Frequently
Asked
Questions
General Questions
The dog gut microbiome specifically refers to the community of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, that live within a dog's gastrointestinal tract. These microorganisms play an essential role in maintaining digestive health and overall well-being by breaking down and metabolizing nutrients, producing vitamins and other important compounds, and supporting the immune system. Disruptions in the gut microbiome, such as a decrease in beneficial bacteria or an overgrowth of harmful microorganisms, have been linked to health issues such as diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, and obesity in dogs. Maintaining a healthy dog gut microbiome is crucial for overall well-being.
On top of our 90-day money back guarantee, we are working directly with a team of pet nutritionists that have used this exact system to help cure thousands of other dogs in the past decade.
Wild Biome is great for any dog who suffers from chronic/consistent skin, ear, digestive or allergy issues. These are all very common symptoms of one root cause, but most are treated independently by practitioners.
Though Wild Biome specifically aims to help dogs with these issues, most dogs will benefit from a detox of yeast from the gut along with a repopulation of good bacteria. Some dogs we cannot help because of the high-fat nature of the detox process: those diagnosed with pancreatitis, heart issues, liver disease and cancer.
Many different factors can influence how Wild Biome affects your dog. These include how closely you stick to the advised timeline of the process, the consistency of your administration, whether or not your dog sitter feeds your dog non-approved treats while you're on vacation, and your dog's health prior to starting Wild Biome. All this impacts how soon you’ll see Wild Biome's benefits and how noticeable they’ll be.
Some customers notice improvements in as little as a few weeks, but most report marked improvements around the 3-months.
Some dog's may take longer, but we're with you all the way. You'll have access to our team of pet nutritionists for any and all questions throughout your subscription with us. Every dog's body reacts uniquely to Wild Biome, and we're determined to find whatever approach yields total health.
Wild Biome provides support in five crucial areas of health: digestion, energy, immunity, gut health, and skin health. When a gut microbiome is detoxed of excessive, and body-harming yeast, the associated symptoms decrease. These symptoms include the following:
Ear infections | Excessive scratching | Excessive licking | Head shaking | Corn-chip smelling paws | Hot spots | Tear staining/constantly weepy eyes | Dark, rust-red hair between toes and on face | Skin lesions | Loose stools | Diarrhea | Vomiting | Bloody stools | Gas | Bloating | Bad smell and greasy hair (seborrhea) | Indigestion | Speckles on underbelly | Excessive shedding
Though we cannot guarantee complete resolution of all these issues, we do guarantee your satisfaction with our product for any money spent during the first 90 days of your subscription.
Your dog's health is our priority. If you don't find that your dog's health improves during your time on Wild Biome, we'll refund any money you spent with us during the initial 90 days of your Wild Biome subscription.
Examples:
If you request a refund after 45 days, you'd receive a refund for two billing cycles.
If you request a refund at day 145, you'd receive a refund for only three billing cycles (90-days worth).
The first product you'll use (during month one only) is our MCT-3 Oil. It is a coconut-based oil which you can either pump (like a soap dispenser) onto your dog's food, or pour into a teaspoon provided, then pour onto the food.
The second product is our DT-Synbiotic 1 - a prebiotic/probiotic/enzyme blend. It is a powder that you'll pour directly into your dog's food using a teaspoon provided.
There are certain ingredients in medications and supplements that greatly inhibit the effectiveness of Wild Biome. When completing your post-purchase questionnaire, we'll ask about those medications and supplements, and let you know which may delay or nullify any progress.
Most medications are just fine, but many supplements contain adverse ingredients. We'll work with you to determine what your dog can safely continue with during the Wild Biome process - particularly the first three months of administration. If all goes well, you may not have much use for those medications and supplements in a few months.
Two major ways.
Firstly, most other probiotic supplements don't take into account an overgrowth of yeast. When you pile probiotics on top of excess yeast, it's a bit like spreading grass seed on a field of weeds. We take the time and steps necessary to clear out excess yeast before packing in the good bacteria, which can then thrive without much competition.
The second way we are different is the actual probiotic: DTS1 is powerful stuff. Most other companies claim a high number of CFU's (colony-forming units) because it's true. What is a bit misleading is how many of those bacteria actually make it to the colon. Weak probiotics tend to die on their way to the colon. Ours does not. Each and every one of our 10 billion certified-shelf-stable CFU's per gram will make it through your dog's digestive system, and into to the gut microbiome.
Short answer: no. If you were to commit to feeding your dog the proper nutrition, and never again slipping into the table-scraps mentality, your dog's microbiome would continue thriving, and yeast cells would continue to be a foreign minority. With modern life, however, we find this to be a bit tricky, time consuming, and stress-inducing. A much easier method is to simply continue with Wild Biome. Maintaining health in this way is easy and affordable (#vetbills), while overhauling is not.
By the way, becasue you inherently need less product after your initial three months, you get a 35% discount on your monthly subscription from there.
The most common symptoms are excessive scratching and licking of the ears, paws and/or anus. The paws smell like corn chips, and the eyes appear to always be weaping. Those things are all signs of yeast exiting the body through any hole they can find. At more advanceed stages of yeast overgrowth, you'll begin to see loose stools, diarrhea, ear infections, hot spots on the skin, lesions on the skin, vomiting, bloody stools, gas, bloating, indigestion, and excessive shedding.
A senior dog will generally take more time and patience than a younger dog. That being said, a gut is a gut. When excess yeast is removed from the gut, and replaced with the right kinds of bacteria, major bodily functions can begin working like they haven't in years. You may be surprised to find your senior dog isn't so "senior" after all.
While Wild Biome is not specifically designed to treat allergies, it can help to support your dog's immune system and overall gut health, which may help to alleviate allergy symptoms.
Wild Biome is safe for most dogs. However, there are some cases in which Wild Biome can actually be dangerous to your dog's health, specifically if your dog has been diagnosed with any of the following: pancreatitis, heart issues, liver disease, cancer. If your dog has been diagnosed with one or more of these conditions, please consult us, we still want to help you by finding you the right pet nutritionist to guide you through a more hands-on protocol.
Sadly, most probiotic chews are slightly more than good marketing: some probiotics filled with gut-harming ingredients like glycerin, soy and maltodextrin. Many tout the same thing we do: billions and trillions of microbiota. The difference? Most of 'their' probiotics don't make it all the way to the intestines alive. A dog's gut is like a toxic wasteland where 90% of on-market probiotics go to die. Our is certified shelf stable, and each one of those billions will make it where it ought to so you're not paying for dust and sugar.
The System
In addition to an entire Wild Biome overview, and access to all the information you may need in one place, we will also send you the week's instructions at the beginning of each step, phase or week as necessary. In addition to all that, you'll have full access to a team of pet nutritionists who can answer any question you have.
The MCT-3 Oil can be pumped or scooped directly into the food bowl or licked clean off the scoop. The DT-Synbiotic 1 should be scooped over the last meal of the day, and in the evening if possible. For reasons not yet completely known to science, the night time is when probiotic absorbability is highest. If your dog only eats once per day and not in the evening, mix the scoop the DTS1 into a spoon of greek yogurt and plop that into the bowl.
This is to help the skin heal faster and help with inflammation reduction, especially during the detox period
Because the yeast within your dog’s gut feeds and grows in number on sugars (or carbohydrates broken down into sugars in the stomach), feeding him/her scraps or other carbohydrate-rich foods will work in direct opposition to Wild Biome. We highly recommend avoiding these foods and treats.
If it is a medication that will interfere with Wild Biome or work actively against it, such as a steroid or antibiotic, our nutritionists' advice about it will be included when you receive your personalized diet recommendations.
No. Our DT-Synbiotic 1 is shelf stable and very resilient. After all, these bacteria have to make it through the toxic wasteland that is your dog's stomach on their way to the colon. Heaven forbid they’re temperamental enough to require refrigeration.
Food Transition
Add the Ultra Oil according to the weight of the dogs (directions found on the bottle)
This is to help the skin heal faster and help with inflammation reduction, especially during the detox period
Pet-safe bone broth can be added 1 TBS per 10 lbs of dog (1/4 cup per 40 lbs of dog) per day and is available at most independent pet stores in the freezer section.
You can split the cans and kibble in any fashion, as long as you hit the calorie target. FYI, wet is always better than dry.
You have many options, all of which will have been carefully vetted by our team of pet nutritionists for your dog specifically. If you'd like to stick with kibble, we'd suggest a baked kibble - which has not been through the Maillard reaction - rather than an extruded kibble. If you'd like to go with a freeze-dryed or a fresh diet recommended by our pet nutritionists, you will likely see much more positive results. To see the FDA's current stance on grain-free diets visit our blog.
While using Wild Biome, you are trying to do anything you can to stop yeast overgrowth and subsequent bacterial imbalance. Yeast feeds on ingredients the canine gut turns into sugar (i.e. corn, wheat, rice, soy, sucralose, sugar, molasses), and you'll therefore try to avoid any grain particularly during the first three months is at therepeutic level. However, there are some grains such as sprouted oats, certain types of barley, and quinoa that are much less inflammatory. If you really prefer to keep you pup on grains, our nutritionist can recommend a food that will be less inflammatory. FYI, the FDA has recently come out with a statement dissociating a grain-free diet from DCM.
The short answer is no, not right away. It will take up to 10 days to fully transition your dog to his/her new food without uncomfortable side effects. Check here to read our food transition guide.
If you're dog has more than 4 poops at 'Level 7' (diarrhea) send an email to our nutritionists at care@wildbiome.dog who can guide you through. It's likely a food issue combined with a particularly stubborn digestive system, and we'll need to find a more appropriate diet solution. Do not start administering MCT-3 Oil before their stool has leveled out, as that will only make the problem worse.
When your dog is clearly hungry (begging constantly, wants to eat 4x per day) you can add more food. Start slowly, but you can add up to 20% more food. If your dog is hungry because we're feeding her the calories of a dog the weight she should be rather than her current weight, add a bit more so she isn't begging, but still maintain the calorie restriction.
Yeast Detox
The first step is to pay even closer attention. Are his symptoms becoming magnified? That's a good sign. Is he getting more lethargic or itchy? Good signs. If none of this is happening, try increasing the MCT-3 Oill dosage by 10-20% per day, and watch for magnified symptoms.
There are 43 calories per tsp of MCT-3 Oil. If your dog's dosage today is 3 tsp, you'll need to drop 129 calories of food. Calories from food are listed on their nutrition label as "kcal/cup" or "kcal/oz". If the food shows 480kcals/cup then they need to drop 1/4 cup per day to account for the oil.
When your dog is clearly hungry (begging constantly, wants to eat 4x per day) you can add more food. Start slowly, but you can add up to 20% more food.
Herxheimer
This is a sign of detox, and you should celebrate a little. The MCT-3 Oil is doing it's job! You can rub a bit of MCT-3 Oil right on the dry skin to soothe the discomfort a bit.
Congratulations, it IS working! One of the biggest signs of detox is ear infections. You can use Zymox ear solution, but don't cave to antibiotics which will set us back at ground zero. Don't clean the ears before using Zymox.
Natural Company Paw Soother Balm - get the tin, not the stick. Or you can get Vetericyn, which can be used anywhere, not just the paws, in case their face folds are getting red, itchy, yeasty, etc.
When your dog is clearly hungry (begging constantly, wants to eat 4x per day) you can add more food. Start slowly, but you can add up to 20% more food.
NO ALLERGY SHOT! If your dog is very yeasty (not typical, but can happen after many years of kibble) there can be some residual purge/detox. Bathing him with an antimicrobial rinse can help a lot. Send an email to care@wildbiome.dog for specific suggestions from the pet nutritionist. You can also rub MCT-3 Oil l all over his body (be careful with your leather couch).
Here are a few statements/questions to keep in your back pocket the next time you're at the vet:
1. I'm concerned about the impact steroids/antibiotics will have on my dog's gut health. I've been working hard to build up the good bacteria in his gut, and I don't want to disrupt that balance."
2. "Are there any other options for treating my dog's condition that don't involve steroids/antibiotics?"
3. "I'm willing to try other treatments, even if they take longer, if it means that I can avoid giving my dog steroids/antibiotics."
Be straight with your vet. Don't mince words, and let them know you have some understanding of the importance of the gut microbiome. Opt for long-term health over short-term solutions, and don't be afraid to push back.
Bacteria Repopulation
Congratulations, it IS working! One of the biggest signs of detox is ear infections. You can use Zymox ear solution but don't cave to antibiotics which will set us back at ground zero. Don't clean the ears before using Zymox.
When your dog is clearly hungry (begging constantly, wants to eat 4x per day) you can add more food. Start slowly, but you can add up to 20% more food.
The truth is, as long as you'd like to keep your dog's gut happy.
This quote from our head nutritionist sums it up best: "My dogs don't go a day without a maintenance grade probiotic because if there is one thing I've learned over the years, it's that maintaining is so much easier than starting over on a gut that unknowingly fell back into dysbiosis...The world we live in isn't perfect and our dogs don't live in a bubble. Nor should they. Maintaining their gut microbiome is the easiest, most affordable form of preventative care that I can think of."
Yes! For veggies, stick to peppers, green beans, cucumber, broccoli, dark leafy greens, etc. Avoid sweeter, starchier veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes. Onions and leeks are toxic, so NONE of those.
Bad gas can happen anytime there is a change happening in the gut. Moving from the therapeutic-grade dosage to the maintenance grade can cause a disturbance because the gut now has to populate more of its own bacteria. Basically, gas is a sign the gut is getting to work. When the body is used to digesting food easily via the help of digestive enzymes (in DTS1) and those are removed, it has to scramble to break down foods - particularly dry foods like kibble. Even our nutritionist-recommended kibble is far from perfect, and there can always be changes when bodies break down dry foods. Gas is much less common in dogs with raw, cooked, and wet food diets.
Sugars: Yeast feeds on sugars, so foods that are high in sugar can promote its growth. This includes table sugar, corn syrup, and other sweeteners.
Starches: Starches are also broken down into sugars by the body, so foods that are high in starch can also promote yeast growth. This includes bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes.
Yeast-containing foods: Some foods, such as bread dough, contain live yeast. If a dog eats these foods, the yeast can start to grow in their gut.
Antibiotics: Antibiotics can kill off beneficial bacteria in the gut, which can lead to an overgrowth of yeast.
Stress: Stress can also weaken the immune system, making it more difficult for the body to fight off yeast infections.
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
The System
Food Transition
Yeast Detox
Herxheimer
Repopulation
Maintenance
General Questions
The dog gut microbiome specifically refers to the community of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, that live within a dog's gastrointestinal tract. These microorganisms play an essential role in maintaining digestive health and overall well-being by breaking down and metabolizing nutrients, producing vitamins and other important compounds, and supporting the immune system. Disruptions in the gut microbiome, such as a decrease in beneficial bacteria or an overgrowth of harmful microorganisms, have been linked to health issues such as diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, and obesity in dogs. Maintaining a healthy dog gut microbiome is crucial for overall well-being.
On top of our 90-day money back guarantee, we are working directly with a team of pet nutritionists that have used this exact system to help cure thousands of other dogs in the past decade.
Wild Biome is great for any dog who suffers from chronic/consistent skin, ear, digestive or allergy issues. These are all very common symptoms of one root cause, but most are treated independently by practitioners.
Though Wild Biome specifically aims to help dogs with these issues, most dogs will benefit from a detox of yeast from the gut along with a repopulation of good bacteria. Some dogs we cannot help because of the high-fat nature of the detox process: those diagnosed with pancreatitis, heart issues, liver disease and cancer.
Many different factors can influence how Wild Biome affects your dog. These include how closely you stick to the advised timeline of the process, the consistency of your administration, whether or not your dog sitter feeds your dog non-approved treats while you're on vacation, and your dog's health prior to starting Wild Biome. All this impacts how soon you’ll see Wild Biome's benefits and how noticeable they’ll be.
Some customers notice improvements in as little as a few weeks, but most report marked improvements around the 3-months.
Some dog's may take longer, but we're with you all the way. You'll have access to our team of pet nutritionists for any and all questions throughout your subscription with us. Every dog's body reacts uniquely to Wild Biome, and we're determined to find whatever approach yields total health.
Wild Biome provides support in five crucial areas of health: digestion, energy, immunity, gut health, and skin health. When a gut microbiome is detoxed of excessive, and body-harming yeast, the associated symptoms decrease. These symptoms include the following:
Ear infections | Excessive scratching | Excessive licking | Head shaking | Corn-chip smelling paws | Hot spots | Tear staining/constantly weepy eyes | Dark, rust-red hair between toes and on face | Skin lesions | Loose stools | Diarrhea | Vomiting | Bloody stools | Gas | Bloating | Bad smell and greasy hair (seborrhea) | Indigestion | Speckles on underbelly | Excessive shedding
Though we cannot guarantee complete resolution of all these issues, we do guarantee your satisfaction with our product for any money spent during the first 90 days of your subscription.
Your dog's health is our priority. If you don't find that your dog's health improves during your time on Wild Biome, we'll refund any money you spent with us during the initial 90 days of your Wild Biome subscription.
Examples:
If you request a refund after 45 days, you'd receive a refund for two billing cycles.
If you request a refund at day 145, you'd receive a refund for only three billing cycles (90-days worth).
The first product you'll use (during month one only) is our MCT-3 Oil. It is a coconut-based oil which you can either pump (like a soap dispenser) onto your dog's food, or pour into a teaspoon provided, then pour onto the food.
The second product is our DT-Synbiotic 1 - a prebiotic/probiotic/enzyme blend. It is a powder that you'll pour directly into your dog's food using a teaspoon provided.
There are certain ingredients in medications and supplements that greatly inhibit the effectiveness of Wild Biome. When completing your post-purchase questionnaire, we'll ask about those medications and supplements, and let you know which may delay or nullify any progress.
Most medications are just fine, but many supplements contain adverse ingredients. We'll work with you to determine what your dog can safely continue with during the Wild Biome process - particularly the first three months of administration. If all goes well, you may not have much use for those medications and supplements in a few months.
You have many options, all of which will have been carefully vetted by our team of pet nutritionists for your dog specifically. If you'd like to stick with kibble, we'd suggest a baked kibble - which has not been through the Maillard reaction - rather than an extruded kibble. If you'd like to go with a freeze-dryed or a fresh diet recommended by our pet nutritionists, you will likely see much more positive results. To see the FDA's current stance on grain-free diets visit our blog.
Because the yeast within your dog’s gut feeds and grows in number on sugars (or carbohydrates broken down into sugars in the stomach), feeding him/her scraps or other carbohydrate-rich foods will work in direct opposition to this protocol. We highly recommend avoiding these foods and treats.
The Wild Biome System
In addition to an entire Wild Biome overview, and access to all the information you may need in one place, we will also send you the week's instructions at the beginning of each step, phase or week as necessary. In addition to all that, you'll have full access to a team of pet nutritionists who can answer any question you have.
The first product you'll use (during month one only) is our MCT-3 Oil. It is a coconut-based oil which you can either pump (like a soap dispenser) onto your dog's food, or pour into a teaspoon provided, then pour onto the food.
The second product is our DT-Synbiotic 1 - a prebiotic/probiotic/enzyme blend. It is a powder that you'll pour directly into your dog's food using a teaspoon provided.
You have many options, all of which will have been carefully vetted by our team of pet nutritionists for your dog specifically. If you'd like to stick with kibble, we'd suggest a baked kibble - which has not been through the Maillard reaction - rather than an extruded kibble. If you'd like to go with a freeze-dryed or a fresh diet recommended by our pet nutritionists, you will likely see much more positive results. To see the FDA's current stance on grain-free diets visit our blog.
Add the ultra oil according to the weight of the dogs (directions found on the bottle)
This is to help the skin heal faster and help with inflammation reduction, especially during the detox period
Pet-safe bone broth can be added 1 TBS per 10 lbs of dog (1/4 cup per 40 lbs of dog) per day and is available at most independent pet stores in the freezer section.
You can split the cans and kibble in any fasion, as long as you hit the calorie target. FYI, wet is always better than dry.
During the Protocol, we are trying to do anything we can to stop yeast overgrowth and subsequent bacterial imbalance. Yeast feeds on ingredients the canine gut turns into sugar (i.e. corn, wheat, rice, soy, sucralose, sugar, molasses), and we therefore try to avoid any grain while the Protocol is at therepeutic level. However, there are some grains such as sprouted oats, certain types of barley, and quinoa that are much less inflammatory. If you really prefer to keep you pup on grains, our nutritionist can recommend a food that will be less inflammatory. FYI, here are the FDA's current position on a grain-free diet with regards to DCM.
Food Transition
The short answer is no, not right away. It will take up to 10 days to fully transition your dog to his/her new food without uncomfortable side effects. Check here to read our food transition guide.
If you're dog has more than 4 poops at 'Level 7' (diarrhea) we'll have you reach out to our nutritionists who can guide you through. It's likely a food issue combined with a particularly stubborn digestive system, and we'll need to find a more appropriate diet solution. Do not start coconut oil before their stool has leveled out, as that will only make the problem worse.
When your dog is clearly hungry (begging constantly, wants to eat 4x per day) absolutely add more food. Start slowly, but you can add up to 20% more food. If your dog is hungry because we're feeding her the calories of a dog the weight she should be, add a bit more so she isn't begging, but still maintain the calorie restriction.
Yeast Detox
The first step is to pay even closer attention. Are his symptoms becoming magnified? That's a good sign. Is he getting more lethargic or itchy? Good signs. If none of this is happening, try increasing the coconut oil dosage by 10-20% per day, and watch for magnified symptoms.
There are 40 calories per tsp of coconut oil. If your dog's dosage today is 3 tsp, you'll need to drop 120 calories of food. Calories from food are listed on their nutrition label as "kcal/cup" or "kcal/oz". If the food shows 480kcals/cup then they need to drop 1/4 cup per day to account for the oil. Does that make sense?
When your dog is clearly hungry (begging constantly, wants to eat 4x per day) absolutely add more food. Start slowly, but you can add up to 20% more food.
Herxheimer
This is a sign of detox, and you should celebrate a little. The coconut oil is doing it's job! You can rub a bit of coconut oil right on the dry skin to soothe the discomfort a bit.
Congratulations, it IS working! One of the biggest signs of detox is ear infections. You can use Zymox ear solution but don't cave to antibiotics which will set us back at ground zero. Don't clean the ears before using Zymox.
Natural Company Paw Soother Balm - get the tin, not the stick. Or you can get Vetericyn, which can be used anywhere, not just the paws, in case their face folds are getting red, itchy, yeasty, etc.
When your dog is clearly hungry (begging constantly, wants to eat 4x per day) absolutely add more food. Start slowly, but you can add up to 20% more food.
NO ALLERGY SHOT!! If your dog is very yeasty (not typical, but can happen after many years of kibble every day) there can be some residual purge/detox. Bathing him with an antimicrobial rinse can help a lot (this one is also good). You can also rub coconut oil all over his body (be careful with your leather couch).
Repopulation
Congratulations, it IS working! One of the biggest signs of detox is ear infections. You can use Zymox ear solution but don't cave to antibiotics which will set us back at ground zero. Don't clean the ears before using Zymox.
When your dog is clearly hungry (begging constantly, wants to eat 4x per day) absolutely add more food. Start slowly, but you can add up to 20% more food.
Maintenance
This quote from our head nutritionist sums it up best:
"My dogs don't go a day without a maintenance grade probiotic because if there is one thing I've learned over the years, it's that maintaining is so much easier than starting over on a gut that unknowingly fell back into dysbiosis...The world we live in isn't perfect and our dogs don't live in a bubble. Nor should they. Maintaining their gut microbiome is the easiest, most affordable form of preventative care that I can think of."
Yes! For veggies, stick to peppers, green beans, cucumber, broccoli, dark leafy greens, etc. Avoid sweeter, starchier veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes. Onions and leeks are toxic, so NONE of those.
Bad gas can happen anytime there is a change happening in the gut. Moving from the therapeutic-grade dosage to the maintenance grade can cause a disturbance because the gut now has to populate more of its own bacteria. Basically, gas is a sign the gut is getting to work. When the body is used to digesting food easily via the help of digestive enzymes (in DTS1) and those are removed, it has to scramble to break down foods - particularly dry foods like kibble. Even our nutritionist-recommended kibble is far from perfect, and there can always be changes when bodies break down dry foods. Gas is much less common in dogs with raw, cooked, and wet food diets.