Probiotic Chews for Dogs: A Closer Look at Great Poop Digestive Support Supplement

All featured products are chosen at the discretion of the author. However, Vetstreet may make a small affiliate commission if you click through and make a purchase.

We are what we eat, and the same adage holds true for dogs. Savvy pet parents know nutritious, balanced dog food is the cornerstone to keeping dogs healthy. Dogs, however, stress their digestive tract and gut every single day. 

Consider everything your dog eats, sniffs, reacts to, encounters and engages with on a daily basis. Because 70 percent of a dog’s immune system lives in the gut (1), keeping her gastrointestinal tract healthy and balanced with proper digestive enzymes is important. 

These days, most pet parents don’t have a lot of time to research the best enzymes, fiber supplements, prebiotics, or probiotics for their pooch. It can be dizzying to wade through the thousands of products that promise to support your dog’s digestive tract. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of probiotic chews for dogs and put Great Pet’s Great Poop digestive support supplement to the test.

Why Probiotic Chews for Dogs Work

It’s essential to understand how a dog’s digestion process works. The canine digestive tract is a dynamic system that takes in and processes food (2). Digestion starts in the dog’s mouth when she starts chewing food. As saliva helps break down the food, she swallows as digestion continues in her esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, intestines, rectum, and anus. 

Unlike humans, partially digested foods spend a longer period of time in your pup’s stomach. For people, food remains in the stomach for about 30 minutes. In dogs, partially digested foods stick around four to eight hours in the stomach. This is fascinating and important because any number of factors can easily upset your dog’s gut, leading to a whole host of problems.

One of the best ways to naturally support a dog’s digestive tract is with the Great Pet Great Poop Total Digestive Support Supplement, which is intended for dogs 12 weeks of age or older. Great Poop is an all-in-one formula with high fiber, probiotics, prebiotics, and digestive enzymes in one flavorful chew. 

Not all fiber is created equal, but a high-quality fiber like the one in Great Poop supports a dog’s digestive tract to avoid diarrhea, loose stools, constipation, foul odor, and bloating. Fiber can also provide gas relief, which is a win-win for dogs and pet parents.

Prebiotics and probiotics are the beneficial, friendly bacteria dogs need for a healthy immune system and balanced gut. Helpful bacteria promote digestion and may help reduce yeast overgrowth, urinary tract infections, allergy symptoms, and more. Thankfully, Great Poop’s soft chew makes it easy to give your dog a wholesome treat with benefits.

Great Poop Digestive Support Dog Supplement: Features

Great Poop sets itself apart from other digestive supplements because it is made in America and combines high fiber with the benefits of enzymes, prebiotics, and probiotics in one convenient chewable form. I’ve been using probiotics on my Cocker Spaniels for many years, so I tried Great Poop’s formula on my dog, Dexter. 

I feel good giving my dog something that contains no soy or corn and is free of artificial flavoring or preservatives. Great Poop’s transparency of ingredients and high CPUs (colony-forming units), gave me the reassurance I needed to test it on my own dog. I’ll share my personal experiences below. First, let’s tackle the facts and features.

Probiotics for Dogs

Probiotic chews for dogs are an easy way to promote a healthy gut. Not all probiotics are the same, but Great Poop’s 2 million CFUs promote good bacteria. When I spoke to Dr. Adam Christman of MJH Life Sciences, he mentioned that probiotics support the gut’s microbiome, which is a collection of billions of bacteria in the intestinal tract.  

CFUs indicate how many live bacteria cultures are active and dividing so beneficial colonies can form. Good bacteria in a senior dog’s gut may help them feel happy and healthy.

Digestive Enzymes for Dogs

Amylase, protease, lipase, cellulase, lactase, and bromelain enzymes sound important because they are. Great Poop contains each of these digestive enzymes for dogs. The role of digestive enzymes is to help break things down in your dog’s digestive tract. 

Plant enzymes like protease, lipase and amylase help break food down in the acidic terrain of the stomach. Some enzymes break down carbs, others break down fat, and some break down protein. The digestive enzymes in Great Poop lessen the burden on your dog’s digestive system so it doesn’t have to work as hard. Easier digestion means fewer loose stools, indigestion, and diarrhea.

Fiber for Dogs

Fiber promotes a healthy balance in a dog’s gut but it also keeps the colon healthy and regulates their bowels. Because the fiber in Great Poop helps canine motility, dogs experience more regular poops. Let’s face it, dog parents deserve easier cleanup and dogs deserve firm, healthy poops.

The right balance of fiber can help relieve canine symptoms of gas, bloating, and constipation. Coupled with flaxseed and oat fiber, dogs receive the right dose of dietary fiber every day.

Soft Chew Format

The easy-to-administer soft chew, chicken-flavored format is one of my favorite features. No more struggling to sneak a pill into your dog’s food or a piece of lunch meat. Some soft chews claim to be easy to break up but wind up being as hard as a rock. This isn’t the case with Great Poop’s soft, crumbly texture. 

Each soft chew measures about a half-inch, which my Cocker Spaniel chewed with ease. For little mouths, you can break the chew up into smaller pieces if desired.

Great Poop Probiotic Soft Chew Dosage

Dogs vary in size, so the soft chew dosage per day depends on your pup’s weight. Because there are 120 chews per container, most medium-sized dog parents will have a 60-day supply. Here’s the breakdown of Great Poop’s soft chew dosage per day:

Weight in Pounds	Number of Soft Chews
Less than 25 pounds	1 chew
25 – 50 pounds	2 chews
51 – 75 pounds	3 chews
76 – 100 pounds	4 chews
101 pounds +	5 chews

Putting Great Poop Probiotic Soft Chews to the Test

As a Cocker Spaniel mom, dog lover of the highest order, and pet product expert, I’m always on high alert for products that are safe and benefit dogs. Although I’ve had experience with probiotics for my dogs, I never used a probiotic soft chew digestive supplement with fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes until now. 

My dog, Dexter, is a semi-fussy pooch with a bit of a sensitive stomach. He required two soft chews per day in his weight range, but I started with a half chew per day to see how he would tolerate it. He recently turned 13 years young, so I know his digestive processes aren’t what they used to be. I felt confident trying this product on Dexter for a healthy gut and consistent poops. 

Dexter’s poops are solid and firm regularly, but now and then dietary indiscretion (extra treats or a table scrap that fell to the floor) happens. Most of the other canine gut health products I’ve encountered only target part of a dog’s gut health. Great Poop’s comprehensive approach to a healthy gut convinced me to give it a try. 

I planned to break one soft chew in half and provide half of that in the morning as a snack and a half in the evening as a reward for teeth brushing. I’m all for positive reinforcement and rewarding my dog for being a good boy. After our morning walk, Dexter received half of a Great Poop soft chew. Each night after our evening teeth cleaning routine, I gave him the other half. He immediately sniffed the soft chew and then easily chewed and consumed it. 

My dog can be picky, so I was happy to see he accepted the scent and taste of the chew. After one week, I increased the soft chew dosage to one chew per day and eventually two chews per day. Dexter’s poops remained firm, he eagerly anticipated the Great Poop soft chew, and finally, he surprised me with something he did. 

I accidentally tried giving Dexter a plain dog biscuit one morning after our walk, and he turned his head from it! My little stinker wanted a Great Poop soft chew instead. This cracks me up because my dog is fussy but generally does not refuse a treat. He proved to me the adage that dogs are creatures of habit.

Things We Like

• Great Poop’s probiotic chews for dogs are easy to administer. I don’t have to crush it up and add it to my dog’s meals or try to “trick” him into eating it. The soft texture made it easy for my dog to chew, and he had no idea the snack was good for him. 
• Great Poop may have helped my dog’s yeasty overgrowth. Being a Cocker Spaniel mom, keeping my dog’s ears clean is a regular part of our routine. Yeast can live and grow in any number of places on and in your dog’s body. I haven’t smelled any yeasty odor from Dexter’s ears since starting Great Poop. I look forward to his veterinarian examining the ears during our next visit.
• Confidence is key when giving my dog any new product. I feel confident giving Dexter the Great Poop probiotic chew because it is made in the USA, has zero nasty flavors or preservatives, and has no corn or soy, which can make him itchy.
• Great Poop chews don’t need to be refrigerated. Some probiotics require refrigeration, so it is a delight to store this container in my dog’s treat and medicine cabinet. I like being able to take them with me on day trips and plan to bring them along for vacations, too.

Things to Consider

• Additional flavors for dogs who can’t eat chicken-flavored products would be helpful. Not all dogs can eat chicken products, so we’d love to see more flavors like beef or salmon. 
• Would love to see a larger container. For larger dogs over 101 pounds, five chews per day are required. A larger-sized container would be helpful so pet parents don’t have to order as frequently. 
• Probiotics aren’t a cure-all for every canine gut issue. If your dog’s constipation, diarrhea, or flatulence are ongoing, seek veterinary attention.

Great Poop: Our Verdict

Gut health is something many pet parents don’t consider until their dogs show signs of an outward problem. I don’t like giving my dog multiple vitamins and supplements every day, so the chewy treat feature is a big win. The fact that my dog is receiving a plethora of benefits in one dose makes me feel good. Any fiber or enzymes his body doesn’t use will simply be excreted in his waste. 

I will continue Dexter on the Great Poop Probiotic Chews for Dogs and let his veterinarian know I am giving him a daily digestive supplement. To this point, I’ve stayed away from fiber/probiotic products all in one, but Great Poop has turned the tide for me. Because it is high quality, affordable, easy to dispense, and promotes balance in his digestive tract, I’ll be using this every day going forward. If your dog is 12 weeks of age or older, Great Poop is worth a try.