How To Keep Your Dog's Gut Healthy
To humans, the canine gut may seem invincible, fully capable of passing everything from the contents of a trash can to several pairs of dirty socks without breaking a sweat.
But given the importance of the digestive system to an animal’s overall condition, it is important for pet owners to maintain a functional and healthy gastrointestinal tract. This can be quite the challenge considering how readily dogs put random things into their mouths. But it’s well worth the effort to save your dog from the pain, discomfort, and danger of gastrointestinal problems.
Function of the canine gut
An animal’s ability to extract the nutrients from their food affects everything from the tips of the fur to the deepest organs in their body. Many people concentrate on the diet itself – which is no doubt the first step to keeping their dog healthy and happy.
But the process of converting food to what the body needs is a lot more complicated than just filling up their bowl. You can give your furry buddy the most nutrient dense and most expensive dog food in the world, but if their gut isn’t working optimally, it’s all for naught. That’s why keeping your dog’s digestive system healthy is an essential part of responsible pet parenthood.
Your dog’s gastrointestinal tract has four major functions:
to digest the food they eat
to absorb the nutrients from the food they eat
to pass the food through the length of the gastrointestinal tract
to eliminate what cannot be used by the body out the other end
Each function is connected to the other – both literally and figuratively. After all, the gut is basically one long tube from one end of the body to the other. Taking care of all the parts of your dog’s digestive tract and ensuring their smooth function is critical in the overall health and happiness of your four-legged best friend.
Factors affecting canine gut health
Nutrition and digestibility of dog food
A complete and balanced diet promotes long-term health of all bodily systems, including the gastrointestinal tract. But the nutritional value of food means nothing if it’s too difficult for the body to break down and absorb. Instead of being used to supply your dog with energy and the building blocks needed for growth and development, it comes out as waste through the rear end.
Healthy gut microbiome
The gastrointestinal tract is home to many kinds of bacteria. Gross as it may sound, you have these microscopic organisms to thank for your dog’s gut health. They help digest and break down food, use up resources that pathogenic bacteria could use to proliferate, and keep the immune system on its toes for attack, among other things.
Infectious disease and parasites
The gastrointestinal tract is like a freeway going into your dog’s body. Unfortunately, there are a wide variety of pathogens that take full advantage of this, from viruses to bacteria to worms to protozoan parasites. These diseases affect the different parts of the gut, leading to diarrhea, vomiting, impaired absorption, or internal bleeding.
Intestinal obstruction and poisoning
Pica may be an unfamiliar word to most, but it refers to a behavior that all fur parents are all too familiar with: the ingestion of non-food items. From grass to hair ties, pieces of their toys to dirty socks, dogs love to munch on the things we deem un-munchable. While most instances end up as a funny anecdote we tell our family and friends, there are times when it could seriously threaten our dog’s life by blocking the gastrointestinal tract.
Dogs may also eat substances that are toxic to their bodies, including rat poison, chocolate, garlic, and grapes. They may enter through the gastrointestinal tract, but these damage other organ systems quickly.
Allergies and food intolerance
Some dogs may have hypersensitivity reactions or have trouble digesting certain ingredients. Aside from gastrointestinal tract issues, it is common for dogs to experience itchy red hives and bumps when they eat these problematic ingredients.
How to keep your dog’s gut healthy
Give healthy and digestible meals.
Dogs should be fed a highly digestible diet so they can maximize the food’s nutritional content. Most dog food brands available in the market have a good digestibility rating of 80-90% for the different macronutrients. The digestibility of a particular dog food is primarily influenced by the quality and quantity of its ingredients. Protein is easy to digest for canines, while high-fiber ingredients are a little tougher to break down.
If you like to prepare homemade food for your dog, be sure to consult a pet nutritionist to make sure that the meals you prepare are balanced, complete, and appropriate for your dog’s age and condition. One way to increase digestibility of ingredients is to make the particle sizes smaller, or expose it to heat and pressure through the cooking process. This way, your dog’s gastrointestinal tract doesn’t have to work too hard to get the body what it needs.
And whatever food you prepare for your furry buddy, make sure it is stored properly away from the sun, and free from bacteria, fungi, and other contaminants.
Take preventive care measures against infectious disease.
As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you want to protect your dog against viruses, many of which affect the canine gut, make sure to bring your dog to the vet to get the appropriate vaccinations. If you don’t want parasitic helminths making their home in your dog’s body, make sure to get your dog dewormed regularly. You may want to consider adding probiotics to your dog’s regular meal to help promote a healthy gut microbiome. These steps are simple and easy to do, but go a long way in ensuring your dog’s gut health.
Keep an eye on what your dog is eating.
As much as possible, control what your dog has access to. This is pretty difficult considering that dogs explore their world with their mouths, but it can save you a lot of heartbreak later on.
At home, keep items locked away or at least move them to surfaces that your dog can’t reach. Give your dogs toys that are not easily broken and have no moveable parts, so they don’t accidentally (or purposefully) swallow them. Regardless, always supervise your dog when they’re playing with chew toys or treats.
Training your dog to let go of things they’re holding in their mouths is a handy trick to have, especially if you’re on a walk or playing at the dog park. While you’re outside, give them lots of exercise and playtime as boredom and excess energy often leads them to eat things that they shouldn’t be eating.
As hard as it can be to resist those puppy dog eyes, refrain from giving your fur babies human food because they’re often too greasy or too salty for a dog’s tummy--plus they might contain ingredients that are harmful for canines.
Watch out for early warning signs.
Be vigilant about signs of gastrointestinal upset. It helps to have a regular eating and potty routine so you know your dog’s regular habits. Deviations from normal, whether in terms of potty frequency, amount of food eaten, or appearance of stool, could be early warning signs of obstruction, infection, poisoning, food allergies, and other problems of the GIT.
The earlier you spot the problem, the earlier you can go to the vet to get help.
Resources
Vet Times: Measuring Food Quality and Digestibility
Pilla, R., & Suchodolski, J. S. (2020). The Role of the Canine Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Health and Gastrointestinal Disease. Frontiers in veterinary science, 6, 498. - The Role of the Canine Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Health and Gastrointestinal Disease
MSD Manual Veterinary Manual: Introduction to Digestive Disorders of Dogs
UC Davis Vet Medicine: Abnormal Eating Habits in Dogs and Cats
VCA Hospitals: Food Intolerance in Dogs