Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
More fiber in diet helps dogs with chronic gut disease feel better
By Ford-Hrymak, Dana B et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2026·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Increased dietary fiber intake improves fecal and clinical activity scores in dogs with chronic enteropathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with chronic enteropathy (a digestive condition) had their diets changed to include more fiber to see if it would help their symptoms. After about 21 weeks, most of the dogs showed significant improvement in their stool quality and overall health scores. Specifically, 87.5% of the dogs had better stool scores, and 97% had improved clinical signs related to their condition. Increasing dietary fiber proved to be an effective way to manage the symptoms of chronic enteropathy in these dogs.
People also search for: dog chronic enteropathy diet · dog fiber for digestive health · improving dog stool quality
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether modification of dietary fiber could improve fecal score and clinical activity score in a population of dogs diagnosed with chronic enteropathy (CE). METHODS: This was a retrospective uncontrolled study of dogs with CE presenting to a nutrition service where increasing dietary fiber intake was the primary nutritional goal. Purina fecal score, canine inflammatory bowel disease activity index scores, and fiber concentrations (g/100 kcal) of diets fed at initial nutrition consult (baseline) and at follow-up were compared. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was used. RESULTS: 32 dogs were included. Median crude fiber and total dietary fiber increased from 0.6 g/100 kcal (range, 0.2 to 1.5 g/100 kcal) and 1.7 g/100 kcal (range, 0.4 to 2.8 g/100 kcal) at baseline to 1.8 g/100 kcal (range, 0.3 to 4.3 g/100 kcal) and 4.7 g/100 kcal (range, 2.1 to 7.1 g/100 kcal) at follow-up. Median time from baseline to follow-up was 21 weeks (range, 4 to 82 weeks). Purina fecal score decreased from baseline to follow-up with a median of 4.5 (range, 2 to 7) to 2 (range, 2 to 3), respectively (effect size, r = 0.82). Canine inflammatory bowel disease activity index scores decreased from baseline to follow-up with a median of 4.5 (range, 1 to 11) to 1 (range, 0 to 4), respectively (effect size, r = 0.86). At follow-up, 28 of 32 dogs (87.5%) had improved Purina fecal scores and 31 of 32 (97%) had improved canine inflammatory bowel disease activity index scores. CONCLUSIONS: Increased dietary fiber intake improved fecal and clinical activity scores in many dogs with CE. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In addition to other dietary food trial approaches commonly considered, veterinarians should utilize fiber to manage clinical signs of dogs with CE.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41962563/