Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How different diets affect healthy adult dogs' gut bacteria
By Oba, Patrícia M et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·Department of Animal Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of diet type on the core fecal bacterial taxa and the dysbiosis index of healthy adult dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how different diets affect the gut bacteria in healthy adult dogs. Researchers compared dogs eating commercial kibble to those on fresh, human-grade diets. They found that dogs on fresh diets had a healthier balance of gut bacteria and a better dysbiosis index (a measure of gut health) compared to those on kibble. While both diet types showed some differences in gut bacteria, most dogs still had normal gut health scores. This suggests that diet can influence gut bacteria, and fresh diets may support better gut health in dogs.
People also search for: dog gut health diet · fresh food vs kibble for dogs · how diet affects dog microbiome
Abstract
There is great interest in studying the canine gastrointestinal microbiome. In healthy dogs versus those with acute and chronic enteropathies, specific bacterial taxa have been identified that are consistently associated with shifts in the microbiome. A qPCR-based dysbiosis index (DI) that assesses microbiome shifts was developed based on a subset of these taxa. Because most dogs consume kibble diets, published data on core bacteria and the DI were largely derived from dogs consuming that diet form. Because dietary composition impacts the microbiome, it was unknown whether data from dogs consuming other diet types would adhere to reported core taxa abundance and DI guidelines. The study's aim was to determine the fecal abundance of core bacteria and DI of dogs fed commercially available kibble vs. mildly-cooked human-grade (fresh) diets. Fecal samples collected from adult dogs across four experiments were used (4 kibble diets, = 10-12/treatment; 4 fresh diets, = 10-24/treatment). Moderate correlations were observed between total dietary fiber (TDF) and(positive correlation),(negative), and DI (negative). Dietary protein was correlated with fecal(negative), while dietary fat was correlated with fecalandabundance (both positive). Dogs fed fresh diets exhibited higher ( < 0.01) abundances of,, and, while those fed kibble diets had higher ( < 0.05) abundances of,, and. Dogs fed fresh diets had a greater ( < 0.0001) DI, but the majority of scores remained within the normal range. Dogs fed animal protein-based kibble diets had higher ( < 0.05) fecaland, while dogs fed animal protein-based fresh diets had higher ( < 0.05),, and.andwere more abundant ( < 0.01) in dogs fed animal protein-based kibble and plant protein-based fresh diets. Dogs fed animal protein-based fresh diets had a greater ( < 0.0001) DI. Even though microbiota populations were statistically different among diets, all mean DI were <0, with only a few individual dogs consuming fresh diets having DI >0 (5 dogs >0; 1 dog >2). Overall, these data demonstrate the utility of the DI across different diet types in healthy dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40661167/