Mary Allen
Not only do humans have heartburn, but even a dog can also suffer from acidification of the stomach contents. Here you can find out how to recognize and treat heartburn in dogs.
Heartburn is an over-acidification of the contents of the stomach, which is not always easy to diagnose in dogs – not even by the vet.
What is Heartburn?
In a healthy dog, the food eaten enters the stomach through the esophagus. This is where stomach acid is produced, which helps break down and digest food. The stomach has two sphincters that act as “gatekeepers”: one where the dog food enters the stomach from the esophagus and the other where the food travels from the stomach towards the intestines.
If the first sphincter (reflux barrier) is a bit weak, the aggressive stomach acid produced can migrate back into the esophagus – including the stomach contents. This often happens when too much stomach acid is produced (over-acidification). A lack of stomach acid can also lead to heartburn: In this case, the food is not digested quickly enough, ferments in the stomach, and then leads to unpleasant belching, including the stomach contents.
In both cases, your dog has heartburn.
Heartburn in Dogs: Possible Causes
In addition to a weak reflux barrier, factors such as stress or an imbalance in the hormone balance can also promote heartburn in dogs. Incorrect feeding can also have a negative effect on the stomach of the four-legged friend. Too large portions, too greasy food, lots of grain or spicy food promote heartburn – especially if a dog is fed this way for a long time.
Recognizing Heartburn in Dogs: Symptoms
Heartburn in dogs can be recognized by a variety of symptoms. The diagnosis is difficult because the individual signs also indicate other diseases or can simply be a completely harmless, temporary phenomenon.
These symptoms indicate the condition, also known as reflux esophagitis:
- Increased salivation
- Increased smacking
- eating grass
- Excessive licking (on the floor, surfaces, or yourself)
- burping
- difficulties swallowing
- strangle
- to cough
- vomiting (including mucus)
If you observe one or more of these signs in your dog, don’t hesitate to see a veterinarian. He can determine whether the symptoms are side effects of heartburn or indicate other diseases.
Treating Heartburn in Dogs: What Helps?
Simple home remedies can help treat heartburn in dogs. Your four-legged friend should drink more water to dilute the stomach acid. Other home remedies for reflux esophagitis in dogs are:
- Cooled herbal tea made from stomach-friendly herbs such as fennel or anise
- carrot juice
- healing clay
Important: Even with proven home remedies, always pay attention to the dosage and talk to your veterinarian in advance about whether it is suitable for your dog!
Fewer home remedies and a more instinctive “extinguishing agent” for heartburn is grass. Surely you have often noticed that your dog nibbles on grass from time to time. Among other things, it regulates the acidity of its stomach. Just letting your furry friend munch on a few straws when they have heartburn — in many cases, this will solve the problem.
What Food for Heartburn?
You must avoid hard-to-digest food for your heartburn-plagued dog. Bones should also not be fed during this time.
Instead, include foods on the menu that contain few carbohydrates, are low in fat, and are therefore easy to digest. The following are suitable as bland food for a dog with heartburn:
- lean meat
- cottage cheese
- vegetable mash
In order not to strain the digestion too much, it is best to divide the food into small portions. Four to five rations a day are ideal. Does your dog have heartburn all the time? Then he may be suffering from a lack of stomach acid. In this case, it is even more important to feed only small portions so that the food does not start to ferment in the stomach.
Important: In general, you should under no circumstances use remedies for people against heartburn in four-legged friends without veterinary advice. If your dog suffers from hyperacidity for a long time or show the symptoms mentioned above, take him to the vet. If necessary, they can also use medication to combat the problems.