The dog's diet impacts gut health

To create a rich and diverse gut microbiome environment in dogs, each microorganism requires growth through specific nutrients. The dog's diet is a great way to promote overall health and provide nutrients that can enhance gut health. Simply changing the diet can greatly help improve imbalanced microbiomes. Good nutritional status helps build a healthy microbiome, strengthen the immune system, and positively contribute to preventing common illnesses.

A pet's dietary habits are entirely up to the owner. It's important to establish a balanced diet through nutrient analysis and functional foods to maintain a healthy microbiome for pets.

Microbiome
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Antibiotics
Diet

The right diet for your dog

Diet is a key way to manage gut microbes. Click on the list below to access diet-related information and consider dietary management.

Some commercially available pet foods contain high levels of carbohydrates, which promote the growth of specific gut microbial clusters that thrive on carbohydrates. If certain microbes proliferate excessively, they can outcompete other important microbes and reduce diversity. Additionally, some carbohydrate-loving microbial clusters are associated with excessive inflammation, potentially causing health issues in dogs.

A balanced diet should contain at least 35% protein on a dry matter basis.

Use the calculator below to find the amount of hidden carbohydrates in our dog's food.

Fusobacteria in dogs, which have a higher carnivorous diet compared to humans, are microbes commonly found in healthy dogs without disease. Fusobacteria in a dog's gut produce beneficial metabolic byproducts through protein digestion. Please add sufficient protein to your dog's diet.

Consistently consuming specific proteins can be perceived as foreign substances by the body, potentially triggering allergies. By periodically changing protein sources, you can reduce the likelihood of your pet developing food sensitivities or allergies. When changing the diet, do so gradually over the course of a week. Rapid changes in diet can lead to digestive upset in pets.

To establish a healthy microbiome, provide probiotics or fermented foods for your pets.

Plain yogurt or fermented soybean natto are rich in live microbes. While consuming fermented foods can enhance nutrient absorption and maintain microbial balance in dogs, it may not sufficiently increase microbial diversity to improve imbalanced gut environments.

Probiotics aid in the proliferation of beneficial bacteria that may not be adequately supplemented through diet alone and help suppress harmful bacteria. Due to the high acidity of the digestive tract in pets, most conventional probiotics perish before reaching the intestines. When selecting probiotics, it's advisable to choose strains, such as Saccharomyces Boulardii, that can survive robustly until reaching the intestines and carefully verify the strains used.

To ensure regular and vigorous bowel movements, provide your dog with a variety of healthy dietary fibers, such as whole grains. Since processed foods may contain other nutrients, it's important to carefully check the nutritional content. Natural sources of fiber, such as whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, are available and contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is fermented by beneficial gut bacteria into fatty acids, preventing excessive growth of harmful bacteria and contributing to a healthy microbiome. Insoluble fiber helps maintain moisture and assists in the digestive process to facilitate healthy bowel movements.

Dog food typically includes healthy fibers such as beet pulp, apple, pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes, chia seeds, lentils, and barley. While healthy fibers can improve a dog's gut health by addressing issues like diarrhea or constipation, excessive intake of fiber can worsen symptoms. If your pet shows symptoms, consider switching to a different type of fiber or reducing the amount provided.

Prebiotics such as fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, and chicory root serve as food for live beneficial bacteria, allowing them to thrive and create a more favorable gut environment than simply consuming probiotics alone. It's advisable to consume them together.

Antioxidants are substances that remove reactive oxygen species in the body, protecting against oxidative stress and free radicals. Free radicals can damage DNA, cell membranes, and stored lipids in blood vessels, leading to aging and diseases. It's beneficial to consume antioxidants to maintain appropriate levels of free radicals.

Due to their low antioxidant capacity, supplementing antioxidants is particularly helpful for aging dogs and dogs with chronic inflammatory conditions in managing their health. Polyphenols are compounds abundant in food that have antioxidant properties by removing reactive oxygen species. Check the ingredients in your dog's food carefully and provide ample antioxidants such as Vitamin E and Vitamin C. Pets have superior Vitamin C synthesis compared to humans, which enhances their immune system and protects them from infections and diseases.