Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Supplements FortiFlora Canine
Powder sachets, positioned for loose stools, antibiotics, everyday gut support.
Powder sachets
Dogs
Probiotic
$1.03 a day
Trial of this product in the animal
4.7 out of 5 from 49,627 ratings at Amazon
What is in it
- Enterococcus faecium SF68 (labeled Enterococcus lactis SF68 on PetSmart) — 1 x 10^8 CFU per 1 g sachet
What owners consistently report
- Loose stools settled within days of starting, in the owners' telling
- Dogs take the powder readily on food
- Recommended by the owner's own veterinarian
What the research supports
In a randomized trial of shelter dogs with diarrhea, dogs given metronidazole plus FortiFlora for 7 days had normal stools on 65.6% of days against 46.9% with metronidazole alone (P=.0496); the share with normal stools by day 7 (68.8% vs 37.5%) did not reach significance (PMID 29291770). A double-blinded placebo crossover in 182 shelter dogs over two 4-week periods found no detectable difference, with diarrhea uncommon in both groups (PMID 21689152). Puppies fed SF68 at 5 x 10^8 CFU a day from weaning to 1 year had higher fecal IgA and vaccine antibody levels, an immune outcome rather than a stool one (PMID 12672936), and 11 healthy dogs fed the same strain for 16 days had 0.6 fewer loose-stool days (PMID 36611752). No placebo-controlled trial of FortiFlora alone for acute diarrhea in owned dogs was found.
What the label discloses
The label names one strain, Enterococcus faecium SF68, at a guaranteed 1 x 10^8 CFU per gram sachet. Other listed ingredients are animal digest, brewer's dried yeast, vitamin E, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate and zinc, manganese, copper, iron, iodine and selenium sources; 4 kcal per packet. Whether the CFU is guaranteed through expiry or at manufacture is not stated on the pages read.
Dose by weight, from the label
| ANIMAL AND WEIGHT | LABEL SERVING | COST A DAY |
|---|---|---|
| Dog, under 25 lb | 1 sachet a day | $1.03 |
| Dog, 25 to 50 lb | 1 sachet a day | $1.03 |
| Dog, 50 to 75 lb | 1 sachet a day | $1.03 |
| Dog, over 75 lb | 1 sachet a day | $1.03 |
Cost is the pack price at the retailer named below divided by the servings in the pack, at the label serving for that weight. Your vet’s instructions come first.
Worth knowing
The label carries no warnings beyond the standard veterinary-supplement wording. Among the Amazon reviews read, the only pattern was owners using it for constipation and itching, which the label does not claim.
Not sure this is the one for your dog?
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Others we researched for the same job
- Honest Paws Pre+Probiotics for Dogs (stick packs) — for dogs, $1.00 a day
- Vital Planet Flora Dog High Potency Probiotic capsules — for dogs, $1.10 a day
- PetLab Co. Probiotic Chews for Dogs — for dogs, $1.20 to $3.60 a day by weight
- Zesty Paws Probiotic Bites for Dogs — for dogs, $0.37 to $1.10 a day by weight
- AnimalBiome S. boulardii + FOS Powder for Cats and Dogs — saccharomyces boulardii, for dogs and cats, $0.89 to $4.45 a day by weight
- Full Bucket Daily Dog Probiotic — saccharomyces boulardii, for dogs, $0.51 to $1.03 a day by weight
- NaturVet Digestive Enzymes Plus Probiotic Powder — digestive enzymes, for dogs and cats, $0.18 to $0.70 a day by weight
- NaturVet Advanced Probiotics & Enzymes Powder — digestive enzymes, for dogs and cats, $0.29 to $1.15 a day by weight
- Wholistic Pet Organics Pure Colostrum — colostrum, for dogs and cats, $0.30 to $1.50 a day by weight
- Native Pet Colostrum for Dogs — colostrum, for dogs, $0.25 to $1.00 a day by weight