In the past few years there has been a change in the importance given to the study of how the beneficial bacteria that live in and on the body of humans and animals can determine the status of health. No longer are probiotics considered something you need only to restore beneficial bacteria after antibiotic treatment or maybe when you have diarrhea. Today there is a large body of evidence showing that we need to incorporate beneficial bacteria as part of routine health care, as well as considering them part of our nutrition. Some researchers have even concluded that the bacteria population in our bodies is SO important and has such impact on our health that we should consider them not just bacteria, but an ORGAN. Without these bacteria you cannot live. Literally. What is being learned is that medical science missed the boat on probiotics and have not been using this important, possibly critical, tool to improve health, support recovery and fight disease. Until now.

Since the early 1980’s, Nature’s Farmacy, Inc. has literally pioneered the search to understand how probiotics work in canines, felines and carnivores. We have been accompanied on this journey by the greatest customers any business could hope to have. Thru the years, our customers have been willing to give us their trust and help us go down the path to find better and safer ways to feed dogs and cats. They were willing to give us the feedback we needed to determine effective ways to use Probiotics in our animals. Our mission began in an effort to find a way to reduce bloat and gastric dilatation volvulus in dogs. Having owned, shown and bred Great Danes for the last 48 years, we had a vested interest in finding safer ways to manage our dogs in regards to gastric problems or emergencies. This was our initial goal. It became obvious from the beginning of our business in working with these products, that probiotics and enzymes had great potential to improve the health in our animals in so many ways. We have worked all these years to bring recognition to the benefits of probiotics to dogs and cats, and even humans. Only in recent years have others begun to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that has accumulated.

What are “probiotics”? 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 we call probiotics, there would not BE life in people, animals and all breathing things. Without these good bacteria known also as microbes, the body cannot digest food, fight bad microbes, yeast, fungi or maintain the pH that allows the body to function in a healthy range.

The DOGZYMES® brand name covers a line of very unique and one-of-a-kind products that are based on our experience and expertise in using probiotics and enzymes and in blending nutritional products. DOGZYMES® products are produced from organic and human grade ingredients. We use the best ingredients available, only from the USA and a few countries known for safe, ecologically sound sources. With our experience we can produce products that make those ingredients do their job better than other products. We guarantee their performance to your satisfaction.

Fifteen years ago developed a new probiotic product line that is a culmination of all our years of work in canine probiotic research. More powerful, more compatible to the canine, feline or equine and more stable in storage, these products have features that are special to protect the GI tract from the danger of bloat or any other health problem related to incorrect diet or abnormal gut function. Our new DOGZYMES PROBIOTIC MAX is the most powerful protection you can buy for your animal, bar none. These products now can better manage bloat, gas, negative pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, fungi, and help strengthen the immune system, allow superior absorption of nutrients, and have a guaranteed 2-year shelf life. We are expanding the resource providers behind our formulas, and their professional expertise and guidance is in place to provide our customers this service.

Bloat is only one issue where probiotics and enzymes have important value. Whether your concern is bloat, allergies, itching, poor coats, ear and urinary tract infections, yeast infections, antibiotic side effects, stress or trauma, irritable bowel syndrome, pancreatitis, fading puppies, gas and digestion difficulties, poor appetites, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, excessive grass eating, post-surgical problems, skeletal problems, acutely or chronically, most all the things we deal with in dogs or cats, we can confidently say that the foundation for prevention or recovery starts with probiotic and enzyme supplementation. Customer feedback has been invaluable to help connect the dots in figuring out how to supplement and alter feeding methods to end problems, not just medicate to manage symptoms. If you feed kibble with probiotics “added”, you are NOT adequately protected with sufficient probiotics, especially with higher risk animals. Grass, dirt, stone and stool eating are all symptoms of a dog that is trying to correct gut abnormalities and needs probiotics and enzymes to do so.

For the sake of time and space, this will not be a “microbiology class”. I will, however list some FACTS. If you have never used or investigated probiotic/enzyme products before, you need to know that the foundation of your dog’s health is nutrition and absorption. Even the immune system is dependent on nutrition. We are finally getting around to admitting this in human health. What you feed yourself or your dog WILL determine the quality of health and life. When the gut works correctly, every other part of the body benefits. You cannot trick or cheat the body. If you have to use medications or drugs, and you have bad nutrition, even the medications can’t do their best work. If the good bacteria and working enzymes are not in high supply in the gut, then food cannot be well used or even tolerated: When at a dog show or other stressful event or situation, thousands of you have seen the dramatic dog’s improvement from “show diarrhea” after using DOGZYMES Canine Paste. DOGZYMES Probiotic formulas are made to disrupt gas production and bring it under control fast. Please understand there has been very limited research to prove or disprove the benefit of using probiotics in controlling bloat cases until recently. In other species there is direct, definitive research to show that probiotics are unquestionably valuable in bloat management. We have tried for unsuccessfully for years to get funding for dog bloat studies relating to using probiotics. We keep trying. We can tell you this: There is definitely a relationship between decreased digestive problems (including bloat) when using our probiotics daily in feeding programs.

Probiotics are beneficial and necessary for every stage of life from birth to old age. Probiotics are crucial during times of COMPROMISED health, but our customers have learned that the best time to use our probiotics is during OPTIMUM health. DOGZYMES fed as a maintenance product is the best way to PREVENT a health crisis. We learned years ago that dogs fed any commercial feeds, even the SUPER premium brands, need probiotic support, especially one with the powerful enzyme activity of DOGZYMES. This insures better digestion of highly processed grain/carbohydrate/fiber loaded diets and prevents poorly digested ingredients from becoming allergens. If you feed a NATURAL, RAW or homemade diet, you might assume that adding a probiotic is unnecessary. This is not the case. Unless the dog is actually eating the intestinal tract of the prey or living in the wild, there is no source of beneficial bacteria or enzymes in any way. Optimum health exists when the body and its systems operate in harmony. The body needs Probiotics to do this. The body can stand great demands for long periods, but not forever; something has to give. If the nutrition that fuels the system is wrong and the ability to break down the fuel is compromised, the body breaks down. Probiotics, enzymes and optimum natural food are essential to make all species flourish.

A lot of people think that adding a little yogurt will do the job. This is far from the truth, as one teaspoon of our DOGZYMES Digestive Enhancer is equivalent to 70 – eight ounce containers of yogurt. So adding yogurt sprays on kibble, adding a little yogurt to your dog’s raw diet or supplementing with Lactobacillus acidophilus alone is not sufficient protection. Lactobacillus is only one of many of the important species of bacteria needed in the gut. Probiotics and Prebiotics added to dog foods fall far short in supplying enough of either.

We are committed to better understanding 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 they did thousands of years ago. You cannot make the digestive system of the carnivore bend to fit the processed, grain inclusive diets of today. We MUST MAKE THE DIET FIT THE NEEDS OF THE CARNIVORE. There is simply no other way to reduce health problems. Much is written by many “experts” and many self-proclaimed experts, and many books on the subject are conflicting. We offer a feeding program with a simple, common sense approach to use whole and/or raw food. It is not rocket science! It is easy to do, easy to get the ingredients and often costs far less than “holistic” or a wild type of dog food. If you want to know more, ask for our User Friendly Home Made Diet. Our consultants will work hand in hand with you, make suggestions, evaluate the results or even suggest alternatives. We are pleased to report our customers see high rates of success and see happy, healthy dogs again. It is definitely worth trying a more natural program with real whole food, top quality probiotics and natural food based supplements from the DOGZYMES line.

In human nutritional research there is overwhelming proof that raw fruits and vegetables are essential. Antioxidant pills do not work. WHOLE FOOD IS NECESSARY. Just adding vitamins and minerals in processed food is not the answer. Antioxidants come from raw, fresh food, period. It is exciting to see some new research in antioxidant needs in dogs. Science cannot duplicate the way our food supplies antioxidants. These are called “micronutrients” and are the subject of great amounts of proven research showing that the body needs high levels of these daily to fight diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arterial disease. Raw fruits and vegetables correct our immune systems, allow our DNA to repair, and slow down aging. Simply increasing raw fruit and vegetable intake does all this for people because it dramatically increases antioxidants that protect cells from free radical damage. If you slow down the damage, you slow down disease. No question about it. All of this is true whether you have 2 or 4 legs. It works the same way. We’d love to help you keep your animals healthy and living long, comfortable lives.