Are human probiotics safe to give to my Poodle?

We all know about probiotics and how they help keep a healthy balance of intestinal flora in the gut. But some readers are asking the question Are human probiotics safe to give to my Poodle? It is safe to give your poodle some of the same probiotics that you are using, however, the digestive system and the strains of bacteria differ from those of humans to some degree. Dogs have certain strains of bacteria that humans do not have. That said, probiotics are great for helping your pooch to maintain a healthy balance in the digestive tract and help with treating conditions from flatulence and diarrhea as well as certain skin problems.
Are human probiotics safe to give to my Poodle?
Here is an excerpt from dog-nutrition-advice.com on the subject of giving human probiotics to your poodle.
For the most part, probiotics serve the same function in both dogs and humans. The differences lie in the divergent structure of canine and human digestive tracts, and the different nutrient needs of the two species. Thus, while most probiotics that are beneficial to humans are also beneficial to dogs and vice versa, there are a few cases where particular strains are more helpful to one species or the other. For this reason, even though human probiotic sources will almost certainly be beneficial to dogs as well, canines may derive the greatest benefit from a high quality probiotic supplement formulated specifically for dogs. To give a specific example, the probiotic bacteria Enterococcus faecium has been proven to enhance immune response in puppies if given from the time of weaning to one year of age, and almost certainly provides a superior immune response for adult dogs as well. For this reason, many well-respected probiotic supplement brands such as Protexin® make sure to include Enterococcus faecium among their ingredients. There is no such research supporting this particular use for humans, and in fact Enterococci bacteria have produced an opportunistic antibiotic-resistant strain that occasionally appears with harmful effects in human hospitals. This does not indicate, however, that the bacteria are harmful when given in probiotic form to dogs or humans, as no problems have ever been reported from either use. You can see the original article here You can definitely give your poodle some of your own human probiotics. Of course, it's best if you use a canine variety which you can probably get from your vet. But no poodle has been harmed from being given human grade probiotic supplements as far as I know.