The dog's digestion
A dog’s healthy digestion naturally starts with healthy nutrition; healthy nutrition is highly digestible and often contains prebiotics, which contribute to a healthy gut flora. Nevertheless, problems can sometimes occur during the digestive process, causing symptoms that are often acute and short-lived. In most cases, these symptoms are caused by eating dirt from the street or a viral infection. In some cases, however, there may be a chronically disrupted gut flora or irritated stomach or intestinal lining. This can have various causes.
How does a dog’s digestion work?
A dog’s digestive tract begins, just as it does in humans, in the mouth. The major difference, however, is that dogs’ saliva does not contain digestive enzymes; human saliva contains the digestive enzyme amylase. This means that a dog’s mouth and teeth are used only to grind food into smaller pieces. So be aware that if your dog suffers from dental problems, this can have a major impact on digestion.
After passing through the mouth, the food enters the esophagus. This is simply the connection between the mouth and the stomach. A dog’s stomach is relatively large compared with a human stomach. The dog’s ancestors, namely wolves, are naturally carnivorous. For this reason, these animals’ stomachs are large enough to hold as much food as possible. Dogs also produce more stomach acid than humans, enabling them to break down proteins quickly and digest various ingredients that humans cannot digest.
After the stomach, the food mixture enters the intestines. Dogs’ intestines are much shorter than those of humans; food therefore passes through a dog’s intestines more quickly than it does through ours. A balanced gut flora—the collection of microorganisms, mainly bacteria, in the gastrointestinal tract—is therefore very important for good digestion. The bacteria in the stomach and intestines help break down food, allowing the smaller nutrients to subsequently be absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal wall.
Because dogs’ gut flora is relatively vulnerable, it is important to maintain it properly. For example, it is important to provide a high-quality diet enriched with prebiotics and, if appropriate, probiotics.
The average duration of digestion in dogs is around eight to ten hours, although in some cases it can take up to approximately twelve hours. It is therefore normal for an adult dog to defecate several times a day—typically two to three times a day.
The causes of digestive problems in dogs
As mentioned earlier, problems can sometimes occur during the digestive process. We have listed the most common causes for you:
- Eating dirt
- Change of diet
- Food allergy
- Viral infection
- Lower-quality food
- Worms
The symptoms of digestive problems
A dog’s digestive system is important and can be a good indicator that something is wrong. It is therefore important to learn your dog’s eating habits and bowel movement frequency. This may sound somewhat unpleasant, but it is the only way to notice quickly enough if your dog is behaving differently and is no longer eating or defecating as usual. In that case, it is best to visit the vet. Below you will find the symptoms of digestive problems:
- Soft stool / diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Weight loss
- Becoming lethargic
- Bad breath
- Fever
- Dull coat
Prebiotics and probiotics for support
It is possible to support a healthy gut flora with prebiotics; prebiotics are the beneficial bacteria themselves. By providing food that contains prebiotics, you help maintain a healthy balance of gut flora. The Riverwood foods are therefore enriched with MOS (Mannan-Oligosaccharides) and FOS (Fructo-Oligosaccharides).
In addition to prebiotics, food can also be enriched with probiotics. Probiotics serve as nourishment for the beneficial bacteria in the intestines. When these beneficial bacteria are supplied with nourishment, they can multiply, which has a positive effect on the health of the gut flora.
