The Truth Behind Dog Probiotic Treats: Why Most Contain Dead PRobiotics

What Exactly Are Probiotics?

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that play a crucial role in your dog’s overall health by balancing their gut microbiome. 

These beneficial  bacteria support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, boost the immune system, and even help regulate mood by supporting healthy serotonin levels - making your dog calmer, happier, and healthier from the inside out.

But There's a Catch …

Probiotics must be alive when your dog consumes them. 

They are living organisms that can only provide their benefits when active, multiplying, and thriving in your dog's gut.

Dead Probiotics Do Nothing

Non-viable (dead) probiotics can’t produce beneficial substances, don’t balance gut bacteria, and fail to deliver any health advantages. Essentially, a dead probiotic is completely useless to your dog's health.

Most Dog Treats Barely Contain Any Living Probiotics

Unfortunately, the vast majority of probiotic dog treats contain very few live probiotics. Many products actually deliver less than 30% of the probiotic count claimed on their packaging, leaving your dog without the promised health benefits.

Why Do Probiotics Die So Easily?

Probiotics are highly sensitive and easily destroyed by heat, pressure, moisture, or acidity—exactly the conditions found in typical dog treat production methods. 

Even strains engineered to withstand temperatures up to 100°C generally don't survive, as the combination of heat and high pressure used in manufacturing can kill them.

Dog Treat Production Methods Kill Probiotics

Standard production techniques like baking, extrusion, or high-pressure processing significantly reduce probiotic viability. 

Even gentler processes often introduce moisture or acidity, each of which is enough to substantially reduce probiotic survival.

What to Look for Instead

When buying probiotic treats, always choose products that specifically guarantee viable (live) probiotics. 

Alternatively, probiotic powders or supplements produced under strict temperature and humidity controls also provide a reliable source of live probiotics, ensuring your dog receives the gut health benefits you’re paying for.

Pawital Dog Probiotic Solutions

At Pawital we understand the importance of live probiotics and developed our products to make sure that they contain only viable alive probiotics.

Belly Biotics is a dog treat with a new innovative production process where we apply probiotics only after the “hard” production process that could kill them has been done. 

So we can guarantee 1 Billion CFU alive probiotics per 10kg dog serving. It’s ideal for everyday gut health maintenance or boosting your dog’s gut health if you’ve just started noticing problems like itching & scratching, paw licking and problematic digestion.