Recently, I attended a virtual Pet Health Summit and the information I learned was fascinating. One of the seminars was with Dr. Lu Fenny and Dr. Katie Woodley, both are Holistic Veterinarians and they discussed the importance of our dog's gut health. Your dog's overall health is directly linked to their behavior and I wanted to share this information to help anyone who doesn’t know where to begin healing their dog's gut. These items discussed are directly from the pet health summit seminar I attended and are recommendations given by Dr. Lu Fenny. I am not a veterinarian and am not giving you medical advice. Please consult your veterinarian when considering revising your dog's diet.
Signs of bad gut health
-diarrhea or mucus stool
-large gas production
-vomiting
If your dog is showing any of these signs of bad gut health speak to your veterinarian on ways to improve your dog's diet. Here are some facts that were shared by Dr. Lu Fenny about dogs' gut health and ways she recommends to help heal their gut.
Several studies show a direct link between gut health and anxiety in dogs. I will link those studies here (2019) (2020) (2020). It is known that 70 percent of a dog’s body's serotonin production happens in its intestines. Serotonin is the key hormone in regulating mood, learning, and happiness. This helps explain why, if your dog's gut is not functioning properly or is weakened, then this will affect their personality.
Start with baby steps in the process of healing your dog’s gut. Introducing fresh food like veggies and whole grains while discovering what they like and will tolerate. Try adding more water to their dry food, as well as bone broth. Dr. Katie Woodley recommends when transitioning your dog onto a new diet; add 25% of new food to old food and do this for 3-5 days, then slowly increase the new food. As long as your dog doesn’t have any issues like diarrhea or vomiting. Pre and Probiotics are a good addition to any dog's diet. There are several strains and options. Remember every dog is different so which pre and probiotic your dog will tolerate or benefit from is very individual. So observe your dog's behavior and eliminations when transitioning to a new food.
Slow and steady is the key, with transitioning your dog's food. When healing the body through Holistic methods, it does take longer because holistic medicine usually heals the root problem. Therefore results are not immediate. So be patient and speak with your veterinarian if you have questions.