Vet Review: Vetnique® Labs Profivex® Probiotic Supplement

Vetnique® Labs Profivex® Probiotic is available as a powder that you can easily mix with wet food for your dog. Dosing depends on the size of your pet (over or under 40 pounds).

Our veterinarians liked this product, thanks to its robust mix of five probiotic strains. It can also be given to both cats and dogs, so a single prebiotic product can work for blended households.

Additionally, this probiotic includes two prebiotics. These prebiotics provide a food source for the hungry beneficial bacteria in the gut, which in turn encourages a healthy digestive system.

Main Ingredients

• Enterococcus faecium fermentation product. Known as E. faecium, this is a beneficial bacterium that lives in your dog’s intestinal tract. It is the most common bacteria in a dog’s gut and plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy balance of beneficial organisms in the gut biome. The gut biome is the blend of organisms that live in the gut, including bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and even viruses.
• Dessicated pork liver powder. Pork liver powder is highly palatable and contains iron, vitamin A, and vitamin B12.
• Rice flour. Rice flour is a gluten-free source of carbohydrates. Rice may be easier for dogs to digest than other grains.
• Sweet potato powder. Sweet potato is rich in minerals like vitamin C, manganese, potassium, beta-carotene, and iron. It also acts as a prebiotic, a food source for probiotics in the gut. Adequate prebiotics encourage the growth of healthy bacteria.
• Fructooligosaccharide. Fructooligosaccharide is a common prebiotic that serves as an energy source for growing beneficial bacteria in the gut. Since gut bacteria feed on prebiotics like fructooligosaccharide, it can help support healthy bacteria levels in the gut.
• Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product. This is a common probiotic that has been shown to successfully reproduce in a dog’s gut once eaten. Adequate levels of L. acidophilus support healthy intestinal and immune systems functions.
• Vitamin E. Vitamin E is an antioxidant vitamin that has several important biological functions. It is often included in products as a general-health and immune-supporting ingredient.  
• Bacillus plantarum fermentation product. B. plantarum is a type of beneficial bacteria that lives in your dog’s intestinal tract. Healthy levels of B. plantarum help support a healthy gut biome.  
• Bromelain. Bromelian is an enzyme derived from pineapples. It is often sold as a digestive enzyme that supports healthy gut function, and there are limited studies supporting its use in dogs as a digestive aid.
• Bacillus coagulans fermentation product. B. coagulans is a type of probiotic bacteria. Like the related B. plantarum, this type of probiotic forms spores and is commonly found in soil. B. coagulans is known to produce lactic acid in the gut, which can help make the gut inhospitable for unfriendly bacteria.
• Ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning it dissolves easily in water. Dogs can synthesize vitamin C in the liver. In the body, it is an antioxidant that  provides nutritional support for connective tissue health and the immune system.
• Bifidobacterium bifidum fermentation product. B. bifidum is a type of beneficial bacteria that lives in the gut, especially the colon. B. bifidum and related Bifidobacterium species have been shown to support immune system function.

Product Forms

• Powder

Health Conditions

Our veterinarians recommend this product to manage:

• Immune system health
• General health support

Instructions for Use

Available as a powder that can be added to existing food. The manufacturer recommends one scoop daily for animals under 40 pounds, two scoops a day for animals over 40 pounds.

What Our Veterinarians Say

Vetnique Lab’s pork-flavored probiotic powder has some of the highest concentrations of prebiotics of any product evaluated by our veterinarian panel. The scoopable powder offers 5 billion CFUs per dose of Lactobacillus (two species), Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and Bacillus Coagulans organisms.

The manufacturer recommends refrigerating the product after opening, which may lead to some effectiveness concerns for pet parents who forget to put the opened container in the fridge.

Vetnique®’s probiotic blend also contains two types of prebiotics—fructooligosaccharides and sweet potato powder. These ingredients are essentially food for “good” gut bacteria, so they encourage healthy probiotic growth.

This product shouldn’t be given to dogs with sensitivities to pork, rice, or sweet potato.

At about  $0.60 cents per serving, this is an economical product.

Things to Consider

• Good for cats and dogs

• Dosing is weight-dependent

• Scoop-based dosing may not be as accurate

• High levels of five probiotic strains

• Includes prebiotics FOS and sweet potato

• Also available as a chew

• Needs refrigeration after opening

• Pork may irritate pups with some food allergies

• National Animal Supplement Council reviewed

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