Your Dog and Constipation

Your Dog and Constipation

Your Dog and Constipation

Some of the great heroes of world literature have an intimate familiarity with dung. "Sign" is the old hunter's term for animal droppings; an experienced hunter could learn to judge the age and state of the droppings, and from that deduce the distance and condition of his prey. Which means that the great trackers of legend - from Orion in the Greek myths to Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, from James Fenimore Cooper's Hawkeye to the X-Men's Wolverine - have all spent a lot of time on their hands and knees, sniffing and examining things that you or I would step around, should we find them in our paths. Now, most of us will never get quite so up close and personal with pet waste. Most of us will never need to. Still, a little attention to your pet's bathroom habits can reveal information vital to his overall health.

Stop Ahead

When looking at a dog's digestion, urinary habits send health signals that are sometimes complex. Problems with defecation, though, tend to be more straightforward. Most dogs suffer from constipation occasionally throughout their lives. Occasional constipation may be brought on by

changes in diet

insufficient exercise

side effects of medication

ingestion of non-food items such as hair and bones

Occasional constipation tends to resolve itself with time, sometimes with resort to stool softeners. Long-term constipation, though, may lead to obstipation, or inability to move the bowels, and intestinal blockages. In some cases, intestinal blockages can become so severe that they require surgical intervention to remove.

Starting Up the System

If your dog suffers from periodic constipation, these three keys to healthy digestion can prevent the problem from escalating:

plenty of water

sufficient exercise

a diet with at least 10% fiber

The first two are self-explanatory But judging your dog's fiber intake can be tricky, if you're not an expert in reading pet food labels. If you suspect your pet's diet is not providing sufficient fiber, try mixing few tablespoons of bran or plain pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) into your dog's wet food; it's a quick and easy way to bulk up his fiber intake, and the results will be simple to judge.

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