How Long Does It Take For Dogs to Digest Food?

Most dogs take 24 hours to digest food, but the time it takes a dog to digest food isnโ€™t based on when he poops.

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It may seem like the time it takes for a dog to digest his food is short. After all, puppies need to poop almost as soon as they finish dinner, which naturally places โ€œafter eatingโ€ on the puppy bathroom schedule.

In reality, itโ€™s not that fast. Gastrointestinal transit timeโ€”the veterinary term for how it takes for dogs to digest foodโ€”averages 24 hours. The time to digest food varies depending upon the dogโ€™s age, size, and the fiber and fat contents of the diet.

Puppies poop right after eating because, when a meal is consumed, nerves in the stomach wall sense the stomachโ€™s distension and communicate โ€œfull stomachโ€ status to the nerves in the colon, which activate the large intestinal contraction. This is why taking a puppy for a potty walk shortly after eating is a good idea. Caution: Avoid anything more than an easy walk for about two hours after a meal. Heavy exercise right after eating can cause life-threatening bloat (gastric dilation-volvulus, or GDV). Bloat occurs when food, water, or air fills overfills the stomach, causing it to twist. When a dog exercises heavily, he pants and ingests air, which adds to the stomachโ€™s contents and raises the risk of bloat.

How many times a day you should feed a dog depends upon the dogโ€™s adult size, age, physical health, and behavioral health. In general, a healthy dog does well on two meals, although some are fine with one meal. Certain dogs need multiple meals per day:

  • Young toy-breed puppies need food multiple times a day to avoid hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
  • Senior dogs are sometimes unable to eat larger meals
  • Large and giant breeds are at an increased risk of bloat
  • Diabetic dogs need meals associated with insulin injections
  • Dogs with bilious vomiting syndrome (vomiting bile due to irritated stomach linings) need multiple meals to prevent the stomach from being empty for longer periods of time
  • For dogs in training, multiple meals give you the chance to practice and reward with the dogโ€™s meal

If you suspect any health problems, or you have a toy or giant breed, discuss these factors with your veterinarian.

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