What a Leading Microbiome Researcher Wants Pet Parents to Know

At a recent webinar on canine microbiome research, Dr. Connie Rojas and Dr. Holly Ganz of AnimalBiome shared findings from their published research on what a healthy gut microbiome actually looks like in dogs — and it's not as fixed as you might think.

"A healthy microbiome is not static," Dr. Rojas explained. Their research found that dogs show real month-to-month variation in their gut bacteria — and that on its own isn't a red flag. "We have found that the healthy canine microbiome will fluctuate over time."

So how should you read a test result?

If you've run a microbiome test on your own dog, weigh it against how your dog is actually doing — not in isolation. Clinical signs matter most: if your dog is clinically well and the results fall within healthy ranges, there's typically no need to act. Because microbiome testing isn't yet widely adopted or standardized in veterinary practice, it isn't meant to be used as a standalone diagnostic tool, and a persistent finding that lines up with your dog's symptoms carries far more weight than a single unusual result.

Three names that often look scarier than they are

• Clostridium perfringens is prevalent, and the researchers found it's actually part of the core microbiome of healthy dogs. Increases were common in their data and often resolved on their own.
• Streptococcus: a spike in this group, without clinical signs, isn't sufficient evidence of disease on its own — observing and retesting is usually the better call than treating right away.
• E. coli is common in dogs and usually found at low levels; when it's elevated, it's typically associated with things like chronic enteropathy and other GI signs.

What matters more than any single snapshot is resilience. As Dr. Ganz put it: "Health doesn't require the absence of change. In fact, it really requires this capacity to recover because there are going to be stresses in life. A healthy microbiome should be resilient."

That resilience is exactly what a well-fed microbiome supports — which is why we formulate Ultimate Probiotic with both targeted probiotic strains and the prebiotic fuel (like FOS) they need to bounce back from everyday stressors: travel, diet changes, or a stressful trip to the vet.

The takeaway for pet parents: occasional day-to-day shifts in digestion are normal, and an isolated abnormal result is rarely worth acting on by itself. What you're really supporting is your pet's ability to recover and stay in balance — not chasing a single "perfect" result.