When your dog is sick it affects you as well as everyone in your home. But dogs are notorious for eating or lapping up things that do not agree with their digestive, or immune systems.

Many times you have no clue why they are not behaving like their normal selves, but you can tell that something is wrong. Most of the time your dog ingested something that was rancid, or colonized with Ecoli type bacteria; often resulting in diarrhea, vomiting, high temperature, or fever. There are a number of things you can do before making an appointment with your vet. The sooner you administer them, the better.

Literally 80 percent of your dog's immune system is located in the digestive tract, where a delicate balance of good and bad bacteria reside. Your dog gets sick when the 'bad' bacteria get the upper hand. Bad bacteria replicate really fast, so the sooner you focus your effort on restoring the balance, the sooner your dog will show signs of recovery.

Whereas many people rush to the vet, who usually administers antibiotics (which destroy all bacteria), GI imbalances can be quickly and safely resolved by administrating a few doses of a potent probiotic. In this case 'potent' does not mean toxic. A potent probiotic will contain a wide variety of soil-based probiotic organisms, which combine to act fast to restore the balance of the good and bad bacteria in your dog's gut.

Where people go wrong is assuming a dairy-based probiotic will do the job. Often, their administration leads to further discomfort, and prolonged illness. Why? Lactose Intolerance. Even administered in small amounts, dairy can cause mucic acid. Most dogs (and people) are highly intolerant.

Even in small amounts dairy-based products can cause the lungs to fill with mucous, leading to difficult breathing, while simultaneously overwhelming the liver and immune system. This prevents control of the invaders. It can also further corrupt the intestinal balance, causing diarrhea, and/or vomitis. Thankfully, there is a natural alternative that is both non-allergenic, and as importantly, your dog intuitively knows it is good for them!

When your dog eats grass, it is a sign their intestinal system is out of balance. But if you observe closely, you will notice that they often pull at the grass. The reason for this is to ingest the soil-based probiotics that live around the interface of root and blade. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough of them in most soils, so while it might provide some relief, rarely will it resolve the problem.

The good news is soil-based probiotics are available without a prescription. The not so good news is many do not contain the quantity or quality of probiotics needed to resolve a wide variety of illness. But if you don't have it on hand, your dog will be suffering unnecessarily.

It is a good idea to have a First Aid kit of sorts. The basic contents should include the following:

1. Soil-based Probiotic

2. Absorptive clay, one with a long-standing therapeutic history. Almost always there is an association between acidity, toxicity and GI disturbances. Clay will absorb these substances.

3. A natural anti-inflammatory, of which there are many. Bromelain, Venus FlyTrap, and Astaxanthin are three with solid scientific evidence behind them.

When acidity, toxicity, probiotic imbalance, and inflammation are addressed quickly, even the most treatment resistant GI disturbances will often disappear within a few days.