Firm Up + Cranberry

*** Updated review 2/13/19 My dog likes this product and it has been very useful to help with loose bowel movements. However, this product is not sufficient to deal with long term digestive issues. In my review below, I went into detail about how well this helped my dog. But over time, the efficacy wore off, because the underlying dietary and health issues were not addressed. As the loose stools returned, I found it necessary to visit the vet and put my dog on a prescription diet. I was feeding my dog a diet that was overly diverse, and I have had to simplify his diet. Since that time, it is rare that he has digestive issues. When those issues arise, I will add this to his food, and it always helps. I would just urge anyone using this product to pay attention to chronic issues and to not use this as a substitute for dietary changes and proper medical care. ________________________________________________________ After using this once, I saw an immediate difference for my dog. I had no familiarity with anal gland problems when I first brought home my dog. When I was a kid, looking back, my dog had this problem, but we always thought the scooting meant that she had worms. The vet never told us any different and he treated her for worms. Now years later, my border collie has problems with anal glands. From the beginning, he always seemed to be straining when he had to defecate. It always looked to me like he was constipated, so I fed him lots of veggies hoping that this would provide some relief. His stools never seemed to be hard, but they weren't really runny either. When he started to scoot, I took him to the vet. They told me that he needed to have his anal glands expressed. They did not tell me what the underlying cause of this was, they just said that sometimes dogs just have issues like this, and occasionally he would likely need to have his anal glands expressed. They told me to give him canned pumpkin but they did not explain why. I thought it was likely to loosen his stools. I did give him pumpkin, but his problem stayed. After the second time that I took him to have his anal glands expressed, I decided to read up on the issue. It was then that I discovered that the problem was not constipation. Instead the problem was that his stools were too soft. So I turned to Amazon to find a product that might work. I chose this product based on reviews and the fact that the ingredients were grown in the USA. (Whether a product is made in the USA says little if the ingredients are not from the USA.) The difference was noted after just one serving of this product. Normally because of his difficult bowel movements, he does not tend to defecate away from home. I always thought it was odd that he did not defecate on walks or in the parks. Though, of course, I did not mind the fact that I never had to pick up after him. But he wouldn't go even if it seemed apparent that he needed to. He would wait to get home, because of the effort it took for him to relieve himself. But the day that I gave this to him, I took him to the park to play fetch. Not long after we got there, he decided to do his thing. He squatted and 1,2,3... it was done. His poo was the most firm that I had ever seen it. For the first time ever, it seemed painless and effortless. Seeing that his poo was firm may sound like a strange thing to be happy about. But it was so good to think that his suffering in this regard may have come to an end. Prior to finding this product, he would wake me several times during the night so that he could go out and alleviate himself. Since giving him this product, we have slept through without interruption every night!!! I highly, highly recommend this product for anyone struggling with this, or related issues. I would recommend it preventatively as well.

Works so well for our dogs. One of our dogs has some digestive related issues due to stress and anxiety, so this helps him stay regular and healthy. Give this to them with each meal and it has really has helped them both have normal bowel movements. It’s great because we can pack it to go when needed and we don’t have to worry about it going bad within a week. Highly recommend this product and so glad it’s available. Has really helped us so much.

This is a great product! It works!

Easy to mix. Great for making treats for our Frenchie.

Works great when my dogs stomach is acting up

Makes it nice and smooth. No more anal gland issues. Careful though, too much can make it too smooth.

It's been the only thing that has helped with my fur baby.

I ordered this months ago to have on hand in an emergency, and when we finally needed to use it we were desperate and absolutely thrilled with the results. Our dog is a senior (we guesstimate her at around 14 years), she is now diabetic and also has severe allergies to grains of any sort. Although because of her conditions, she is on a strict diet, there have been times where she gets into something (maybe steals another dog's biscuit) or the product is bad or something (We had a bad batch of the Grain-Free Greenies about 9 months ago). While it's never good for an old pup to get the runs or throw up, it's extra bad when our diabetic/allergic dog does because it can throw her blood sugar and she is limited in what we can give her to make her feel better. For example, rice actually gives her the runs. Also, a "fun" fact is that diabetics (people, dogs, whichever!) are prone to urinary tract infections. So, when I found this simple product I did end up picking up the cranberry version thinking it could do double duty. Well, we needed that functionality one recent Friday evening when our pup got the runs and suddenly seemed to have a urinary tract infection. All of the local vet offices were closed - we live in a rural area - and the only nearish-at-all-by vet was an emergency vet with outrageous fees. We had been there when she was diagnosed with ketoacidosis a few years back at the beginning of our struggle with diabetes. Needless to say when I read that most UTI are nothing to worry about and that often they can be cured with some vitamin C and some people had success with cranberry extract, well... I broke out this package and set to grinding up our food-origins vitamin C pills for each of her twice daily meals. I figured we would just be able to stave off an emergency situation until Monday morning, but within three meals (dinner, breakfast and dinner) her symptoms had virtually disappeared. We kept up the treatment and by Monday she was more than right as rain. Since that event we have been keeping her on a slightly lower dosage of this and the vitamin C supplementation as a support and preventive measure and although I cannot say diarrhea and UTIs are the norm for our dog - she maybe has a couple bouts of the runs a year on our regimen - her UTI has completely cleared up. She likes the product mixed with her kibble and other supplements and she is doing just fantastic. Although I in no way encourage pet parents to avoid the vet, we did have amazing results with this product that allowed us to quickly help our girl get better and avoid a vet visit, which she prefers since she is a shy, blind rescue dog that doesn't really like the vet whatsoever. So, if you want to consider a supplement to prevent digestive and urinary issues, or you get stuck in a bad place like we did - or worry that because you are in a rural area that you could - consider getting some of this to either use daily or to keep for emergencies. I know we are so glad that we had it on hand and I plan to keep us with this in the cupboard from here on out. Only wish they would put it on Subscribe and Save!