AnimalBiome Gut Microbiome Test for Dogs

I was so happy to try this product out for our 2.5 year old Staffordshire Terrier. This kit had everything I needed and excellent instructions on how to collect the sample to send off for testing. The kit had step by step instructions with photos so that it was nearly impossible to mess up. I collected the sample, set up an account with the company handling the testing, Animal Biome, and then sent it off in the prepaid envelope. Within a week, I got an email saying Animal Biome had received the sample. Then, within another few days, I received an email saying Ordo’s results were ready. When I logged in, a very comprehensive breakdown of the bacteria found in the sample were provided. With each bacteria, a description was provided to help me better understand the purpose of it, what the level should be, etc. Thankfully only one bacteria was elevated to a potentially harmful amount. Even better, I was able to easily share the results with Ordo’s vet to ask for their opinion on any supplements that could help with his imbalance. The vet reviewed his results (without making me come in for an exam fee) and suggested a supplement they had at the office that should help. Ordo has been taking the supplement for about a week and all has been well! He is not acting any different, but I think the change will be more internal and better for the long term health. Overall I absolutely recommend this kit to find out more about your dog’s needs.

To summarize the kit could be useful but not sure I would do it for another dog but maybe for a cat. It took me awhile to do the test. Something about collecting poop and doing the work made me put it off. HOWEVER it was actually very simple and quick. Great instructions with everything you need. After collection seal it up and on its way. Don't forget to register your kit before you throw anything away or ship. After registration it said results in about 2 weeks. That seemed like a long time but they got back to me in about a week. Results are detailed. Good information in there. I would test my cats cause they have sensitive stomachs and have tested positive by their vet for bad bacteria before.

I sent this in out of curiosity. My dog doesn't have any GI symptoms. I didn't find the results to be particularly surprising, but I also didn't find them helpful. They are just trying to sell their supplements. The process went quickly at least. It was easy to collect the sample and the results were back in my email very fast.

I was quite interested in using this test when I found out about it. I feed my dog a mainly fresh food diet. I was curious learn about his gut health and whether I needed to make any adjustments in his diet, etc. After receiving the test, I collected my sample, boxed it up and went to register the sample as per their directions. The directions are clear. It's easy to do. There was some difficulty on the their end recognizing the sample number given. About 24 hours and a few emails later I was asked to send photos of the vials. (They promptly answered emails) They were finally able to confirm the sample ID. Given this, I would suggest registering your sample BEFORE collecting it. After about a week, I got an email saying my sample was received and it would be 10-15 days for results. About 5 days later my results were in! Yay! It was interesting. The results suggested my dogs microbiome was imbalanced. It listed dozens of bacteria, good and bad, that my dog either had or didn't have and briefly how each affected the gut. The suggested next steps were to purchase one of their supplements and to increase protein and fiber in the diet. It further suggested re-testing at some point to see if these steps worked. I'm also quite interested in knowing about my second dog's gut health, but I'm not sure I would use this test again. In my opinion, it was a bit too heavy on the advertising and suggestions of their own products. Dietary adjustments I can, of course, make on my own, but even there they mentioned AnimalBiome products that might help. I had hoped to be given suggestions of specific foods that might help promote gut biome health and diversity. Alas, no such suggestions were offered.