How To Improve Your Dog’s Gut Health
Most often, when we think about our pet’s health, we simply think that giving them food that’s labeled as nutritious along with regular exercise would suffice.
However, one of the most overlooked aspects of a dog’s health is its gut health – a good gut means that his or her intestinal and digestive tracts are healthy, clean, and functioning normally.
If a dog’s gut health is not good, your pet could face a number of different issues – gas, bloating, diarrhea, immune system disorders, abdominal pain, bad breath, bladder infections, joint pain, and even lead to gastrointestinal cancer.
To avoid these issues and make sure that your dog never faces any discomfort in his or her stomach or any digestive issues in the future, it’s important to take all the necessary steps to keep your dog’s gut healthy. Without further ado, let’s dive right into this subject.
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1. Feed them a balanced diet
Most owners make the mistake of assuming that feeding their dogs meat will be enough to give them the nutrition they need.
However, overfeeding them on the same diet everyday can cause an imbalance in their gut, so it’s important to make sure that the diet you give them is wholesome and well-balanced.
It’s always a good idea to talk to your vet about the best kinds of foods and proper quantity you should be feeding your dog with, but you can also create a well-rounded diet using these pointers given below:
- Raw meat, organs, and bones.
- Certain vegetables and fruits.
- Bone broth.
- Dog food that contains high meat protein, animal fat, fenugreek, turmeric, and prebiotics.
2. Include probiotics in their diet
Probiotics can be given to all dogs to build their immunity and also maintain their gut health. They’re safe and natural, and won’t cause any side-effects for dogs if you give them the required dosage for their age.
Here are some of the reasons why you should give your dog probiotics, even if they seem healthy on the outside:
- Increases their immunity and protects them from harmful bacteria.
- Helps them fight intestinal infections and maintains their gut health, especially the balance of their healthy gut bacteria.
- Gives them extra nutrition.
- Helps improve food intake of elderly dogs.
- Lessens their chances of getting intestinal worms.
- Helps them have better oral health and hygiene.
- Improves their skin health as it has anti-inflammatory properties.
3. Give Dog’s regular exercise
Life today has become so fast-paced that people usually don’t even have time to exercise themselves, let alone their dogs. In the long run, a stagnant and lazy lifestyle can affect your dog’s health, including their gut health.
Depending on the age of your dog, you’ll need to give him or her the right amount of physical exercise on a daily basis.
Doing so will help them digest their food better, but will also curb the amount of cortisol their body creates, which in turn will lead to a stronger immune system.
A good diet and healthy dog food followed by regular exercise will ensure that your dog’s bowel movements are good, which in turn reduces the risk of stomach problems and bloating.
4. Avoid overusing antibiotics to Improve Your Dog’s Gut Health
Many owners readily put their dogs on strong medication to fix simple problems. This can not only cause an imbalance in their gut, but can also reduce the beneficial microbes that are necessary for a healthy gut.
Instead, try your best to fix any problems they may have through natural foods and medication. If all else fails, be sure to only use medication and antibiotics prescribed by your vet and avoid self-medication at all costs. This way, you’ll be able to cure your dog without messing up their gut’s health.
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