Healthy gut, happy dog

Can your dog eat whatever it likes with no ill effect? Or do they have a somewhat more delicate digestive system? While most dogs will experience an occasional stomach upset, if it happens regularly, especially after eating, your dog may have a sensitive stomach.

So, what can you do?

For anything but mild symptoms, it’s always advisable to consult your vet for advice.  But you should also look at what you’re feeding your dog.

At Hoddy’s we’ve developed our delicious kibble to be suitable for the more sensitive eater (and for those that like to eat anything and everything in between!). We’ve opted to go grain free to aid digestion and using lean game meat can also be beneficial to sensitive stomachs. But we’ve got one step further.

You’ve probably heard of probiotics – the ‘friendly bacteria’ found in yoghurts and other foods and supplements? While these can be beneficial, friendly bacteria are naturally occurring and we think it’s important to help this good bacteria grow and overcome any bad bacteria in the gut. To do this we’ve added prebiotics which are types of fibre that feed the friendly bacteria in the digestive system. Prebiotics also aid optimal digestion by helping break down foods, avoiding constipation, and they also help with the absorption of certain nutrients.

The use of prebiotics in food is important for a healthy gut, with the good bacteria outnumbering the harmful bacteria. Well balanced gut bacteria can lead to many benefits, including the reduction of inflammation, allergies, better immunity – and a less sensitive stomach.