By Heidi Clayton
A very common symptom I see associated with dogs that have anxiety or fear is the issue of frequent diarrhea, loose stool, or vomiting. I felt absolutely awful for a client who had just purchased a brand new Mercedes that was christened so to speak with her terrified German Shepherd’s explosive diarrhea on the drive. One of the complaints the owner had was her inability to successfully house train the dog, often coming home to multiple piles of poop despite being let out by a dog sitter during the day. After a debriefing of the dog’s day at home, it seems that the pooping was directly correlated to a visit from Amazon or even the dog sitter coming into the house.
There have been many studies in recent years that explain the direct correlation between anxiety and gut health. A dog’s intestinal tract contains millions of neurons that communicate with the billions of neurons in the brain, this system is called the enteric nervous system.
According to a Purina Institute study, “Mounting evidence suggests that gut microbes help shape normal neural development, brain biochemistry and behavior. In particular, the gut microbiota are emerging as a key node in the communication between gut and brain. This has led to the coining of a new term: microbiota-gut-brain axis.” Further studies see a lack of certain microbiota in anxious dogs’ stomachs that are needed to communicate from the enteric to the central nervous system of the brain.
Long-term fear and anxiety in dogs will take their toll on more than just their digestive system. Their immune systems and cardiovascular systems can also take a beating. Alleviating anxiety in dogs can include treating it through the gut.
If your nervous or scared dog frequently has bouts of diarrhea or vomits in the car, you might want to consider adding a probiotic to their diet. Probiotics at this time are not regulated substances, which means that companies do not have to prove their effectiveness. You may want to ask your vet’s opinion on which they have seen work best. You might want to start with a natural probiotic like yogurt or a kefir. I feed my dogs fermented kefir every morning produced by a company called “Answers” and sold at Pamela’s Health & Harmony in Margate. Many of my friends make their own kefir with kits purchased from Amazon.
I have also had a great deal of success in helping the anxious and fearful dogs I train with a Purina product called “Calming Care.” While I am not always a fan of Purina dog food, I was impressed when I attended a dog show at their production center in St. Louis in their efforts put forth to study the correlation between gut health and anxiety in dogs. Their study found that a healthy bacteria called “bifidobacterium longum” is missing in the guts of fearful dogs. They created a once-daily powder called “Calming Care” that you can purchase without a prescription to add to your dog’s food. I have several clients’ dogs taking the powder. Most have seen a reduction in the dogs’ anxious behaviors.
While some anxiety and fear in dogs may be genetic and could need the insight of a behaviorist, try starting with having a chat with your regular vet about adding a probiotic to their diet to help their gut and brain communicate better.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net.
Heidi Clayton started Four On the Floor Dog Training to provide positive, reward-based dog training in South Jersey. She breeds, trains and shows bull terriers under the SoraBully’s Bull Terriers kennel name. Email questions to heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net or learn more at https://fouronthefloordogtraining.net
