ION* | Soil-Derived Supplement for Gut Health + Toxin Defense + Nutrient Absorption
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ION Intelligence of Nature · Soil-Derived · Made in the USA
ION Gut Support for Pets
A natural soil-derived liquid supplement built around humic extract from 60-million-year-old ancient soil, with added silicon for connective tissue support. Works on the gut lining itself, the layer underneath the microbiome. Backed by peer-reviewed canine cellular research showing 54% greater barrier integrity under glyphosate exposure. For dogs and cats. Available in 8 oz and 16 oz liquid.
When The Probiotics Have Not Worked
Three different probiotics. Two prescription gut-soothing diets. A rotation of supplements for the chronic loose stools, gas, and skin flares the vet keeps attributing to "food sensitivities." If this sounds familiar, ION was built for them.
You have read every ingredient panel. You have done the elimination diets. You have tried the bone broth, the pumpkin, the slippery elm, the limited-ingredient kibble, the raw transition, the digestive enzymes. The dog who comes through the door reacts to every new food. The dog who has been on three rounds of antibiotics this year has a gut that is worse, not better. The chronic ear infections, the recurring skin flares, the persistent yeast that no medicated wipe really resolves. The vet keeps treating downstream while the upstream cause keeps doing its quiet damage. You are not imagining the pattern. The pattern is real. The reason the conventional protocols are not working is that they are addressing the wrong layer.
Here is the way to think about it. A probiotic arriving at a damaged gut lining is a seed arriving at compromised soil. You can add more seeds, more water, more fertilizer, but until the soil heals, nothing flourishes for long. The bacteria pass through and out. The inflammation persists. The pet parent moves on to the next supplement, then the next, then the next, while the actual problem keeps doing its quiet damage one cell at a time.
ION Gut Support for Pets does not follow the standard gut protocol script. It is not a probiotic. It is not a prebiotic. It is a natural soil-derived liquid built around a single active compound, humic extract from 60-million-year-old ancient soil, that works on the layer underneath the microbiome. The gut lining itself. The cells whose tight junctions (the protein bonds between cells that decide what passes through the gut barrier into the bloodstream) determine whether your dog's body is reacting to things that should never have crossed in the first place. In peer-reviewed canine kidney cell research, pretreatment with ION resulted in 54% greater barrier integrity after glyphosate exposure compared to untreated cells. That is the kind of measurable, dog-specific cellular outcome the rest of this category cannot produce.
The pet formulation differs from the human ION formulation in one important way: it includes silicon, a naturally occurring trace mineral rarely found at meaningful levels in modern commercial pet diets. Silicon supports the connective tissue work that aging pets need alongside their gut healing, particularly for the renal tubules in pets with kidney concerns. The bottle works for cats as well as dogs, dosed by body weight. Most pets accept the mild, almost-tasteless liquid in their water bowl or food without resistance. The product carries a 5.0/5.0 rating across verified buyer reviews on theorganicdogshop.com, which reflects what tends to happen when a pet parent has tried everything else and finally lands on the layer that was driving all of it.
Three Layers Of Gut Work In One Bottle
Seal the barrier, defend against what was crossing it, restore the microbiome that was struggling underneath
Seal The Barrier
Humic extract enters the cells of the gut lining and improves cell-to-cell communication through a natural mechanism called redox signaling (a cellular conversation that controls how tightly cells bond to each other). The tight junctions between cells reseal. The barrier that decides what crosses into the bloodstream is restored.
Defend Against What Was Crossing
Glyphosate, food additives, undigested gluten, and inflammatory toxin particles stop crossing the gut wall into circulation, where they had been triggering the immune responses that show up as skin flares, ear infections, and chronic GI upset. The upstream trigger stops arriving.
Restore The Microbiome
The body's own bacterial community, no longer competing with constant inflammation and cell damage at the gut wall, begins diversifying without any added probiotics. The microbiome you were trying to seed all those years had soil it could not grow in. With the soil restored, native diversity returns.
What ION Gut Support Helps With
Seven gut patterns this formula addresses, from leaky gut to the gut-skin axis underneath chronic flares
Leaky Gut & Permeability
The barrier integrity problem driving multiple symptoms across skin, ears, and inflammation
Chronic Loose Stool & Diarrhea
The recurring GI upset that probiotics, prescription diets, and pumpkin have not been able to resolve
Food Sensitivities & Intolerances
The growing list of foods that cause reactions, increasing despite careful elimination diets
Post-Antibiotic Gut Damage
Rebuilding the gut after multiple medication courses that probiotics alone have not restored
IBD & Chronic Colitis
Inflammatory bowel conditions where you want a foundational supplement to layer alongside vet protocols
Glyphosate Exposure
The toxin load crossing a damaged gut barrier and driving immune responses in tissue throughout the body
Gut-Skin Axis Issues
The chronic skin and ear flares driven by underlying gut dysfunction that surface treatments cannot fix
The Full Formula
Two active ingredients, purified water base, nothing else in the bottle
The ION ingredient list is the shortest in the gut category. Humic extract for the cellular communication work, silicon for the connective tissue support, purified water as the base, and the small amount of natural mineral sediment that the ancient soil extraction process leaves behind. No preservatives, no sweeteners, no flavorings, no emulsifiers, no fillers.
Featured Ingredient
Humic Extract from Ancient Soil (Terrahydrite® Blend), 5 mg per teaspoon
Humic extract is what the bacteria of ancient earth left behind after digesting plant matter for millions of years. ION sources its extract from US-based deposits roughly 60 million years old, where this gentle but powerful natural substance occurs at nutrient density in only a few locations worldwide. The active molecules in the extract are called fulvates (the small, mobile humic compounds that can enter cells and carry signals across cell membranes), and they operate unlike anything else in the gut supplement category.
Fulvates work through a natural mechanism called redox signaling. Instead of supplying a vitamin or feeding a bacterium, they enter the cells of the gut lining and improve cell-to-cell communication. When neighboring cells communicate well, the tight junctions between them, the protein bonds that decide what passes through the gut barrier, stay sealed. Toxins, glyphosate, undigested gluten, and inflammatory particles stay in the gut where they belong. Nutrients move through where they should. Inflammation drops because the immune system stops responding to the wrong material in the wrong place.
Think of humic extract as a network technician for the gut. The cells were always meant to talk to each other. Modern food, modern medications, and modern environmental exposure damage that natural conversation. Humic extract restores the signal. Once the cells are communicating, the body's innate healing intelligence does the rest of the work.
The peer-reviewed canine evidence. The Terrahydrite® blend has been studied in canine kidney cells, where pretreatment with ION resulted in 54% greater barrier integrity after glyphosate exposure compared to untreated cells. The same mechanism that protects the kidney lining is doing the protective work at the gut lining. This is the rare holistic gut supplement with measurable cellular-level outcomes in a peer-reviewed setting, on cells from the species you actually own.
Featured Ingredient
Silicon (Naturally Occurring Trace Mineral), 35 mcg per teaspoon
Silicon is the secondary active ingredient in the pet formulation, and it is the one ingredient that distinguishes ION Gut Support for Pets from the human version. Silicon is naturally present in soil, in water, and in certain plant foods, but it is rarely found at meaningful levels in modern commercial pet diets, where processing strips most trace minerals out of the final product.
In the body, silicon contributes to connective tissue structure. Bone, cartilage, skin elasticity, blood vessel walls, and the cellular scaffolding that holds tissues together all depend on silicon at trace levels. For pets, particularly aging pets and those with cumulative joint or skin concerns, this trace mineral supports the natural skeletal and connective tissue work that the gut lining repair alone cannot do.
Think of silicon as the rebar inside the concrete. Humic extract rebuilds the structures. Silicon makes those structures last.
Why this matters for kidney health. The pet formulation specifically includes silicon to support the renal tubules (the small filtering channels in the kidneys) in pets with kidney concerns. If your dog or cat has been flagged for early kidney changes, the manufacturer specifically recommends the pet version over the human formulation for this reason. The gut-kidney axis is one of the lesser-discussed connections in pet health, and ION addresses both ends of it in one bottle.
Purified Water and Naturally Occurring Trace Minerals
The base of the formula is filtered water with a small amount of natural sediment that may settle at the bottom of the bottle. The sediment is mineral content carried out of the ancient soil during the extraction process, and it is part of the active formula rather than a flaw. A gentle shake before each use redistributes it. The mild amber color is natural to the humic extract.
There are no preservatives, no sweeteners, no flavorings, no emulsifiers, no binders, no fillers, and no carrier oils anywhere in the bottle. This is the rare supplement where the inactive ingredient list contains only one item: purified water. Most pet parents describe the taste as similar to plain water with a faint earthy note, which is why both dogs and cats tend to accept it without resistance.
What This Looks Like Inside Your Dog's Body
Eight things happen between starting the bottle and the dog you have been worrying about feeling like themselves again
Imagine a dog who has been through three different probiotics, two prescription gut-soothing diets, and a rotation of supplements for chronic loose stools, gas, and skin flares the vet keeps attributing to food sensitivities. You have read every ingredient panel. You are doing everything right. The dog is not getting better, and nobody at the clinic can explain why. The reason, in most cases, is intestinal permeability (commonly called leaky gut). The seals between gut lining cells, which should let in nutrients and keep out toxins, have been compromised by years of cumulative exposure to glyphosate, food additives, environmental stressors, antibiotics, and the inflammatory chemistry of the modern food supply. Here is what changes once ION is added to the daily routine.
Humic extract reaches the cells of the gut lining within minutes
The fulvates begin signaling tight junction strengthening through natural cell-to-cell communication. Cellular barrier changes are measurable in lab settings in as little as 16 minutes, with cumulative tightening over days and weeks of consistent daily use.
Glyphosate, gluten, food additives, and inflammatory particles stop crossing into the bloodstream
The upstream triggers that had been driving the chronic immune responses no longer reach circulation. The body's defensive chemistry has fewer fires to fight because fewer fires are being started.
The immune system's chronic low-grade inflammatory response begins quieting
The histamine release that had been driving itching, ear flares, and food reactivity begins to settle. The body's immune cells stop launching responses to material that should never have crossed the barrier in the first place.
The microbiome begins diversifying without any added bacteria
The body's native bacterial community, no longer competing with constant cell damage and inflammation, returns to the diversity it was always capable of. The work the probiotics could not finish completes naturally now that the terrain supports it.
Silicon supports the connective tissue structure of the gut lining itself
The cellular scaffolding that holds the gut wall together gets the trace mineral it had been missing. The barrier repair gets reinforcement from the inside while the humic extract handles the cellular communication from outside.
Stool firms. Gas reduces. Skin flares quiet. Coat shines.
The downstream signs of upstream gut healing begin showing up across the body. The visible improvements pet parents notice first are the GI changes; the skin and coat changes follow as systemic inflammation declines.
The dog you have been worrying about starts feeling like themselves again
No longer fighting battles at the gut wall, your dog has biological resources available for the natural work of being well. Energy returns. The food list widens. The ear infections stop coming back. This is the moment most pet parents describe when they leave the reviews that built ION's reputation in the holistic pet space.
Important Notes Before Starting
Space ION at least two hours apart from prescription medications. Humic extract works partly by chelating (binding to and transporting) substances across cell membranes. There are no documented direct drug interactions, but the two-hour separation prevents any theoretical absorption interference with chronic medications. Disclose all supplements to your prescribing veterinarian.
Start slow for sensitive pets. Pets with significant gut disruption, recent antibiotic use, or known sensitivity to detox reactions should begin with the titration protocol in the dosing section below. Starting at the full weight-based dose can occasionally produce a transient loose-stool or sluggishness response (sometimes called a "die-off" reaction) as the gut adjusts. The titration approach prevents this.
Mix with filtered or dechlorinated water, not chlorinated tap water. Chlorine can interfere with the active humic molecules. If you are administering by water bowl, use filtered or dechlorinated water. Mixing into food avoids this concern entirely.
Pregnant or breeding pets. Safety has not been formally established in pregnant or lactating animals. Talk to your veterinarian before use in those cases. The product has not been tested in equine settings and is intended for dogs and cats only.
If condition worsens or does not improve with consistent use. Discontinue and consult your veterinarian. Most pet parents notice initial GI changes within two to four weeks; deeper systemic changes take months. A pet showing zero progress at three months warrants veterinary investigation for what else may be going on.
Is This Right For Your Pet
ION is especially worth considering if your dog or cat...
Has chronic GI issues that have not responded to probiotics, enzymes, or prescription gut-soothing diets, and you are ready to work on the layer underneath rather than continuing to swap brands.
Has food sensitivities, food intolerances, or chronic skin and ear flares the vet keeps treating downstream without addressing the upstream gut cause.
Has been diagnosed with IBD, IBS, chronic colitis, or another inflammatory gut condition where you want a natural foundational supplement to layer alongside veterinary protocols.
Has been on multiple courses of antibiotics and needs help rebuilding the gut from a damaged baseline that probiotics alone have not restored.
Spends time on lawns, in parks, or in areas exposed to pesticides, herbicides, or routine glyphosate spraying, and you want to protect the gut barrier against the cumulative exposure.
Eats commercial kibble and you are concerned about cumulative glyphosate residue, food additives, or environmental toxins crossing the gut barrier and driving chronic inflammation.
Has chronic skin issues, environmental allergies, or recurring ear infections that may be downstream of underlying gut dysfunction rather than primary skin problems.
Is transitioning diets (kibble to raw, brand changes, elimination protocols) and you want to keep the gut calm through the change without backsliding.
Is a senior pet whose gut, kidney, and immune systems are all asking for foundational holistic support at the same time, and you want one bottle that touches all three.
Lives in a multi-pet household where you want one natural product that supports both cats and dogs across the family without juggling species-specific formulas.
Belongs to a holistic, label-reading household that wants a supplement with peer-reviewed canine cellular research behind the central mechanism.
Has been on every probiotic on the shelf and you are ready to work on the layer underneath instead.
How To Give It
Daily by weight, with a slow-start titration option for sensitive pets
ION is a daily liquid supplement. Most pets accept the mild, almost-tasteless flavor in their water bowl or food without resistance. If your pet has chronic gut issues, recent antibiotic use, or any history of detox reactions, use the titration protocol below to ease the gut into the full dose over four weeks.
Weight-Based Dosing
| Pet's Weight | Daily Dose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 lbs | 1 tsp (5 ml) daily | Includes most cats and small dogs |
| 21 to 100 lbs | 2 tsp (10 ml) daily | Most dogs fall in this range |
| Over 101 lbs | 1 Tbsp (15 ml) daily | Giant breeds |
Split the dose if your pet eats twice daily. The daily dose can be given in one portion or split between morning and evening meals. Whatever fits your routine.
Sensitive-Pet Titration Protocol (Optional, Four Weeks)
| Week | Daily Dose | What To Watch For |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 1/8 tsp daily | Stool quality, energy, appetite. Any reaction should be mild. |
| Week 2 | 1/4 tsp daily | If stool softens, hold this dose another week before progressing. |
| Week 3 | 1/2 tsp daily | Most pets are tolerating well by this point. |
| Week 4 | 1 tsp daily or weight-based target | Full weight-based dose. Maintain daily. |
Shake gently before each use. The natural mineral sediment carried out of the ancient soil during extraction will settle at the bottom of the bottle between doses. This is part of the active formula, not a defect. A gentle shake redistributes it.
Three administration options. Add the daily dose to a fresh bowl of filtered or dechlorinated water (chlorinated tap water can interfere with the active humic molecules). Or mix the daily dose directly into wet food, raw food, or a food topper. Or administer by syringe with no needle into the corner of the mouth, dispensing gradually rather than squirting. The product can be given before, during, or after a meal without losing effectiveness.
Storage. Store the bottle in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. Refrigeration is not required. Shake gently before each use. Once opened, the bottle remains stable for the full shelf life printed on the label.
What The First Three Months Look Like
Days 1 to 7 · The cellular work begins
Some pets show early changes in stool quality, energy, or appetite. Many show nothing visible yet. The humic extract is doing its cell-communication work inside, and the visible signs lag the cellular signs by days or weeks.
Weeks 2 to 4 · First GI improvements
Firmer stool. Reduced gas. Easier digestion of meals. Fewer GI flares for pets with chronic issues. This is the window in which most pet parents start to feel like something real is happening.
Weeks 4 to 12 · Skin and coat changes appear
As systemic inflammation declines, the downstream skin issues, ear flares, and food intolerances begin to settle. Food tolerance widens. The list of ingredients your dog can eat without reacting starts growing back.
Months 3+ · The deepest changes
The most durable improvements appear over months of consistent daily use, particularly for senior pets, IBD pets, and pets with cumulative environmental exposure. The gut barrier work is not a six-week fix. It is a foundation that compounds with time.
Works Well With
The companion products that complete the holistic gut protocol
ION rebuilds the soil. Here are the products pet parents tend to layer on top of it, and the order most holistic gut protocols add them.
Four Leaf Rover Protect Soil-Based Probiotics
ION rebuilds the soil. Protect plants the seeds. Soil-based probiotics (spore-forming bacterial strains that come from soil rather than dairy) survive stomach acid in a way that yogurt-style lactobacillus strains often do not, which means more of the beneficial bacteria reach the small intestine where ION has been doing its terrain-level work. The two products operate on different mechanisms (cellular communication vs. bacterial seeding) with no overlap, and most holistic gut protocols pair them by design rather than by accident.
Adored Beast Soil & Sea Primordial Pre-Probiotics
Where Protect supplies the bacteria and ION supplies the terrain, Soil & Sea supplies the natural primordial nutrients the microbiome needs to feed on (a prebiotic is essentially fiber and minerals that the beneficial bacteria eat). Drawn from both ancient soil and ocean sources, this is the prebiotic and trace-mineral layer of the protocol. Pet parents building a comprehensive holistic gut foundation often run all three of these together.
Glacier Peak Daily Defense Gentle Daily Detox
ION provides gut-side defense by sealing the barrier. Daily Defense extends that natural protection into the liver, where the toxins ION blocked at the gut wall would have eventually been processed. For dogs with cumulative environmental exposure (lawn chemicals, household toxins, treated water, commercial kibble), the gut-liver axis (the working partnership between the two organs that handle most of the body's detox work) is a real and ongoing concern, and these two products cover both ends of it.
Roughly 70% of the immune system lives in the gut. As ION strengthens the gut barrier, the immune work that depends on that barrier amplifies, and adding a fruiting-body mushroom blend gives the immune system additional natural raw material to work with. Daily Dawg uses hot-water-extracted, fruiting-body mushrooms (not mycelium grown on grain), which is the form with the beta-glucan concentration (a class of immune-activating fibers found in mushroom cell walls) that drives real immune modulation.
Animal Essentials Seasonal Allergy and Quercetin
Many pets come to ION because of allergies, food sensitivities, and chronic skin or ear flares. Quercetin is a natural mast-cell stabilizer (it calms the immune cells that drive the histamine response and the visible allergy symptoms that follow) that quiets the inflammatory response while the underlying gut work is happening. Pairing the two addresses the immediate symptoms while ION works on the root cause. Particularly useful in spring and fall when environmental allergens stack on top of food sensitivity reactions.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions pet parents ask most
How is this different from a probiotic?
This is the most useful question to ask before buying. Probiotics add live bacteria to the gut, with the goal of seeding or reinforcing the microbiome (the community of bacteria, yeasts, and other organisms that live in the digestive tract). The premise is sound, and probiotics have a place in many gut protocols. ION operates on a different layer entirely. It does not add bacteria. It works on the gut lining itself, the cells whose tight junctions determine what passes into the bloodstream and what stays in the gut. Once the lining is sealed, the body's own native microbiome diversifies naturally without external bacterial input. Many holistic pet parents run both products in parallel, with ION providing the terrain and a probiotic providing the seeds. Running ION alone is also valid for pets whose primary issue is intestinal permeability (the leaky-gut problem) rather than microbial depletion.
How long until I see a difference?
Some pet parents notice firmer stool and reduced gas within the first two weeks. Skin and coat changes typically appear between weeks four and twelve as systemic inflammation declines. The deepest natural changes, particularly for senior pets and pets with cumulative toxin exposure, appear over three to six months of consistent daily use. Cellular barrier improvements have been measured in lab settings in as little as 16 minutes, but the downstream signs of that cellular work need time to show up across the rest of the body.
Is this the same product as the human ION Gut Support I take?
The active humic extract blend is the same. The pet version adds silicon, a naturally occurring trace mineral that supports connective tissue, bone, and cartilage structure in animals. Silicon is not commonly found in modern pet diets at meaningful levels, which is why the pet formulation includes it. If your dog or cat has any kidney concerns, the manufacturer specifically recommends using the pet version for the silicon's support of the renal tubules (the small filtering channels in the kidneys). If you already have human ION at home, it is generally safe to share short term, but the pet version is the appropriate long-term choice.
My pet is on prescription medication. Is ION safe to use alongside?
Generally yes, with one practical note. Because humic extract works partly by chelating (binding to and transporting) substances out of cells, the manufacturer recommends giving ION at least two hours apart from prescription medications to avoid any theoretical absorption interference. There are no documented direct drug interactions, but the two-hour gap is the conservative practice. Disclose all supplements to your prescribing veterinarian, particularly for chronic medications.
Will my picky dog actually drink this?
Most do. The liquid is described as virtually tasteless with a faint earthy note, and most dogs accept it added to their water bowl, mixed into food, or given by syringe. Verified buyers with picky dogs have specifically called out that the liquid mixes seamlessly into food without changing taste or texture. For pets who resist water-bowl administration, the food-mix or syringe method is generally successful. Cats also tolerate it well in wet food.
Why this over slippery elm or marshmallow root for gut healing?
A fair comparison. Slippery elm and marshmallow root are soothing demulcents (herbs whose mucilage compounds coat irritated tissue and reduce immediate inflammation on contact). They are valuable for acute GI flares and short-term inflammation. ION operates on a different mechanism, working at the cellular level to restore the tight junction integrity that determines long-term barrier function. The two approaches are complementary rather than redundant. Slippery elm soothes the surface; ION rebuilds the underlying structure. For dogs with chronic, multi-year gut issues, the cellular-level work tends to produce more durable improvement, though the surface-soothing herbs are useful for acute episodes alongside the foundational work.
Why this over a prescription gut diet from my vet?
Prescription gut diets work by limiting exposure to specific proteins, fibers, or ingredients that may be triggering inflammation. This is a valid management strategy and can produce visible improvement. The limitation is that prescription diets do not heal the underlying intestinal permeability that made the dog reactive to those ingredients in the first place. ION addresses the upstream cause by sealing the gut lining, which sometimes lets dogs return to a broader diet over time. The two approaches can be used together. The prescription diet manages the immediate trigger exposure; ION works on the long-term tissue repair underneath.
Can my cat take this too?
Yes. This product is formulated for both cats and dogs, and the dosing scales by body weight regardless of species. Verified buyers in multi-pet households use a single bottle across the family, which is one of the practical benefits of this formulation. For cats, mixing the dose into wet food is the standard administration route; most cats find the mild earthy taste acceptable.
The Clean Formula Standard You Expect
For pet parents who have tried every probiotic on the shelf, this is the layer underneath.
There is a generation of holistic gut supplements built on the conventional logic: add what is missing. Add bacteria, add prebiotics, add enzymes, add soothing herbs, add fiber, add anything that might support the work the gut is trying to do. That logic produced a generation of valuable products, many of which we carry and recommend. But it leaves one mechanism uncovered, and that mechanism is the one that determines whether any of the other products can actually do their job. The integrity of the gut lining itself. The tight junctions between cells. The barrier that decides what crosses into the bloodstream and what stays in the gut where it belongs. ION Gut Support for Pets is the rare natural supplement built specifically for that mechanism, with peer-reviewed canine cellular research showing 54% improvement in barrier integrity under glyphosate exposure.
Humic extract to seal the barrier. Silicon to reinforce the structure. Three to twelve weeks to feel the change. Months to feel the full work.
Most gut work feeds the garden. This work rebuilds the soil.
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Product arrived quickly and was packed well.
The Ion Gut Health really helps my dog with IBD. Plus the customer service is so great. I enjoy the little thank you note with each order.
This supplement has been a game changer during the transition from kibble to a raw whole foods based diet for my dog. He is the pickiest eater ever and it has been a real challenge transitioning his diet but this supplement being liquid mixes seemlessly into his food without him even noticing it’s there. It has helped keep his gut calm and stool firm during the transition. Highly recommend!
The science behind this product is incredible, and really cool to learn about. I like to include this in my dogs meal a few times a week. Also they have a human version!!!!
I use Ion Biome for myself and was thrilled when I realized they also make it for dogs. It is an awesome product for gut health- I will have my dog on this forever.
