As we learn more about nutrition, supplements become more of an everyday thing not just for us but also our pets. ProActiveBalance is a powdered prebiotic and probiotic supplement made by Heartland Pet Care LLC for dogs and horses. The dog version comes in Regular Breed Formula for dogs who weigh less than 50 pounds and Large Breed Formula for dogs over 50 pounds. It is packaged as a 30 day supply of premeasured packets and the Large Breed Formula is also available in a 110 day supply of bulk scoopable package.
I was contacted by Heartland Pet Care LLC to see if I would be interested in trying ProActiveBalance for one of my dogs. With all my dogs being less than 50 pounds, I opted for the Regular Breed Formula. Since I don’t give prebiotics or probiotcs to my dogs, I read up a little on them while waiting for my sample to come.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine division of the National Institute of Health gives the following definitions-
Probiotics are live microorganisms (in most cases, bacteria) that are similar to beneficial microorganisms found in the human gut. They are also called “friendly bacteria” or “good bacteria.”
Prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth and/or activity of beneficial microorganisms already in people’s colons.
These are given to help balance and keep the balance of the bacteria in the digestive tract which can become unbalanced due to taking antibiotics, infections or health conditions.
The probiotic in ProActiveBalance is bacillus coagulans and the prebiotic is Nutriose which is a food dextrin with high fiber content (dextrin is a carbohydrate). ProActiveBalance also contains dextrose.
After reading about the ingredients, my only concern is the addition of the dextrose. I am not a big fan of adding sugar to my dogs’ diet. Heartland Pet Care LLC has a nice FAQ page about ProActiveBalance and it would be nice if they could tell us the purpose of the dextrose especially for people who have diabetic dogs.
Once the ProActiveBalance arrived, I started adding it to Mellie’s food in the 
morning. None of the dogs had digestive issues at the time (surprising consider what they find to eat), but I figured I’d try it anyway since probiotics and prebiotics are good to give all the time. ProActiveBalance is said to be odorless and tasteless. I couldn’t smell anything and sorry, being the world’s pickiest eater meant I didn’t try a little taste. Mellie didn’t seem to notice the addition to her food bowl. It was real simple to grab one of the premeasured packets and sprinkle it on her food each morning.
After Mellie had been on the ProActiveBalance for a week, Malarky hurt herself and started antibiotics. I thought it would be great to try it on her so waited until she was done with her antibiotics and then used the rest on her. She didn’t seem to notice it on her food either. The antibiotics didn’t give her diarrhea so I can’t say how well ProActiveBalance worked in that respect, but even without showing signs, antibiotics still affect the good bacteria in the colon so it’s good to get it back in balance.
Review Wrap-up
+ Easy to use. The premeasured packets are nice, especially if you are half awake in the morning like me.
+ Tasteless/Odorless. Some dogs are picky. Mine are not so adding a supplement is not usually a problem, but for those dogs that might turn up their nose, this is a good thing.
+ Information on website. Heartland Pet Care LLC has a nice FAQ page to help answer questions you may have. But I would love to see some info on why dextrose is included.
– No bulk size for the Regular Breed Formula. With 4 dogs under 50 pounds, I would prefer to purchase one package to use than 4 boxes.
ProActive Balance can be found in select pet supply stores in the Midwest. These stores are listed on their Find A Store page.
It is also available on Amazon.
Disclaimer: I received a sample for use in my review. The review of this product is the opinion of my pets and me. I received no compensation for my review and receipt of these products did not influence my review. The review may contain affiliate links for which I may receive compensation when you make a purchase from the site linked to in the review.
