An upset stomach is the one thing almost every owner tries to handle at home before they will ring anybody, and what actually gets used is whatever happens to be in the cupboard at eleven at night. That is the whole logic of a product like this. It is not really bought for the evening it is needed; it is bought for the evening before that one.

Beaphar's paste is built around a short list of things they describe as natural actives. Zeolite and aluminium hydroxide do the binding work, and prebiotics FOS and MOS are there to support healthy gut function while things settle. It comes as two 20ML syringes rather than one bottle, which is the format that lets you give it straight rather than trying to hide it in food, and Beaphar describe it as highly palatable — which on a dog that has gone off its dinner is not a small detail.

• 2 x 20ML syringes
• Contains zeolite and aluminium hydroxide
• Contains the prebiotics FOS and MOS
• Beaphar describe it as highly palatable
• Beaphar state it is suitable for dogs weighing more than 15kg
• For digestive disturbances rather than daily use

The weight limit on this one runs the opposite way to usual. Nearly everything in a pet cupboard has an upper weight limit; Beaphar have put a lower one on this, stating it is suitable for dogs weighing more than 15kg — which rules out a great many dogs before you start, so check yours before ordering. No dosing information of any kind has been supplied to us either, so the leaflet in the box is the only instruction that counts. And a paste is for something mild and short-lived: an upset stomach lasting more than a day or two, or coming with blood, repeated vomiting, a flat dog or a puppy, is a phone call to the vet rather than a cupboard job.

Who it's for: anyone with a dog over that weight limit who would rather stock the cupboard before it matters, and anyone whose dog has a reliably delicate stomach after a rich weekend or a change of food.