Are your Dog’s Bad Habits Stomach Churning?

Dogs are naturally curious scavengers. That can mean that they sniff out and eat all sorts of things they shouldn’t - spoiled food, decomposing carcasses, discarded human snacks and even often other animals’ poop.

Not surprisingly, these bad habits can lead to tummy trouble with vomiting and diarrhoea the most likely consequences. While sickness or things like bloody or watery dog poop are distressing to both dog and owner, these signs usually pass relatively quickly. If your dog likes to cruise the local rubbish bins or keeps its nose to the kerb in the hope of snatching a tasty morsel, you may have to take action, as this kind of scavenging could be a trigger for all sorts of digestive disorders. Using a basket muzzle or working on your dog’s recall can make a big difference.

Feeding a good quality pet food, keeping to a routine and controlling the amount you feed, can all help when it comes to maintaining the health of the gastrointestinal system.

Some dogs’ digestive upsets become more of a long term problem. This could be due to any number of things such as a food intolerance, inflammatory bowel disease or another disease such as a liver issue that also causes digestive upsets. For dogs with these longer term problems it may be possible to keep their digestive function controlled by feeding a specially formulated Hill’s Prescription Diet product appropriate to their condition. Ask your vet to recommend the food that is most suitable to manage your pet’s digestive disorder or underlying problem.

Reviewed by Dr. Hein Meyer, DVM, PhD, Dipl-ECVIM-CA and Dr. Emma Milne BVSc FRCVS