Digestion

Ask the average dog owner about fasting her dog and you may see her blanche at the very idea of making Skippy miss a meal. In a culture that is obsessed with food, it is easy to understand a conscientious dog owner’s reluctance to deliberately withhold sustenance. Yet many dog owners routinely do just that. We interviewed a number of dog owners who utilize fasting protocols in their feeding regimens. Some had more than 10 years of experience with periodic fasts, and some had started recently fasting their dogs only recently. Often, the fasting was used in conjunction with a natural diet.

If your dog normally has a good appetite, but suddenly stops eating his food, you should be concerned. However, if your dog is always a picky, slow eater, and he goes on strike for a meal or two, there is usually nothing urgent to be worried about.

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Some dogs love to eat acorns. But acorns are dangerous to dogs in a variety of ways including choking, gastrointestinal upset, and splintering.

Dramamine, a brand name for the drug dimenhydrinate, is an antihistamine that is used off-label in many dogs for vestibular problems, including carsickness and...

It may seem like dogs are immune to food poisoning, as they often eat things that would land us in the hospital. They are susceptible to many of the same pathogens that impact humans. In a healthy adult dog, a larger pathogen load is required to induce illness.

Bad breath, whether sudden or chronic, can be a sign of illness in dogs.

Digestion involves the balanced interaction of several biodynamic systems. A healthy animal ingests raw materials (food), changes these raw materials into usable nutrients, extracts from these nutrients the essentials for life and vitality, and excretes (in the form of feces) those substances that have not been digested or that weren’t utilized.

Dogs, like humans, can experience a variety of bodily functions that may seem unusual, and one such phenomenon is burping.

All dogs need digestive enzymes in order to break down their food, making the nutrients available for absorption. In most cases, the pancreas produces ample enzymes and no supplementation is required. Older dogs and dogs with digestive disorders may benefit from enzyme supplementation. Dogs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), where the pancreas is no longer able to produce enzymes, require prescription-strength enzymes in order to survive. Digestive enzymes might also help dogs with food allergies and intolerances.

There are several conditions that can cause blood in your dog’s urine. Let’s look at the different causes and how each one is diagnosed and treated.

The simplest, safest remedy for vomiting is one of the hardest: A 24-hour fast. (Note: This does not apply if your dog is a puppy or diabetic.) Not feeding your dog when he looks at you with those big, beautiful eyes is hard to resist.