2020Interesting Facts About Your Dog’s gastrointestinal system
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| Interesting Facts About Your Dog’s gastrointestinal system2020 |
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A healthy gastrointestinal system is important to your dog’s well-being. The gastrointestinal system serves many important functions: it takes in food, absorbs nutrients, maintains fluid and balance, and gets obviate waste, says Dr. Carolyn Jochman, a veterinarian with WVRC Emergency & Specialty Pet Care in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
It also covers tons of areas. “The alimentary canal includes the mouth (salivary glands, tongue, teeth), esophagus, stomach, small and enormous intestine, liver, pancreas, rectum, and anus,” she says.
The canine gastrointestinal system isn’t the foremost glamorous topic, but understanding how it works puts you during a better position to work out if your dog is sick and wishes to be seen by a vet. It also can guide you in making decisions that will enhance her health.
Here are 7 interesting facts about your dog's gastrointestinal tract and health.
1. Dogs Get Heartburn, Too
Dogs can get indigestion and heartburn a bit like humans.
In the fasted state, stomach acids are very similar in people and dogs, says Dr. David Brummer, a veterinarian with Orchard Park Veterinary center in Orchard Park, New York. After eating, however, dogs produce more acid than we do, he says.
Our similarities mean that “dogs and other people enjoy equivalent antacids.” But before giving your dog an over-the-counter antacid, ask your veterinarian. you'll want to make certain you aren’t risking any potential drug interactions or side effects.
Veterinarians also can provide you with important usage guidance for antacids to make sure you're not putting your pet’s health in danger.
But more stomach acid doesn’t translate to letting your dog eat potentially contaminated foods. “Dogs are not any less sensitive to gastrointestinal disorder (bacterial contamination) than are people,” he says. for instance, “The practice of feeding meat to dogs carries a demonstrated risk of gastrointestinal disorder .”
2. Food Moves Through a Dog's alimentary canal 3 times as Fast
“Dogs have a little intestine that occupies about 25% of the entire gastrointestinal volume, which is according to other omnivores, including people,” Dr. Jochman says. “The intestine of a cat, a real carnivore, occupies only 15%.”
On average, food moves through the canine stomach a touch slower than ours, but food movement through the intestines may be a little faster, says Dr. Brummer, who is board-certified in general medicine.
Gastrointestinal transit time is six to eight hours for dogs, while in people it’s between 20 and 30 hours, Dr. Jochman adds.
You’ve probably noticed that your dog can’t chew side to side. “The dog’s jaw only allows for up and down motion when chewing,” Dr. Jochman explains. “People have a side-to-side movement that permits more grinding of food.”
The difference probably has got to do with our historical diets. The wolf-like ancestors of dogs ate mostly meat that would be easily ripped and swallowed, but people also relied on gathering or farming material that required more chewing.
But modern dogs are considered omnivores, a bit like we are. They originally ate a carnivorous diet within the wild, “but since they need to be been domesticated, adaptions are made that allow them to digest and utilize plant-based nutrients,” Dr. Jochman explains.
True carnivores, like cats, have a better nutritional requirement for taurine, arachidonic acid, and certain vitamins, which are available in fat and protein sources.
“Omnivores don’t have a better requirement for these and make their arachidonic acid from vegetable oils,” he says.
“Most normal dogs haven't any difficulty digesting and absorbing carbohydrates,” Dr. Brummer adds. So, “there is not any benefit to feeding grain-free diets to normal dogs.”
5. Cholesterol Doesn’t Impact a Dog’s Health
Your doctor may advise you to lower your cholesterol level, but you won’t hear equivalent concerns echoed at the vet’s office. “Cholesterol doesn't have an equivalent effect on their heart, and their digestive systems are designed to accommodate fat,” Dr. Jochman says.
Dogs also don’t have equivalent issues with carcinoma, says Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist at Cornell University College of medicine in Ithaca, New York. “So the thought that eating foods high in soluble fiber or low in saturated or trans-fats will provide any health benefit is unknown at now .”
Vets say one among the keys to health is keeping your dog at a healthy weight. “Obesity is said to exacerbation of the many health problems in dogs and is our favorite battle,” Dr. Wakshlag says. “If there's anybody thing that we will do, it’s asking our vets about the way to curb obesity.”
6. Diarrhea and Vomiting could also be Bigger Problems Than You Thought
Gastrointestinal diseases account for about 10% of veterinary visits, says Dr. Jan Suchodolski, professor and associate director for microbiome sciences of the Gastrointestinal Laboratory at Texas A&M University, in College Station, Texas.
“Diarrhea is one among the foremost frequent clinical signs,” he says. “Abnormal stool can also be a primary symptom of a more systemic disease process, like kidney, liver, and a few endocrine disorders.”
Vomiting is additionally a standard symptom. An acute bout may resolve itself over each day or two—vets will often recommend a brief, 12-hour period of fasting to “rest” the alimentary canal, followed by an ulcer diet, Dr. Jochman says. “But when the clinical signs continue or are especially severe, testing is usually recommended to aim to seek out out what could also be causing them distress,” she says.
Imbalances with other organs, like the kidneys, also can cause gastrointestinal signs. “So it's important to ascertain your vet to work out the simplest treatment for your dog,” Dr. Jochman adds.
You can learn tons about your dog’s health by studying her poop (an unpleasant, but necessary task).
“There is a spread of causes for abnormal stool,” says Dr. Suchodolski, who is board-certified in immunology. “Most episodes of acute onset diarrhea are typically self-limiting within a couple of days, as dietary indiscretions are a frequent cause.”
Parasites, bacteria, and viruses can also cause diarrhea, he says. “Depending on the underlying cause, the animal may or might not need appropriate treatment for the infective agent. If diarrhea persists for several days, and/or there's blood within the stool, the animal should be examined by a veterinarian who can determine the foremost appropriate course of treatment.”
On the opposite hand, if your dog isn’t pooping and is straining to defecate, she could also be constipated, which if prolonged, may cause serious health issues, Dr. Suchodolski says.
One important takeaway is to contact your vet if you notice anything suspicious. “Even short episodes of diarrhea or constipation that occur periodically, especially together with other signs, like weight loss and loss of appetite, may indicate a more complicated disease process,” he says.
Another key point is that you simply regularly monitor your dog’s poop habits. “It is vital for the owner to daily monitor how often the animal defecates and therefore the consistency of the stool,” Dr. Suchodolski says. “There are a few variations between animals and also variation from day-to-day, with some animals having consistently softer stools or harder stools than others. But generally, with time, the owners should be ready to establish what’s normal for his or her animal.
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