Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin - Supports Digestive System & Stool Firmness for Dogs & Cats - Chewable Probiotic Supplement for Intestinal Support - For All Breeds - 250 Count

I've kept this on hand since it was first given to me by my vet several years ago. Over the years, it has been so great to help resolve occasional soft or loose stools for my dogs. When we adopted our boxer at 10 months old, he had bad diarrhea from the food and stress at the shelter and he also had food sensitivities we were unaware of at the time. We gave him these every 8-12 hours for several months until his system regulated and then we've just kept on hand and used as needed for all of our dogs. Of course, you need to take your dog to the vet to make sure there's no parasite or infection that requires prescribed medication, but most of us know our dogs and know when they might be just experiencing a sensitive tummy vs serious illness and keeping these on hand will help with the occasional sensitive tummy due to food transition or eating too much of something they're not used to. I just crush the tablets (they're easily crushed into fine powder) and mix into canned food. It does have an identifiable smell and/or taste; I can tell my dogs know it's there but they don't mind it. If they won't eat, I have been able to cover in pill pockets or Twist and Lick Simpill gel and they take it that way, but I've only done that twice and it was because my dog didn't want food and I needed her to get this into her system. It has helped my dogs time and time again and I will always keep it on hand. There's also a paste available which was a better option for my chihuahua who was a very finicky eater and my big dogs have used the paste at times too and it's very easy to dispense, but these tablets are easier to keep on hand.

I recommend the article by Brett Harling DVM "Acute canine diarrhea: is it time to rethink our treatment approach?" online at at DVM360. It is written for veterinarians, so is not dumbed down for patients. At the end of the article, he explains the three ways Pro-Pectalin works. Pro-Pectalin works well for my dog and always works. Without it, a soft stool issue gets worse and worse until there is mucus, blood and liquid stool. The stool is not the issue, of course, but the distress to my dog's GI tract. The cause is unknown. When she is on a steady routine, the problem can start up. Reading these reviews has been much more helpful than talking to the vet, because these represent a wide spectrum of issues and advice for a context for me to try to solve the problem and keep my dog healthy. My only concern is that using these constantly could block the metabolism of some nutrients. My vet said that the only concern is masking an underlying issue. If I take my dog off of Pro-Pectalin, does the problem come back? Sometimes. If we didn't have these, she would be in serious trouble with her gut becoming more and more irritated. It helps to quiet everything down. When her stool is normal, I have done a long, long, long tapering off over weeks. She is then normal for a few weeks without them and when the condition returns, I do not hesitate to start again. This brand is the only one I trust because I use another one of their products, Flexadin Advanced, that uses UCII to prevent the immune system from degrading joint tissue. No other product does this. It turn her from a lame dog into an athlete within days and has kept her that way for a year and a half now. When the vet prescribed ProPectalin and dispensed them from the clinic at a ridiculously high price, I researched them and found that they were developed by Vetoquinol, so bought this product. Many products are out there for the convenience of the caretaker so that stool is easy to pick up, which is faulty thinking, especially when food is formulated with that in mind. The issue is the health of the dog, not the convenience for the human. I don't think soft stool is a problem unless it is known to be the start of a course of illness. Liquid stool, rather than soft stool, is always a cause for serious concern. I keep a spreadsheet noting the percentage of full dose she is getting, the hardness of the stool, the presence of blood, of mucus, of strong odor, together with her activity level and stress level plus the blandness of the food. Each is assigned a percentage value. It was easy to set up using the iPhone Numbers spreadsheet and takes a moment to keep up to date. It has a correlation function so that I can see objectively what factors are related. For example, if she is stressed out by another dog when we are out on a walk and has loose stool, likely they are related and it is not part of a health trend. I always want to have this on hand. The product tub is big but the product doesn't expire for over a year. The only down side was that the plastic was cracked by the thoughtless packaging and shipping. I got it within 3 hours of ordering but it was in a paper envelope and crushed. I was prepared for this from other reviews and simply transferred the tabs to an airtight container along with the desiccant pack. As my dog ages, I think it is natural that her tummy becomes more sensitive. I am so glad I have this to support her health. I hope that more research will show the causes of the problem and the way the remedy works. UPDATE: I love this company for its mission and attitude, research and customer service. Just over a year after writing this review, my concerns remain about how safe it is to give long-term, so I submitted an online contact form to the manufacturer, wondering if I would ever receive a substantive reply. A registered veterinary technician answered me immediately : "Ideally, Pro-Pectalin is intended to be used as needed for 2-3 days, but some individuals and veterinarians choose to use it long term. If you decide to use it this way, I would titer the dosing down to a minimum effective dose for your buddy. This will take experimentation on your part." As I have researched kaolin, it can indeed block the absorption of vital minerals over the long term but the other concern is what other things it might contain, and the purity of animal product ingredients is not regulated like it is for human products. I have to trust the company and factor in the tradeoff for not using the product. 2nd UPDATE: My dog developed pancreatitis with serious vomiting and diarrhea. For supportive care, my vet gave her Cerenia to take care of vomiting and Endosorb (a competing product) for everything else. During the first critical 36 hours, the Endosorb did absolutely nothing. It may be beneficial for other dogs in other conditions but did nothing at all to help my dog in her serious condition. Fortunately, I always have a good supply of Pro-Pectalin at home, so after 36 hours of fretting over the decision, I switched. Wish I had done this from the beginning. Pro-Pectalin calmed down the whole GI tract and put her on the mend. This doesn't just address the symptoms, which could mask the underlying problem, but it helps in the healing process.

If you're looking at this, then you're probably dealing with a messy situation. I get it! This is exactly ths stuff the vet had at the office at a higher price. It worked wonders for my dog. I had her tested for parasites first, just to rule those out. This cleared up her diarrhea in 3 days. Be sure to ask the vet, though, how much and how long to give it so you don't overdo it. The vet didn't mind at all that I was buying from Amazon at a lower price. She understood and told me exactly how much to give. But do make sure that ther diarrhea isn't being caused by parasites because, if so, you'll want to treat for those too.

My veterinarian prescribed this for my dogs diarrhea. She always had soft stoles and the really works good. Amazon had a great price on it!

Good price and quality.

My bulldog was have horrible diarrhea and the chicken and rice were just not helping. I read the reviews on this product and wanted to try before I paid hundreds at the vet. Within 24 hours after giving, she started acting more herself and her stools started to harden. Within 48 hours, she was her normal self. I’m Not saying it was 100% this product but it sure did make a huge difference and although I did call and check in with the vet, I never had to physically go and spend money. Now I’m Giving this to her daily.

Really helps my dog’s stomach! And they love the taste!

This helped my cat with IBD the most, to firm up his stools regularly! I give him many probiotics and special food too but this really makes a huge difference. He even has normal poops a lot of the time now. I break up a tablet into chunks and crumbs and he gets the equivalent of one each day. Now I hope I can cut down on some of the other remedies to simplify my feeding routine. I’m so happy I tried it!