Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High fiber diet for shelter dogs with large bowel diarrhea
By Lappin, Michael R et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2022·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Efficacy of feeding a diet containing a high concentration of mixed fiber sources for management of acute large bowel diarrhea in dogs in shelters.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 52 dogs in a shelter, suffering from acute large bowel diarrhea, were given either a high-fiber diet or a standard diet to see which helped their symptoms better. The dogs on the high-fiber diet showed significant improvement, with all of them having normal fecal scores by the time they were adopted, while only about half of those on the standard diet improved. This suggests that a diet rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber can effectively manage diarrhea in dogs.
People also search for: dog diarrhea treatment · high fiber diet for dogs · shelter dog diarrhea management
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Use of diets with increased concentrations of dietary fiber is thought to be beneficial in the management of dogs with large bowel diarrhea. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether feeding a diet with high concentrations of soluble and insoluble fiber to dogs with acute colitis would be superior to feeding a diet with typical fiber levels. ANIMALS: A total of 52 dogs with acute signs of large bowel diarrhea housed in an animal shelter were entered into the study; 11 dogs per diet completed the protocol. METHODS: In this randomized, prospective study, dogs with a fecal score of 4, 5, 6, or 7 and signs of acute colitis were fed a high fiber diet (4.54% soluble; 15.16% insoluble fiber) or a standard diet (0.6% soluble; 5.33% insoluble fiber) and fecal scores compared over the course of the study with significance defined as P < .05. RESULTS: All dogs fed the high fiber diet (11/11; 100%) had a fecal score <5 on the day of adoption or day 9, which was statistically different (P < .04) than dogs fed the standard diet (6/11 dogs; 55%; 95% CI: 23-83). The proportions of stools with a fecal score >4 were greater (P = .0001) in the dogs fed the standard diet (29/48 samples; 60%; 95% CI: 45-74) compared to the high fiber diet (8/50 samples; 16%; 95% CI: 7-29). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The results support feeding the high fiber diet described herein to dogs with acute large bowel diarrhea.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35174561/