Abstract
BackgroundChronic intermittent or persistent diarrhoea is a common condition in dogs and may be a reflex of gastrointestinal or non-gastrointestinal disorders. Besides diarrhoea, many athletes experience other gastrointestinal symptoms. Dietary fiber can help normalize colonic motility and transit time, support normal gastrointestinal microflora growth and provide fuel for colonocytes. This study aimed to evaluate dietary supplementation effectiveness with psyllium husk in police working dogs with chronic large-bowel diarrhoea. Twenty-two animals were selected. Concurrent conditions were ruled out through complete blood count and serum biochemistry. Fecal Clostridium and Salmonella were also screened. A soluble fiber, psyllium husk, was added to the diet at the dose of 4 tablespoons/day for 1 month. A daily log of fecal characteristics (type, frequency, and color) was maintained during the supplementation month and for an additional month, without supplementation.ResultsResponse to treatment was classified as “very good” in 50% of animals, “good” in 40% of animals, and “poor” in 10% of cases. During the month of psyllium husk supplementation, defecation frequency decreased from 3.5 to 2.9 times a day, with 90% of animals showing consistent stools regularly and registering a mean increase of 2 kg in body weight. Beneficial effects were still observed during the second month, without psyllium husk supplementation.ConclusionPsyllium husk can be useful in the management of chronic large-bowel diarrhoea in working dogs, which exhibited lower defecation frequency, improved stool consistency, and gained weight. Effects were felt beyond the supplementation period. Alternative approaches for non-responsive cases need to be evaluated.
Highlights
Chronic intermittent or persistent diarrhea is a common condition in dogs and may reflect gastrointestinal or non-gastrointestinal disorders [1]
This study aimed to evaluate if the supplementation with psyllium husk would help manage chronic idiopathic large-bowl diarrhoea in police working dogs
Of the animals enrolled in the study, no abnormalities were observed during the physical examination, and CBC results and serum biochemistry were normal in all animals
Summary
Chronic intermittent or persistent diarrhoea is a common condition in dogs and may be a reflex of gastrointestinal or non-gastrointestinal disorders. This study aimed to evaluate dietary supplementation effectiveness with psyllium husk in police working dogs with chronic large-bowel diarrhoea. Concurrent conditions were ruled out through complete blood count and serum biochemistry. Chronic intermittent or persistent diarrhea is a common condition in dogs and may reflect gastrointestinal or non-gastrointestinal disorders [1]. Chronic largebowel diarrhoea is commonly caused by various factors, ranging from whipworms, dietary indiscretion, Clostridium perfringens enterotoxicosis, neoplasia, and irritable bowel disease [4,5,6]. While laboratory findings usually show normal complete blood counts and serum biochemistry, systemic diseases must be ruled out, and faecal examination should be conducted to dismiss whipworms, Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Many patients show no physical abnormalities during the examination, but some may present with weight loss and poor body condition score [5]
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