Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Dogs

We certainly have a huge choice of dog food on the market to help us provide a diet that is complete and balanced for our dogs. Choosing one with the right protein source can provide a number of additional benefits for those of our dogs who may have sensitivities.

We know that sensitivities in our dogs can range from mild symptoms like an upset tummy and itchy skin through to inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis and severe skin allergies.  It is important to remember that these issues are not because we have done anything wrong with what we have fed our dogs.  It is simply that some dogs may be sensitive to particular ingredients and certain breeds may be at increased risk of developing allergies and inflammatory conditions. For example, a possible mode of inheritance has been identified for pancreatitis in Miniature Schnauzers. 

Help is at hand though! In combination with necessary medications Dogs Delight has certain key features which may help.  It can help to look at what happened during normal digestion in order to understand what happens when things go wrong.

During normal digestion, the body breaks down whole proteins into their smaller parts (amino acids) and these are absorbed across the wall of the intestine and delivered to the body via the blood.  The body can then use them for all the good things they do like supporting growth and repair.  If the gut is inflamed, as can be the case in some sensitive dogs, whole proteins can find their way across the wall of the small intestine and can arrive whole into the large intestine too.  This is a big problem. These whole proteins can trigger an immune response (an allergic reaction).  In other words, the dog can become sensitised to the type of proteins that have managed to seep through.  This may have been chicken, beef etc. You may find that your dog reacts to certain foods with a skin flare up or loose stool.  This shows us that the body is seeing them as an invader and has launched an immune response.

If we have a sensitive dog we can try to prevent the body becoming sensitised to certain proteins in four key ways:

• The first thing we can do is opt for a food that only has one type of meat or fish.  This is known as a ‘single source protein’. Many dog foods contain two or three types of meat. If they contain ‘meat meal’ that is even worse because we really don’t have any idea of the types of meat present in the food.  By choosing a food with a single source of protein there is less chance of the body having a reaction to it. 
• Secondly, we can try a dog food that contains a meat or fish that your dog has not been exposed to before.  These are called ‘novel proteins’ and include fish, turkey, venison, duck or rabbit etc.  Again there is less chance of the dog reacting because they have not previously been sensitised to them.  The most commonly used sources of protein in dog foods include chicken, beef, lamb, fish, egg, soy and milk.  The most common sources of carbohydrates used are corn, rice and wheat.
• Thirdly, the protein we choose should be highly digestible.  Dogs require ten essential amino acids.  They are called essential because dogs cannot make them so they need them from their diet.  If a protein contains all of the essential amino acids it is termed a high quality protein and is well digested.  This means there is less chance of whole proteins getting across the wall of the intestine and so less chance of an allergic reaction.  
• Finally, our food contains a single-source of carbohydrate in the form of sweet potato which can help with digestion and means all our foods are grain free.

More information of Inflammatory Bowel Disease is available on our members pages and by individual consulation.