In our last blog post we explored the various causes of allergies and itching that your dog may be experiencing. Your dog’s itching can be due to pollen, a food intolerance, use of antibiotics, chemical flea preventatives, high starch and carbohydrate diets, or a combination of factors. 

Tip: Many dogs are sensitive to those scented candles you love, air fresheners and fragranced dog shampoos. 

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“About 90% to 95% of all dogs will have a skin problem at some point in their lives. At this very moment, about 15% of all dogs are feeling itchy, losing hair, flaking with dandruff, and so on.” 

– Dr. Adelia Ritchie, PhD 

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Aside from making your dog feel utterly miserable and stressing you out, excessive itching causes skin damage. Through scratching, small abrasions provide a home for bacteria and infections to take hold. It’s very easy for allergies to be the catalyst for infections like Malassezia Dermatitis (Yeast Dermatitis). 

Your dog’s microbiome 

Malassezia (yeast) is a naturally occurring microorganism that resides in small quantities on your dog’s skin and ears as part of a happy ecosystem. This ecosystem involves lots of different bacteria and yeast on the skin, keeping each other in balance. Other similar ecosystems inside your dog’s body, like the gut, are home to Candida, a yeast that helps digest your dog’s food. These microbiomes can be delicate and need to maintain a perfect balance of good bacteria and yeast to function optimally. 

What is a yeast infection? 

Humidity, heat, allergies, and a compromised immune system all create the ideal environment for yeast to thrive. Malassezia particularly favours areas such as the ear canal, paws, armpits, tail, belly, backside and skin folds. The overgrowth of Malassezia leads to a rather itchy and uncomfortable yeast infection – Malassezia dermatitis.

Common symptoms of yeast infections include persistent itching, redness, inflamed skin, a ‘yeasty’ corn chip odour, dark discharge from the ear, greasy or flaky skin. Another thing to check for is the presence of tiny dark speckles on your dog’s skin. Breeds with more skin folds such as bulldogs or pugs are particularly susceptible to this type of skin infection. 

How do I treat my dog’s yeast infection? 

It is essential to look for the root cause of the itching, and not just treat symptoms with medications. Otherwise you are simply putting a bandaid on the problem, without ever resolving it. Consult your vet if you do believe your dog has an undiagnosed infection or disease. It is equally important to consider holistic factors, like gut health and the impact of diet, which are often overlooked. 

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“The most common reason for a dog to develop a yeast infection is an unhappy skin or gut biome” 

– Dr. Conor Brady, PhD 

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Our top tip? 

Goodbye kibble, hello raw meat. Switching to a raw diet can be a game-changer when it comes to addressing your dog’s skin issues, allergies, and yeast imbalances. Raw diets rich in high-quality proteins, healthy fats and essential nutrients help promote optimal gut health and strengthen your dog’s immune system. 

By eliminating highly processed ingredients, starchy carbohydrates and potential allergens found in commercial kibble, you reduce the risk of triggering reactions. Moreover, a raw diet can help restore the balance of beneficial bacteria in your dog’s microbiomes – crucial for controlling yeast overgrowth. The natural enzymes and probiotics in raw foods can aid in digestion and nutrient absorption, leading to improved overall well-being. Remember – what we see externally is a reflection of what’s going on inside with your dog’s health. 

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“Remove all high carbohydrates, chemically preserved dry food and treats from your dog’s life. Give your pet a fresh meat and bone diet, free of carbs/sugar. Do not compromise your dog’s gut flora or immune system with anything else.”

– Dr. Conor Brady, PhD 

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The Butcher’s Dog’s Kangaroo and Veg is a novel, single protein, low fat hypoallergenic meal suitable for dogs with suspected food sensitivities, or skin allergies. If your dog has sensitivities to beef or chicken, the Turkey and Veg is another excellent alternative with a more mild flavour. 

So much of our dogs’ immune response relies on maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. You can see why we place so much emphasis on your pup’s diet. It is probably the single biggest factor you alone can influence, so they can enjoy a comfortable and itch-free life. 

Read more about your dog’s gut in this post here, by Pet Nutritionist Clare Kearney.

As the days get longer and the weather warms up, the wattle starts to bloom and those of us with springtime allergies start to feel the dreaded itch at the back of the throat. Similarly, our dogs may start to scratch more than usual, lick their paws, rub their eyes and shake their ears.

For all its magical, sunny afternoons, Spring can be a battleground for those of us who suffer seasonal allergies, and even more so for our animals who can’t tell us what is causing theirs. Because while for us it’s usually a pretty clear cut case of pollen being the culprit, dog “allergies” may worsen in the springtime, but can be caused by a number of underlying issues that are present year round.

In fact, we are hearing more and more from pet owners that their dogs have food allergies. Dr Conor Brady shares in his Feeding Dogs book that in actuality “A food allergy is rare (1-3% of the dog population). It is the inappropriate response by the body to  an everyday allergen. It’s sudden, dramatic, very serious and involves the IgE antibody. It happens in the blood”1

Food intolerance is far more common (we’ll go into more details further below).

What about the products that are “designed” to protect our pets?

Other causes of these ‘allergic symptoms’ can be attributed to a dogs response to over vaccination and too many chemicals like tick and flea treatment preventatives. 

Vaccine bases are derived from chicken embryos and bovine (cow) which we start to give to puppies at a very young age, and then continue annually for many dogs. Now the nature of the vaccines is that they are designed to set up an immune response, so unsurprisingly many dogs end up with chicken or beef allergies. The body has been ‘taught’ to recognise it as a foreign invader and inflammation occurs as a result.

Then there are the combined treatments (for the convenience for us pet owners) that cover everything from heartworm, intestinal worms, fleas and ticks that are being given every few weeks. Just consider the amount of man-made chemicals that are bombarding the dog’s natural immune system and microbiome.

We are not saying you shouldn’t use these to help protect, just to be aware how often you are using them and if you are using it year round “just in case” as opposed to using it when the season comes around.

Being aware (if you can be) of what chemicals have been used on public grass areas is important. Take notice of council notification when weeding of a dog park is being planned as the chemical sprays and fertilisers used on lawns, parks and gardens can cause reactions or irritation to the skin when our dogs are rolling around on the grass. Smaller breeds can suffer more due to their undercarriage being much lower to the ground. 

Of course some dogs are primarily irritated by pollen, much like we are, but others experience issues that are a bit more complex. Some dogs can be allergic to particular grass varieties, which is a terribly challenging problem to have and typically involves lots of wiping down paws and, sadly, avoiding grassy play as much as possible. Naturally this worsens in Spring, but grass allergies can also be exacerbated by an inflammatory diet and, ironically, overuse of medications intended to treat it.

Other causes of allergy-like symptoms?

An inflammatory diet is a common cause of an itchy dog, regardless of the time of year, and is often mistaken for a food allergy. While true food allergies are quite rare and are generally not caused by eating certain foods (rather, eating certain foods triggers an acute allergic reaction), an inflammatory diet can burden the system over time and may present in a number of ways, such as a sudden or gradual intolerance to certain foods, persistent digestive upset, dull or greasy coat, rashes and constant scratching, inflamed paws and paw licking, gunky eyes and irritated ears.

How to determine if it’s an allergy or intolerance

There is considerable overlap between the symptoms of true allergies, intolerance and stress caused by an inflammatory diet, and working out what you are dealing with is half the battle. True allergies can be tested for, but these tests are expensive and not always accurate. A full elimination diet over several months is the best way to get to the bottom of a suspected food allergy or intolerance. If you’re able to determine the source of a true allergy, the solution is fairly straightforward; you must avoid that food forever.

If your dog is experiencing some of these symptoms but has previously eaten similar foods without any major issues, you are likely dealing with inflammation or a food intolerance (or both). 

An imbalance of Omega 3 and Omega 6 can cause inflammation

One cause of inflammation in the body that is related to diet is an unbalanced ratio of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. While both of these fats are essential and deficiencies of either can cause serious health issues, in reality the modern diet (both human and canine) is overflowing with omega 6 and low in omega 3. This is a problem because, when present in excess, omega 6 has inflammatory properties, whereas omega 3 is anti-inflammatory.

Processed dog foods are generally upwards of 50% grain or legume based, neither of which contain digestible omega 3 for dogs, but DO contain absolutely loads of omega 6. Meat in these foods generally comes in the form of meat meal which has been heat treated to the point any natural fat is rendered off and must be added back in later during the cooking process. These fats oxidise and goes rancid quickly, meaning the added omega 3 in processed dog food may actually be doing more harm than it is good. 

This issue of poorly balanced fatty acids is compounded when we look at modern farming methods. Chicken – a common scapegoat for all things inflammation – is naturally higher in omega 6 (and it always has been). However, chickens of the past would have scavenged on pasture for insects and grasses that contain a balanced fatty acid ratio, whereas now they typically eat food based on ingredients like corn, wheat and soybean meal, all of which are loaded with omega 6. 

How a leaky gut can impact on allergies and intolerances

Another major factor linked to allergies or intolerances is intestinal permeability or hyperpermeability. The wall of our intestines have tight junctions that prevent unwanted or harmful substances from passing through into the bloodstream, while allowing water and nutrients to cross over. If the intestinal wall has increased or hyperpermeability, bacteria, toxins and even food proteins may enter the bloodstream and cause inflammation or an immune response. This is often referred to as Leaky Gut Syndrome and has been linked to conditions such as Crohn’s Disease, Coeliac Disease, food allergies, IBS and even diabetes.

This is a bit of a chicken and the egg situation in the sense that individuals with these conditions have been observed to have increased intestinal permeability, but the condition is not necessarily caused by it; in many cases it is the other way around and it is these conditions that compromise the integrity of the intestinal wall. But in some cases it’s both. For example, food allergies can cause increased intestinal permeability or leaky gut, which then leads to food proteins entering the bloodstream and causing an immune response, leading to additional food allergies. 

Similarly, a poor diet can lead to poor gut health, which is linked to intestinal permeability or leaky gut, thus resulting in the manifestation of food allergies triggered by proteins entering the bloodstream. In this case it’s not necessarily the protein (eg. chicken) that caused the food allergy, but rather repeated feeding of a highly processed and unsuitable food containing chicken led to the circumstances that resulted in a food allergy.

Medication can lead to a leaky gut

Another cyclical trigger for leaky gut can be the repeated use of anti-inflammatory drugs, which are often prescribed to treat “allergies.” These have been studied and definitively linked to increased intestinal permeability[1], meaning that it’s essential to try and break the cycle of medication and treat the underlying cause of the inflammation if we are to have any success in resolving it long term.

How to heal a leaky gut

Depending on the severity, these reactions can often be reversed by healing the gut and transitioning to an anti-inflammatory diet (such as The Butcher’s Dog), loaded with digestible proteins, antioxidants, pre and probiotics, and omega 3 fatty acids. If an allergy has taken hold, unfortunately you will need to avoid that protein forever, but this is relatively rare. In some cases it can take some time to reverse the damage and restore the integrity of the intestinal walls, but this can be achieved with patience, good food and support from some gut health targeted supplements. Fortunately, in our experience it’s extremely common that dogs with these symptoms who are eating a processed diet simply get better once the food is changed to a natural, nutritious, species appropriate diet. So enjoy the sunshine, but avoid the temptation to reach for the anti-inflammatories at the first sign of springtime allergies.

 HANDY TIPS! 

• Dogs can take a human anti allergy tablet like claritine for seasonal allergy
• Betadine foot baths are great for dogs who chew their paws or have grass allergies.

[1] Brady, C., ed. (2020) Feeding Dogs. London: Farrow Road Publishing

[2] https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-008-2266-6

Dog treats can be an enjoyable part of your pet’s routine, enhancing training and strengthening your bond. Dogs absolutely love them and they are a fantastic tool when selected wisely. And my goodness they’re great to ease dog parent guilt! How many of us fill up a KONG or hide treats around the house as entertainment because we feel bad when leaving them at home?

The Healthy Treat Hunt

Unfortunately the market is flooded with a plethora of dog treats, ranging from wholesome, natural options to those filled with sugar to disguise the bitter taste of poor quality ingredients and make them more palatable and addictive to your dog. These artificial options can be filled with empty calories and chemicals, all in the name of rewarding your dog. As with our own diets, it’s important to carefully consider the choices we make when it comes to dog treats. 

Reading ingredient labels is essential to make informed choices. If a treat sounds like a science experiment, it’s probably not the best choice for your pup. A long ingredient list does not equal better quality. 

Look for products that are made in Australia and contain naturally occurring ingredients such as bone, organs, dried meats and vegetables. Be wary that some treats contain preservatives, chemicals and sugars that can have nasty (and windy) effects on your dog’s tummy. This can often be the case in treats imported from overseas as they are processed in ways we don’t allow here. Look for treats that use 100% Australian meat and ingredients, with no chemical additives and preservatives.

Training with Treats.

Treats are particularly helpful during training sessions to reinforce that good habit and encourage them to repeat it in the future. Puppy training would be even harder without them! However, do be mindful of the portion size to avoid overloading their calorie intake. Many dog parents use a breakable treat such as Liver, as it can be broken into tiny pieces – better for the dog and your wallet! And it’s a bonus because your dog should have liver in its diet – it’s like a multivitamin and many dogs prefer it in the air dried form.

Fussy dog?

Beware of Overindulgence.

Too many treats is often the primary reason for “fussy dogs” at meal times. If your dog isn’t enthusiastic about its food at meal times, consider how many snacks they are getting. 

The stuff that’s hard to hear.

While treats have numerous benefits, overindulgence can lead to detrimental effects and excessive treats can lead to weight gain, digestive problems, and those finicky eating habits.

Remember that treats should only constitute a small portion of your dog’s overall diet. A general rule of thumb is that treats should make up no more than 10% of their daily calorie intake. It’s important to prioritise your dog’s main meal portions, to ensure they are getting the nutrients they need. If your dog seems to lose interest in their food, it may be because they have had too many treats in the day. 

The ones to avoid.

• Synthetic bone substitutes such as raw hides contain toxic chemicals that are used in the manufacturing process
• Brightly coloured green chews are full of dyes and synthetic ingredients
• Deer antlers can break your dog’s teeth if they’re a vigorous chewer
• Basted, smoked and decoratively tinted treats are full of nasties! 

New to dog treats or looking to add some variety to your dog’s snacks? The Butcher’s Dog has created a range of meat treats, air-dried to retain flavour and nutrition for your dog. The Kangaroo Tail and Beef Spare Ribs make for great dental treats that can help clean plaque from your dog’s teeth and gums as they chew. For training treats, try Lamb Crumble or Liver which can be broken down into appropriately-sized pieces. Like with their food, your dog will enjoy a variety of flavours and textures, so keep a few different treats on hand. 

Our top treat tip : Only feed treats that would naturally be part of your dog’s diet and then try and stick to the 10% treat rule.

Kibble – reading labels, what really goes in it?

In fact, given that you’re probably not an “expert” on pet food, as I suppose I sort of am, this may well have happened to you many times. The fact that it does still happen to me every now and then is testament to just how easy it is to be led down the garden path by canny processed pet food producers, experts of marketing spin.

So, while I do still occasionally, albeit briefly, fall for their marketing sorcery, I have learned a good few tricks along the way to work out what you’re reading, from very basic pointers, to the level of semi-professional label reader. And through doing this, as well as by asking companies lots of questions, by reading Australian Standards from cover to cover, and by heavily researching the topic to the point that it’s actually a bit embarrassing how much I know about processed pet food, I feel quite well placed to explain a few things about it.

Check the ingredients on the pack:

Some kibbles do not even list or name the specific protein they use. Processed dog food is almost always centred around a main animal protein, and we’re led to believe it is brimming with juicy chicken breasts and shiny salmon fillets, as per the glossy photos on the bag, but the reality is quite different.

Although you absolutely should expect to see meat as the first ingredient in any dog food product, there is a little more to it than that. If a company does not name the specific protein they use, this is a big, big red flag. If a business cannot even tell you what animal the meat comes from, there is no possible way they can tell you anything resembling genuine transparency around the supply chain this meat came from, prior to ending up in their food.

There is also a big difference between “meat” and “meat meal.” One is 75% water, the other is basically devoid of any moisture. So while the idea of “meat meal” might horrify you (more on that in a minute), it is almost guaranteed that a food that lists meat meal at the front of their ingredients list actually contains a lot more animal protein than one that lists “meat” in its whole form. This is because ingredients lists are required to be listed by weight, meaning an ingredient that is 75% water is going be far heavier than an ingredient with no water, despite the fact that this water is all removed during the cooking process. Tricky.

What the heck is meat meal?

Meat meal is a shelf stable meat powder that is made from rendering meat and bones not fit for human consumption. It is the same process that is used to separate tallow for making things like soap, whereby the fat and water is split from the meat using very high temperatures. According to their own website, The Rendering Association considers themselves to be a recycling service, above all else, and they acknowledge that plastic ear tags are not removed from heads of livestock before they are rendered to be turned into pet food.

Ingredient splitting is a trick:

Sometimes we see both meat AND meat meal, and this is because of a little thing called ingredient splitting. The function of ingredient splitting is to give the illusion of more protein. In the case of splitting say, chicken, into a fresh version and a dry version, the result is that now it appears twice and, to the untrained eye, looks to be much higher in chicken content (perhaps twice as much) than it really is. When actually it is just water weight and no additional chicken.

The reverse is true of less desirable ingredients like, for example, legumes. Splitting in this context enables low nutritional ‘fillers’ to appear smaller in weight to the so-called core protein. Often we will see as many as four or five different beans and peas, the nutritional value and function of which are incredibly similar, at least in this context. The reason for this is that each serve of the 5 different beans weighs significantly less than the sum total, and also less than the meat ingredient in number one position.

How much ‘meat’ is really in there?

We aren’t meant to know! More than likely, if you see multiple very similar ingredients they have been selected strategically so that meat is the first ingredient. You may also see the same ingredient in a few different forms. This is common of things like peas, which may appear as “peas,” as well as things like pea protein and pea flour. All peas. Lotsa peas.

According to the Australian Renderers Association, as well as pet food industry insiders I’ve personally spoken to, it is typical for kibble to contain around 20% meat meal or less, and high end ones cap out at around 30%. This is partly due to the high bone content of meat meal, as well as other things like cost and the functional necessity for starches to tie the ingredients together.

What about all those carbs?

It’s not at all unusual for a dry pet food to be more than half carbohydrate based ingredients, like grains and legumes, which is necessary to form the biscuit dough. This is incredibly high, keeping in mind that dogs and cats have no mandated carbohydrate requirement at all.

The problem with starchy carbs is they quickly break down into simple sugars that enter the bloodstream, spiking blood sugar levels. This triggers the pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that tells our cells to absorb the blood glucose for energy. Because this all happens very quickly with highly processed and high GI carbs, dogs can feel hungry more quickly, while also storing excess glucose as fat and over time risking diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Yeast infections and cancer both love sugar too, so the danger here speaks for itself.

What about all the so-called ‘superfoods’ and ‘vitamins’?

Aside from some additional fats (all the fat is removed from the meat meal, remember), kibbles contain artificial flavours (because there is no natural taste, and to make it smell nicer to us), and minuscule amounts of ‘superfoods’ (which sound amazing in the advertising), and a vitamin and mineral premix.

Is it complete and balanced?

Where vitamins or superfood quantities are so small, they don’t even register as a percentage. As a guide, if they are below salt on the packaging, this means less than 1%.

These vitamins and minerals are usually cheap oxides, sulphates and other inorganic synthetics, rather than actual nutrients as they appear in nature, or even high quality isolates. The bioavailability of these is questionable, but studies have shown they are poorly utilised compared to higher quality synthetics, let alone nutrients in actual food. These synthetic nutrient supplements are essential to meet the required nutrient levels in the standards set out by the powers that be, because the repeated high heat treatment that processed food undergoes degrades any actual nutrients so severely they are largely absent. Importantly, it also enables manufacturers to use the term, ‘Complete and Balanced’…

Once all of these ingredients are mixed into a dough, it is then pushed through an extruder, which uses heat and forms the biscuit shapes. It is then cooked, and often cooked again, before being sprayed with flavours.

The end result is a product that can sit on the shelf for years before your dog eats it. There is no requirement to state a date of production, only a batch ID that is meaningless to consumers, and a used by date. Due to the self regulated nature of the Australian pet food industry, as well as the seriously relaxed guidelines in the Australian Standard that governs the marketing of its products, the label on a bag of food can be designed in a way that conceals much of what we’ve just discussed.

But the packaging looks great!

Bags often contain images of foods so premium we might eat them ourselves, emblazoned with a featured animal protein name, and sometimes even a bold claim of as much as 70 or 80% meat. When the reality is that this number includes a ‘rehydration factor’ of x4…remembering they can call meat meal ‘meat’.

These marketing tactics are governed by the voluntary Australian Standard for the Manufacture and Marketing of Pet Food (AS5812), and it acknowledges that dry pet foods are “typically cereal based.” Despite this, the standard permits food to be named after a meat protein while only containing as little as 5% of the named protein, and it doesn’t actually have to even be the main meat protein if the word “with” comes beforehand. If you’ve noticed the recent trend of referring to a food as being with REAL beef, this is why. The “real” is a distraction from the “with” – because really, what other sort of beef would it be?? This standard also states that “justification of content claims, when using dehydrated ingredients, shall be calculated on a reconstituted basis using a recognised conversion factor.” In layman’s terms, what this means is that a claim such as “contains 70% meat,” will have had a rehydration factor of x4 applied to any dry meat ingredients, meaning that in fact it contains only 17.5% of a highly processed and heat treated scrap meat powder. It is totally permitted, arguably encouraged or even mandatory, for them to multiply this portion by 4 and advertise a hypothetical rehydrated percentage, even though it never actually existed in this food.

This would be sort of ok with me if everything was calculated using rehydration factors and we were comparing apples with apples. But they’re not.

And that brings us to the nutrient panel. You’d be forgiven for looking at the nutrient panel on a bag of kibble and thinking “26% protein! Amazing.” But what we need to remember here is that this percentage refers to the finished, dry product, so it is a very concentrated figure on account of all the water having been removed – as opposed to the claim on the front, which has had all the water added back in using “rehydration factors”. These companies pick and choose how they will inflate figures in the way that best suits them and makes their product look better, and as a result risk totally deceiving consumers. Best of both worlds, eh?
Because it is not normal for food to be completely dry, these nutrient panel values are not really comparable to what we are used to seeing. As a result, they often seem high, while actually being very low. While a fresh meat product might advertise a seemingly meagre 15% protein, the dry matter equivalent of this (ie. the percentage of protein once all water is removed) may be as high as 50%. Almost double the actual protein content of the processed food. Another thing to note is that there is no requirement to list a carbohydrate percentage, so most pet food brands choose not to, and many will decline to tell you if you ask (which I did, many times).
There is much more I could say on this topic, but the key point to takeaway is that these foods are almost always labelled and marketed in a way that intentionally has pet owners in a tail spin trying to navigate them, when ultimately the vast majority are extremely similar.

In summary:

The lack of transparency in the processed pet food industry is something I find deeply problematic, and is compounded by a complete lack of mandatory regulations. A few things are certain though; these foods are all made from ingredients that are totally unsuitable for dogs, they are all heavily processed and repeatedly exposed to high temperatures, they are all supplemented with synthetic vitamins and minerals in order to show they contain ‘adequate nutrition’, and they are all permitted to sit on a shelf for as long as 18 months before being fed to your pet.

No amount of labelling gymnastics will change these facts, and this is really all you need to know.

(In this article I refer to “processed pet food,” “dry dog food” and “kibble”, by which I mean the typical, biscuit based dog food that we find at the supermarket.)

The importance of gut health

By now, those of us with even a passing interest in nutrition have no doubt heard the expression “gut health.” If you’re a regular visitor to this blog, you’ve probably read about it here or heard me talk about pre and probiotics. It has become so entrenched in the vernacular of nutrition – both animal and our own – that we tend to gloss over it as simply a necessity, without paying too much attention to the details.

When we talk about “the gut” in gut health, it’s not just the tummy or stomach that we’re referring to. The gut incorporates the entire gastrointestinal tract, which begins at the mouth and goes all the way through the body to the bum. It incorporates a good portion of the body’s organs and it is responsible for some very critical bodily functions, which is why it’s SO important that we ensure its health. The primary job of the gut is to digest food, breaking it down into a form that can deliver nutrients to the bloodstream. Pretty straightforward, right?

But within the gut is the gut microbiome. This is an ecosystem of trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria – both good and bad – fungi, viruses, and other microscopic critters that reside mainly in the large intestine. They also live in other parts of the body, such as in the mouth, on the skin, and even in the vagina. These good bacteria are what we mean when we say probiotics. And the good ones don’t just help to digest food and absorb or produce nutrients – they play an important role in fighting infections such as dental disease, food poisoning, or urinary tract infections, they assist with regulating weight, they play an essential role in the health of the immune system, and they can even affect mental health, the heart and the likelihood of developing diabetes.

Gut bacteria assists with regulating weight and can influence the onset of diabetes.

When the bacteria in the gut is in balance, the presence of good bacteria outnumbers bad and is sufficient to defend against illness and disease. If the gut is out of balance – or experiencing dysbiosis – it can mean there has been a loss of “good” bacteria, an overgrowth of “bad” bacteria or a reduction in the diversity of the microbes in the gut (or a combination of all three).

The more diversity present in the gut microbiome, the greater the positive influence on health, and especially intestinal health. Numerous studies (in humans) have linked gut dysbiosis to inflammatory intestinal conditions such as IBS, and a 2017 study on dogs also linked gut microbiome diversity with intestinal health. Immune cells also live in the gut, with as much as 70-80% of the immune system thought to reside here, so its role in health really can’t be understated.

The gut microbiome develops very early in life, possibly even in the womb, and the health of the gut may be impacted by many factors, including some we have no control of, like genetics, whether the birth is vaginal or by cesarean, or whether we (or our dog) are breastfed. The health of a mother’s gut microbiome likely informs the benefits obtained through birth and breastfeeding, as well as in utero development of the microbiome.

There are also lifestyle factors that we have limited control over and which impact the health of the microbiome, such as environmental toxins, and essential medications like antibiotics in times of illness. But then there are lifestyle things we can do to improve or preserve the health of the gut, and (unsurprisingly) my favorite one is diet.

The single best way to support the health of the gut is to feed a diet of fresh, living nutrients, that suits the digestive capability of your pet.

This food will be naturally brimming with probiotic goodness and digestive enzymes that will aid the digestive process, but they also offer bigger-picture benefits. A diverse and varied diet, as opposed to a monotonous processed diet, offers a wide variety of different strains of probiotics (like the Lactobacillus acidophilus made famous by yogurt commercials in the 90s), which builds diversity in the microbiome. Fresh foods that suit the carnivorous mouth of our pets (like meaty bones) provide a defense that helps to prevent pathogenic bacteria from building up in the mouth, unlike starchy foods that offer no dental or bacteria-fighting benefits.

As we discussed in this post, preventing dental disease is integral to preventing disease all through the body.

Heavily processed foods that are repeatedly heat treated and sit on shelves for months simply cannot offer the same living enzymes and good bacteria as fresh foods.

While some are targeted to intestinal health, they are still brimming with heavily processed, unsuitable ingredients and synthetic nutrients, they offer no comparable dietary diversity and they are cooked within an inch of their life (or arguably beyond it, RIP). It simply does not pass the test of common sense that such food could be offering a positive impact on the health of our pet’s oh so important gut, and the ever-increasing amount of kibble fed dogs with IBS, skin conditions, ear infections, yeast infections, gas, and cancer frankly make it a hard sell for me. And in fact, a study conducted in 2017 that compared kibble-fed and raw-fed dogs found that bacteria associated with diarrhea and irritable bowel disorder was higher in kibble-fed dogs, while raw the fed dogs experienced “improved apparent protein and energy digestibility, reduced fecal weight and better fecal consistency.”

With the ever-increasing amount of kibble-fed dogs with IBS, skin conditions, ear infections, yeast infections, gas, and cancer, frankly kibble is a hard sell for me.

The gut microbiota can change very quickly—as fast as a matter of just days from dietary changes—but this doesn’t necessarily mean that poor gut health is an easy fix. It’s not uncommon for people to try fresh foods and find they don’t help, or sometimes even seem to make things worse, so they quickly revert back to processed food and things stabilize. Anyone who has ever eaten a whole foods diet and then a meal from McDonald’s (or a beige diet and then a plate of broccoli) will be able to attest that sudden, major dietary changes are not pleasant. Regardless of their health status, if your dog has a gut microbiome that is optimized (and I use that word loosely) to digest a carbohydrate-based kibble, it will look very different to a dog whose microbiome is optimized to digest raw meat. If you add to this gut dysbiosis or even leaky gut syndrome (a condition where the lining of the gut is degraded and allows particles of food into the bloodstream, triggering an inflammatory response), you are probably facing a little bit of a battle to restore equilibrium, and this will take time. Please don’t give up.

There are things we can do to make this process go more smoothly, and a big one is to go slowly. Another is to offer things in the diet that are specially targeted to gut health, such as fermented foods. Fermented foods are ancient remedies that we can either make at home, or buy in the form of doggy-safe choices like sauerkraut and other facto-fermented veggies, kefir, or raw dairy like goat’s milk (this isn’t actually fermented, but loaded with the good stuff nonetheless). These can be paired with prebiotics for rest results, which are indigestible fibers that feed the good bacteria in the gut, helping them to stay alive, grow and multiply.

Prebiotics generally come from plants, and some good choices are listed in this post here.

Alternatively, The Butcher’s Dog stocks a range of biologically appropriate probiotic supplements for dogs.

If you suspect your dog’s gut health does need an overhaul, they may require a course of probiotic supplements to restore the equilibrium.

Some areas that can be affected by poor gut health or indicators that your dog’s gut health may not be as good as it could be, include skin conditions, dull fur, really “doggy” smell, excess shedding, greasy coat, itchiness, tummy issues, bad breath, diarrhea, joint pain, poor immune system, food intolerances, yeast infections, recurring UTIs, IBS, and even behavioral issues.

Probiotics also don’t just come from food. They are present in the soil, in the grass, in puddles, even in the poo of other animals, which explains why some dogs insist on eating it. While I definitely don’t recommend coprophagia as a strategy for good gut health, it does sort of explain why some dogs participate in this pretty gross habit. What I do recommend is that we trust our pet’s instincts and let them be dogs, by allowing them to obtain the enormous health benefits of a species-appropriate, fresh diet that supports the health of their microbiome.

And dig, roll in the grass, drink out of puddles. Be good, healthy dogs.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3829625/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26358192/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25662751/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4734998/
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28191884/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4202342/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4523847/
8. https://peerj.com/articles/3019/#