-free kefir in my cereal rather than milk. I wonder if that would work for the milk sensitive pup? I’m going to start giving some daily to my two pups and see how it goes.
MaryAnn says
Two rescues with extreme bowel problems. Both reactive with other dogs. Carefully regulated home-cooked diet + probiotic (HMF Super Powder – Genestra Brand). Controlled bowel problem like a miracle (tried yogourt/kefir – no luck). I would say that both dogs were calmer in general, after all, they were feeling better. Dog reactivity ??? Maybe . . . but certainly not a CURE. Patient, gentle behavioural work on-going.
Jody says
Fascinating post!! I’ve been working with my porti to manage her fear issues using d&cc and I recall as a puppy she would often have upset stomach in the morning – chew the grass them vomit and often diarrhea? Now I have another path to investigate. Thank you. I will be reading your links and more.
Anna Trebisovskaya says
Very interesting. His is a second time I came across discussion of gut health and anxiety/aggression. I have a question – I have extremely fearful foster chi mix, who is very sweet and loves people, but literally terrified of everything outside. It took us two weeks and two packages of hot dogs just to get him to take few steps on the sidewalk. I want to try adding probiotics to his food. The only problem is that he is vey finicky about his food, and if he even smells something he stops eating for days. Any ideas on how to deal with this issue? We tried hot dogs, turkey, chicken mixed with canned food, Honest Kitchen, and finally Ollie – nothing worked
Cindy Hinsch says
Thank you Tricia for all of your enjoyable deposits into mine and my dog’s life! I’m always open for any help in areas of emotional and physical well-being for my rescue girl!
As I write this I am viewing a grosbeak eating the jelly left out for the Orioles . It surprises me that the Cardinals eat it as well. I am also seeing a grosbeak on the suet, as well as a hummingbird buzzing around her feeder and yellow finches gathering on theirs.! I sure love spring Wisconsin!
As soon as I started reading about gut health on this blog entry, I got up and took a probiotic for myself! Poor guy health can make me cranky as well!
I will check out the dog food brand that you suggested for gut health on dog food advisor. Com! That’s an informative site that I used to choose my rescue Sanova’s food!
I found a pure authenticated CBD oil brand that has worked for my fearful rescue’s stress! I also take it myself and I believe it helps the body regulate gut health as well!
I love that you have been a sheepherder all of these years! I can only imagine why you might have to discontinue raising lambs.
Thank you for keeping us posted on life at the farm !
I enjoy your blog so much!
Sincerely, Cindy Hinsch
Kerry says
My dogs love vegetables and since vegetables are natural prebiotics (promoting growth of microbes in the gut) , I don’t mind them begging when I’m cutting broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, squash , etc. There is at least one study I know about that shows reduction in cancer from feeding dogs certain veggies. Just like for us, plants help! I can’t say that the veggies help with any behavioral issues, but my dogs are pretty perfect except when they…..
Robin Rosner says
I wonder…if this theory could translate to humans as well…about stress, gut, poop…which puts one in foul mood toward others….
HFR says
I personally know well the connection between brain and gut. The minute I get scared or worried or nervous my gut responds. I lived in Southern California during the Northridge earthquake and immediately after it happened the first thing I did was run to the bathroom. I once got a phone call that my mother was sick, guess where I ended up as soon as I hung up the phone. So I’ve always known there is a highway that goes straight from my brain to my stomach.
A friend of mine who has an autistic son told me that a lot of autistic children also have gut issues and a big part of treating them is controlling their diet.
Is there any thought about which came first? I have a dog who is very high energy, startles easily and is constantly on guard in the house ready to bark at any passerby. He’s never had good poops and burps and passes gas a lot. I’ve thought that his behavior and gut issues are connected, but does he have gut issues because he’s anxious or do his gut issues cause his anxiety? I’ve tried probiotics with him with no results. Sometimes it makes his digestion worse. So for now, I just try to control it with the right foods and a Pepcid every now and then which does seem to help. I have had him checked out by the vet too. He’s not aggressive tho, so I’m lucky for that (altho he is leash reactive).
Very interesting stuff! As usual, thank you, Trisha!
chris says
Lots of probotics and gut issue stuff out there so it is tough to wade through it all. I trust dogs naturally magazine and what they sell and a few other brands. Remember as you are searching for stuff for the gut that it is preferable to be gmo free (as gmos add another bad dimension to the gut so don’t want to complicate the issue). I vote for the three pages too. Editors don’t always know best-haha.
honey loring says
very thought provoking, as there seems to be so many more dog-aggressive dogs these days. Something ubiquitous in the environment, shots, food???
honey loring
humans, too?
Chris from Boise says
This is fascinating information! Two great books about the human gut microbiome are “The Hidden Half of Nature” by David Montgomery and Anne Bikle, and “I Contain Multitudes” by Ed Yong. Glad people are looking into dog guts as well, and the behavior connections are intriguing.
Erin: good luck with your pup, and good for you for looking at all alternatives. I’ll chime in with Margaret that medications made it possible for Habi to think; without meds she was stuck in an emotional storm because her brain chemicals were so unbalanced. Our behavioral vet put her on fluoxetine, which worked for her, but there are several other drugs if fluoxetine doesn’t work. It took 6 to 8 weeks for us to see a difference in her behavior. We weaned her off the meds after a year against the advice of our vet; Habi’s behavior plateaued. A year later, we started them again and she made big progress quickly. Then, after four more years, when she was finally a happy, go-almost-anywhere girl, we were able to wean her off the drugs completely and she did fine.
We too were very resistant to using drugs, but in Habi’s case, she needed them in order for our behavioral modification protocols to work at all. Several years after our rocky start, this great post was published, which helped me feel better about our decision.
http://www.drjensdogblog.com/behavior-medication-first-line-therapy-or-last-resort/
It would be wonderful if gently manipulating the gut biome would allow the same results.
Oh, Trisha – those birds! The warble of the grosbeak and the buzz of the blue-winged warbler…what memories they bring back!
Gayla says
Awesome post and responses. Thank you for the links to the studies! Looking forward to the missing 3 pages… :>)
Nicola says
Silly me I meant to write prokaryotic! 😆
The nutritional study is absolutely fascinating and I wonder what this means for our dogs? We definitely need to challenge the industries about what goes into our dog food. Sure Linda Case will be on the case!
This: ⬇️
“More than a hundred factors were found to be involved in glycemic response, but notably food wasn’t the key determinant. Instead it was the gut bacteria. Here were two simultaneous firsts in nutritional science: one, the discovery that our gut microbiome plays such a big role in our unique response to food intake, and the other that this discovery was made possible by A.I. “
A good diet, it turns out, has to be personalised / individualised. We’re still a long way from knowing what this means in practice though.
And how does our diet impact on our microbiome co-inhabitants to raise risk of flora that are more likely to raise risk of depression? 🤔
Trisha says
I’ll comment on comments tomorrow, at the moment my gut is busy with crazy yummy Indian food from lunch with a girl friend. Equally important, right? But such a fascinating topic, love how much readers have already added.
lin says
I love the picture of the Jack/Jill in the pulpit. A great capture of shape and light.
Our late dog, Pupper, was fear-aggressive to other dogs and somewhat anxious (separation anxiety and gave herself several lick granumolas over her life). She got Clomicalm for the SA for several years. But she had a gut of iron, ate pretty much everything except raw vegetables and not much bothered her digestion.
Chris in Florida says
I have two Carolina Dogs: an 8-year-old spayed female (Dixie) who is my super-calm “zen” dog (she was a rescue that we got when she was about 1-1/2), and 3-1/2-year-old intact male (Apollo) who is just a bundle of nerves (we got him as a puppy from a breeder).
I almost don’t even know where to start with his issues: separation anxiety (except when Dixie is home with him), fear-reactivity to other dogs, fear of riding in the car (and always has a mushy, nervous poop as soon as he gets out of the car), insane obsession with Dixie, confinement anxiety (can’t leave him in a crate or he will hurt himself) . . . . We’ve tried just about everything: natural remedies, acupuncture, pharmaceuticals, different training techniques, probiotics, we’re seeing a vet-behaviorist, etc., but nothing seems to be helping! He also has had intestinal issues ever since the beginning, and the vet-behaviorist gave us the Calming Care probiotics for a while, but her supply ran out and so I’ve been buying Only Natural Pet probiotic chews for him since then. He’s currently on a mixture of fluoxetine and gabapentin, though I’m not convinced that it’s helping him.
Apollo is the reason I was so drawn to your book about Will, Trisha! I so badly need to know that there is hope! . . . that there is going to be SOMETHING out there that will finally click, or maybe it will just be a slow process, over time, of all of the work I continue to do with him every day . . . maybe it’s this thing about gut health that will one day free him from all his anxiety . . . I just know there has to be an answer somewhere! I’m going to try to get more of the Calming Care probiotics to give him–though I did go through two whole boxes, maybe we still didn’t use it long enough for me to notice a difference, and maybe the one I’m giving him now just isn’t the right mixture or not a good quality. It’s so hard to know what to do sometimes!
Oh, and those of us with dogs like this wouldn’t even blink an eye upon reading those pages that got deleted from your book–we’ve been there, done that! For example . . . Dixie and Apollo sleep in their open crates in our bedroom, and Apollo has this thing where he will get up on the bed to let us know if he’s not feeling well . . . so . . . yep, you guessed it . . . liquid poop ALL over the bed, the bedroom carpet, EVERYTHING . . .
Melanie Hawkes says
Upton, my 5yo Lab x golden retriever, has suspected pain and fear anxiety and last year he developed allergies, not long after starting on fluoxetine. I have since switched him to a raw diet and added kefir and coconut oil and for a few months he was off his allergy pills and not scratching. But it came back in April. Unfortunately I’ve not noticed much improvement in his behaviour or anxiety and just this morning was reading about fecal transplants and how they can help a range of illnesses and disorders including allergies and anxiety. I can’t wait to find something that will help all of his issues! Thank you for bringing your thoughts to this issue.
Minnesota Mary says
This is fascinating! I wonder if raw food contributes to good gut health. My dogs all seem to be stable and happy – even the 60+ fosters I’ve had. Even if they come to my house stressed, anxious, fearful or aggressive, they generally leave to be adopted as calm, happy and loving pups. I don’t think it’s fair to ask the adopter to transition off of raw, so I feed the fosters kibble, but always add a spoonful of raw to their bowl. My go-to raw is whole free range chicken (organs included) with chicken bones and supplements ground up into it. My own dogs tend to live long and healthy lives… Who knows if that contributes!
Trisha says
Boy do I sympathize about finding that “one thing” that fixes all those issues. I’m sure you’ve tried diet (I’m thinking food allergies), but most importantly, I’m sending wishes for good luck, and admiration for your stamina.
Trisha says
Yes, yes, so many issues here! So much for us to learn. In some ways it feels like science is just started to enter an entirely new phase. Yes, trees really do talk to each other and protect their young and fight wars. Yes, there are “brain” cells in your intestines. And on and on. In some ways it’s a wonderful time to be alive. In others it can be a bit, uh, frustrating.
Trisha says
Fantastic references Chris, thank you so much. I just ordered the first one. My reading table is groaning… (Right now I’m reading Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It’s going to one of my favorite books of all time. It has so much to say about the importance of integrating Western science and more holistic perspectives, and it speaks to me as few other books have. But I digress.) Thanks to for the link about medication and behavior. I think of medication for behavioral issues as a last line of treatment, but also one that can be critically necessary.
Trisha says
No lack of aggression in the world now for sure. Probiotics for all?
Trisha says
No kidding about it being difficult to wade through. A friend of mine did lots of good research on probiotics for people, and came up with this list of sources she trusts:
1) https://bioimmersion.com/products/original-synbiotic-formula
2) https://www.metagenics.com/supplement-finder?product_type%5B%5D=Probiotics
3) https://www.pharmaca.com/pharmax-hlc-high-potency-120-vcaps
And this one for dogs, potentially:
https://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics-for-pets.html
Thanks KG!
Trisha says
The question of the day, right? Which comes first–gut or fear? Wild ass guess: Could be either, depending. Example of anxiety/stress/fear coming first = the dogs I see come off of a trial field and spurt out liquid poop soon as they are done. I’ve seen Maggie have diarrhea after a stressful training session, when her poop was fine before and after. But then, the reverse is so common, Willie as an example: Comes with chronic diarrhea, develops fear issues as matures. Perhaps timing is an issue? If just one bout of diarrhea more related to stress, but if chronic more likely to create feelings of fear/anxiety? Just riffing here…
Trisha says
Sounds like no question about it. Lots of references now related to people and this issue…
Trisha says
Thanks Cindy! And interesting to hear you’ve used dogfoodadvisor for your rescue. Food for thought for lots of us.
Trisha says
Whoa, this sounds tricky. So many reasons he could be picky about his food. Allergies? Classical conditioning based on something in the past? Kidney issues? I think I’d talk to a vet behaviorist about an integrated treatment plan, since it’s impossible to sort out what’s medical, what’s not at this stage. I don’t get the impression that probiotics have much of a taste or scent, but then, of course, I’m not a dog. Best of luck.
Trisha says
VERY interesting. I’ll look up info on HMF super powder, not something I”m familiar with. Thanks so much for sharing. But your comments about not being a cure are so important for us all to remember.
Trisha says
The authors also mentioned saurkraut as a way to add probiotics. That better?
Trisha says
Autism and dogs… boy is that a topic that 1) needs research and 2) would be incredibly hard to do research on. I’ve meet a few dogs myself that I wondered about. Best of luck, lucky dog to have you in his corner.
Trisha says
The authors also mentioned saurkraut as a way introducing probiotics. I’m not sure if that is appropriate for dogs or not, but you might want to look into it. (And thanks for the reinforcement!)
Trisha says
Wow, great references. Thanks sooooo much!
Trisha says
Boiler room of the body? That’s too perfect. And thanks for asking about Maggie and Toots. Tootsie is the same as ever, but she had no relationship at all with Willie (or Maggie either). The GREAT news is that Maggie is really, really happy again! It’s so wonderful to see her spin and leap and radiate her happy, funny face. And I did actually listen to that Ted talk, loved it. Thanks for sharing it to the village.
Merrie Grush says
I was just sitting here, head in hand, so discouraged. I’ve studied a lot about the grain free DCM issues and finally switching my dogs to Royal Canin Select Protein because one of them cannot digest normal protein like chicken and beef. I supplemented the kibble with an expensive dried biscuit food made up of raw Elk, vegies and fruits. Now my dog has a UTI….first one ever and he’s six. I am now taking him off of the gourmet patties for supplementation but don’t know what I am doing regarding feeding. I do not like Royal Canin but I will not return to grain free because of the DCM situation that nobody seems to understand. I feed my dogs probiotics every day and salmon oil supplementation. It seems to me that dogs are meant to eat meat not vegies and fruit. The vets have no ideas of what to do about any of this. I am so confused. What changed his uric acid PH? Any ideas would be so appreciated. My dog is my nurse as I’ve just been through cancer therapy and now a knee replacement. He’s taken care of me every step of the way. Now it’s my turn to take care of him.
Maria Montgomery says
I’ve been giving my Carli raw goats milk for a few years now. Every morning she gets about a 1/4 cup in a small glass bowl as I make my coffee. We’ve gotten in a routine of me saying “hello kitty” as I put the bowl down. Thankful for good bacteria and a healthy gut! Healthy gut = pretty poo!
Mary says
I have terriers and have had for over 20 years. The number one comment I get is that my dogs are always so calm. I always thought I was just lucky, but now I wonder if it could be because I have always fed yogurt and, on the advice of a vet, started giving a commercial probiotic. It was orignally for one dog who had chronic ear infection but I gave it to all the dogs. Vomiting and diarrhea are things that we just don’t see and if we do, we are off to the vet. Friends tell me their dogs often have both and one friend has 2 dogs who suddenly developed chronic diarrhea but won’t give probiotics because her vet says the dog needs a specific food. This is very interesting and I am looking forward to reading more as studies are done.
Toni says
I had a dog who was DX with Eucinifilitic Colitis so I understand those 3 pages without reading them, Went from a happy well adjusted puppy to a monster. At the time I knew nothing and finally gave the dog the ultimate relief by euthanasia b/c I had seen VHS film of him as a puppy and as an adult he was a wrack of bones, and you practically had to count out his food to stop the diarrhea. I had tried lactobacillicus pills because, I had always used it to stop dog show diarrhea in my other GSD’s. Dog and I shared the pills at dog shows. Worked great for stress diarrhea so I didn’t question using it. Wish I would have know what you’ve discovered.
Patti Johnson says
This is very interesting. I have a 3yo male, neutered, boxer mix who was a rescue. Right from the start, and since, I’ve had real problems with socializing him with people. He’s great around all dogs. He’s overly protective, has diarrhea when stressed, kind suffers sensory overload. I’ve always laid it to lack of socialization from birth til rescue at 5-6 wks, then the trauma of rescue. Perhaps I’ll give this a try.
Trisha says
Good luck Patti. Can’t imagine it would be a cure-all, but would be great if it helped.
Diane says
To Chris with Apollo.
My first dog was a border collie/husky mix, intact male. He had stomach problems so often, it was easy, unfortunately, to train him to go to the kitchen when he vomited (bloody vomit …and stools). We had him examined for medical issues by multiple vets, and they did not find anything.
My dog also became sexually aroused constantly (obsessed with humping …anything), and I noticed a relationship between his bouts of arousal, and the vomiting and diarrhea that followed. After a particularly bad stomach episode, we had him back at the vet and I mentioned this (very shyly). The vet listened with amusement, either at my diagnosis or my stammering.
Nevertheless, he suggested my dog stay overnight for observation. The next day the vet called and suggested neutering him – my dog must have shown signs of arousal and then displayed the stomach issues afterwards.
After neutering, the stomach issues greatly improved. I cannot suggest this would work for Apollo, but maybe something to consider. Good luck.
Leslie says
This is so fascinating. I have a 2.5 year old rescue cattle dog who was not fearful or leash reactive when I got him at 11 months, but became leash reactive to other dogs over the last year. I blame doggy day care and the off leash dog park because he now thinks he should just get to run up and play with every dog he sees. I eat plain Greek yogurt myself every day and my boys both get to lick the spoon. My 14 year old cattle dog is in great shape for his age, and the get a combination of Acana and Darwin’s raw. The 14 year old has spectacular poo but the youngster’s is a bit soft. I think I’m going to just add a spoonful of yogurt to their breakfast now! The youngster is also now getting 3 mg of melatonin every morning, which seems to take the edge off but hasn’t really changed the leash reactivity at all. I’ve resorted to a bark collar which I hate but despite being perfectly focused on me at all other times during our walks as soon as another dog gets within the distance threshold I could have filet mignon and he wouldn’t care. Yesterday was our first walk with the bark collar and he got the message pretty quickly. I’m hoping to only have to use it a few times. Sigh.
Nicola says
Another good reference published in Nature today.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01674-w
It seems to be the next big thing in developing our understanding of biology in health and disease. Unsurprising – it’s an ecosystem in itself
Trisha says
Chris, it makes me crazy how little we do for veterans, and I don’t have a husband who served. And now I hear that 200,000 applications to the VA are going to be tossed? I am not especially knowledgeable about this topic, but I feel strongly that I should be, so I’ll continue to read up and speak up about it, because, well. . . Good grief, how could one not?
Trisha says
Great reference Nicola, thank you so much!
Melanie Hawkes says
I forgot to mention that Upton had emergency surgery after a bit of bone pierced his duodenum last year. He recovered well but didn’t like all his antibiotics so was hard to give him his normal meds so we stopped his anxiety meds. For about six weeks he was a different dog, much calmer and easier to train. Unfortunately my neighbour got a second dog that barked all day which made home life stressful for him again. I wonder what it was about the surgery that made such a difference in his behaviour? Pain? Gut lining changes? Or the fluoxetine was causing more appetite issues than I realised? It was both the worst and best thing to happen but I’m not keen to try it again!
Mary F says
I got an email a few weeks back, telling me of your post. It was perfect timing, because we have been dealing with aggressive behavior from our 7 month old Westie. He has always had a forceful personality, and by forceful, I mean that he lets you know exactly how he feels when you take something away from him. He might give me a little growl (I’m his “person,” but when anyone else does it, he is a little louder. Then a couple of weeks before this post came out, he started being aggressive (snarls, snapping and trying to bite) my husband. Also, he has always had GI issues…never a “normal” bowel movement since we got him 3 months ago.We have since been working with a dog trainer. When I mentioned this post and the Probiotics link to both the trainer and our Vet, they were both intrigued. We took him to the Vet and she prescribed Calming Care and an Adaptil collar that emits pheromones.
Fast forward to today: The change is dramatic. He has decided that my husband is the BEST! He’s very affectionate with him, and he no longer snarls at anyone. I definitely think there is a correlation between the gut and aggression. He’s going to stay on it indefinitely!.I know that 2-3 weeks isn’t a long time, but I’ll take it!
I’m so glad that this post was so well-timed! Thanks for your help, even though you didn’t know about our situation! 😉
Linda Freeman says
Thank you so much for this article. We have a fearful, reactive rottie with a long history of gut issues. She had parvo at eight weeks (not on our watch) and major gut issues once she recovered. She was ultimately put on an elimination diet and I home-cooked for her for two years to get her back to health. We began giving her Proviable which was a game changer and discovering that she was highly intolerant of pea protein and all bird protein was the key to getting her back to health. However, her gut has remained “delicate” and once in awhile a boiled ground beef reboot is necessary and flagyl is always on hand to get her out of a bad spot.
However, her temperament really was adversely affected. In addition, she had a toe amputation due to a deformity causing pain and an elbow dysplasia surgery all of which further contributed to her fearfulness and mistrust of strangers. She also developed vasculitis presumably from a rabies shot reaction. It has been a huge challenge.
Recently, we put her on Prozac which has helped quite a bit. It’s not a solution but it does tone down the responses so we can work on correcting and finding alternate responses. In addition, we recently changed her food (fish protein) as the one she was on changed their formula (try finding dog food without pea protein these days). I’m optimistic that the food change is going to be a positive improvement as well and the good news is she tolerated it well and her poop is better than ever.
This topic couldn’t be more near and dear and I can unequivocally state that gut and temperament are intertwined.
Thank goodness our girl is in the right place and we have the patience and love to keep her. 90% would have gotten rid of her.
More research on this would be welcome.
Jen says
My dogs get a frozen Kong every afternoon while I’m at work. It usually contains canned pumpkin, but I’ve been having difficulty finding plain pumpkin and switched to stuffing them with plain yogurt. We got a new dog about a month ago, and I have been amazed at how quickly my anxious dog adjusted (and actually seems calmer overall). I thought maybe the new dog is giving him confidence or that I am behaving better (more structure due to the new dog and also very conscious to really pay attention to each dog and give him a bit of special time), but maybe it’s the yogurt?!
Mary F says
Linda and Jen: I highly recommend the Adaptil collars (I get them at Amazon) and the Calming Care, which I get from my vet. (It’s relatively new, put out by Purina. I’ll bet it will be OTC soon.) These have been game-changers!
Jessica says
My current project dog tested as allergic to dairy (at the top of a long list vua blood test) but he appears to tolerate goat milk just fine. I spent some time culturing kefir from powdered goat milk last summer and while neither he nor I saw any miracle cure, I do find the various evidence on gut health being foundational to all kinds of other health systems very compelling. I was born with a defect in the nerves of my large intestine and have had a lot of health issues. Project dog has skin lupus and behavior issues. Both of us had our guts nuked by antibiotics when young. We take SO MANY of the same meds it blows my mind.
Kefir culture is not very difficult or time consuming really, it’s just something you have to keep up with on a daily basis–it can be paused but it’s a bit extra effort to get it going again. I recommend checking out the company named Kefirko. They make some equipment that really simplifies the process. I also got an old lab magnetic stir plate off eBay that mixes the powdered milk for me. I guess it’s probably time to get that system going again. I did feel a bit more energetic when having kefir regularly. All the dogs adore the stuff.
Also be aware that with homemade kefir you are loading both bacteria AND yeast. The goal is to have them both in balance in the gut, but if your pup gets yeast infections regularly adding more yeast might be detrimental. The balance of yeast vs bacteria in the kefir can be influenced by temps and rinsing practices. Kefir sold commercially has no yeast.
Rachel W says
Finally had a slow day to read this post. Very interesting information! Thank you for sharing!
I have 2 dogs and a husband who both have “fear” issues. They all 3 also have occasional stomach problems. I’m wondering if I should get all 3 on probiotics now lol! I have noticed when my husband has an anxiety attack the dogs start acting erratic. I’m looking forward to looking into this further.
By the way – what food items can dogs have that contain probiotics? Can they have yogurt?
Trisha says
Yogurt fine for most dogs! Just go slow, maybe just a tsp at first to see how they do.
Nicola says
The gut microbiome of elite athletes (marathon runners) has a bacterium that enhances performance, makes mice run longer, and this is mediated via lactate metabolism.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-019-0485-4
Who knows where this is going? Other than if I was 30 years younger and I’d be signing up to microbiomics and nutrigenomics research. 😊 🦠 🧫 🧬
Mary F. says
Hi Tricia,
I don’t know if you read comments to old posts, but here goes…
I commented above (June 4, 2019 at 7:51 am) about my Westie being aggressive, and how the Calming Care and Adaptil collar had been game changers….
Well, I’m sad to say that we lost the battle. Our Westie, who previously had only shown aggressive tendencies, became even worse. He bit my husband twice and our adult daughter once. We worked with our vet, the coordinator of Wisconsin Westie Rescue, and dog behaviorists (from DBF,) and we all realized that there was no good solution. We had to put him down last week. As the vet was administering the medication, our boy tried to bite ME! (His favorite person!) The Vet said, “I think he just gave us a parting gift…now we KNOW we’re making the right decision.
We are a little shell-shocked around here, and we’re both pretty sad about the whole thing. No more dogs for awhile…We’re going to enjoy our 5 year old Cavalier King Charles, who loves to sit in our laps, healing our souls.
Thanks for listening,
Mary
Jenny Haskins says
Coming in late, but:
Digestive problems and Asperger’s tend to go hand in hand. I had a highly reactive dog with a LOT of digestive problems and I found just about everything about her was SO similar tot my severely Asperger’s (or worse?) nephew. It seemed to be multiple food sensitivities. We never really found a solution for either dog or nephew,
On the other hand, simple stress can cause Horrible Diarrhoea. As we all know for our examination-taking days.
Jean Blanchard says
Interested if any new research has come up? My 8 month old dog has always been insecure, anxious but seemed to be gaining confidence. Recently developed diarrhea & we yet to find out the cause. Fecal tests negative for worms/ parasites. UTD on vaccination( didn’t get a canine coronavirus vaccine however) His behaviors have always been more dramatic in evening (zoomies/ nipping) During the day resource guarding isn’t much of an issue. Now, at night he becomes paranoid that someone will take his items. Since the diarrhea, the behaviors have escalated. He bit my son to make him bleed badly last night. My son was moving a blanket on couch, & the dog leaped from lying on floor to bite his hand. I noticed earlier in the evening when the blanket was shifted he growled at it (like he does when he sees a plastic bag moving in wind). He’s never bit that hard before. He’s normally submissive with other dogs & plays well. Yesterday he went after another dog aggressively. Maybe there’s underlying pain that’s causing a bad mood? It’s a puzzle to me what is going on with my dog. My son has Autism & I’ve read about research on behavior & gut health. But it seems the research in that area still is its infancy, as well. I hope someday we have more conclusive evidence so there can be some helpful application.
AJ says
I really thought calming care would help my german shepherd mix, who has had GI troubles and terrible anxiety since before i got her at 6 months. I tried to find a food that worked well for her, and discovered yogurt helped tremendously with mood (but made her very itchy). We were making great headway on her reactivity to strangers and dogs. After being spayed at 13 months (vet recommended a later spay for bone growth reasons), her reactivity spiked, we lost all progress, and she was worse than ever before. After a month of no progress, I tried calming care.
The strain of bacteria they use did NOT work for her because it’s not the same as the stuff in yogurt. It made her very, very ill. I expected a little gas, but her GI issues got worse than ever, she stopped eating and drinking (even when a fussy eater, she’d normally still take treats– but this time, nothing!). She puked nonstop, even with nothing in her stomach. Had to take her to veterinary ER to get supportive care. she was back to normal in a few days once i discontinued the stuff (and coaxed her into eating again; beef jerky is a miracle food).
Still trying to figure out what helps. If calming care works for folks, good! but this was very scary to watch.