Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Changes in gut bacteria in dogs with chronic diarrhea and fiber
By Jia, Jie et al.·Published in FEMS microbiology ecology·2010·Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Investigation of the faecal microbiota associated with canine chronic diarrhoea.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with chronic diarrhea was studied to see how a special fiber supplement could help their gut health. The dogs were given this fiber for three weeks, and researchers found that it changed the types of bacteria in their poop. After the treatment, the dogs with diarrhea showed improvements in their gut bacteria, becoming more similar to healthy dogs. This suggests that adding fiber to their diet might help manage chronic diarrhea in dogs.
People also search for: dog chronic diarrhea treatment · fiber supplement for dogs · dog gut health improvement
Abstract
Diarrhoea is a common problem in dogs and can result in disturbance of the normal intestinal microbiota. However, little is known about the gastrointestinal microbiota of dogs with chronic diarrhoea and controlled canine studies of dietary management are scarce. The aims of this study were to investigate the predominant faecal microbiota of chronic diarrhoea dogs and to examine the effect(s) of a fibre blend on the canine faecal microbiota. A 3-week fibre supplementation feeding study was performed in nine chronic diarrhoea and eight control dogs. Atopobium cluster, Lactobacillus-Enterococcus group and Clostridium cluster XIV were the predominant bacterial groups in all dogs. Chronic diarrhoea dogs had significantly higher Bacteroides counts at baseline and significantly lower Atopobium cluster counts following fibre supplementation compared with control dogs. Atopobium cluster levels increased significantly in control dogs, while counts of sulphate-reducing bacteria decreased significantly and Clostridium clusters I and II counts increased significantly in chronic diarrhoea dogs during fibre supplementation. Microbial profiles (detected by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) demonstrated interindividual variation, with greater similarity seen between the chronic diarrhoea and control dogs' profiles after fibre supplementation compared with baseline. In conclusion, fibre supplementation induced changes in the canine faecal microbiota, with greater resemblance between the microbiota of chronic diarrhoea and control dogs after this dietary modulation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20002179/