How Long Does It Take a Dog to Digest Food?
My furry baby, Adolf, struggled with digestive issues all his life. This meant having to deal with an upset stomach often. While cleaning up after him, I noticed that he would hurl up undigested food even several hours after a meal. This led me to wonder, how long does it take a dog to digest food?
As a pet parent, you must have pondered this question at some point as well. Or maybe, you’re wondering, how long does it take puppies to digest food? If not, you should. Not only will it help you understand your furry baby a little better but also help with crucial pet parenting decisions such as figuring out what is the best time to feed dogs or setting a potty schedule. To help, I’m here to share everything I learned after talking to our vet, at the time, and researching about the canine digestive system.
Dog Digestive System Step-by-Step
Much like us humans, the canine digestive system comprises different parts and elements, each of which plays a specific role in the digestion of food, absorption of nutrients, and elimination of waste. Every phase of the digestion process contributes to your canine companions’ overall health.
So, to be able to detect dog digestive system problems in time or even to ascertain whether the system is working as it should, you need awareness about what it entails. So, before we get to the question, how long does it take a dog to digest food, let’s take the dogs’ digestive system:
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1. Mouth
For dogs, too, the digestive process begins with chewing the food. Dogs chew their food — although not as finely as humans — to break it down before swallowing. The saliva also plays a crucial role in the process. According to research, dog’s saliva helps in killing bacteria and lubricating the food for swallowing
2. Esophagus
Once the food has been broken down, it is pushed to the stomach through the esophagus. Our vet told us that it’s not unusual for a dog to regurgitate or even throw up food if it has been crushed enough to pass through the esophagus with ease. Your dog may just chew it again and swallow. You may have noticed your dog (puppies who gobble on their food hurriedly, do this often) throw up and eat the food again. While gross to watch, it is usually not an indicator of dog digestive system problems. This happens because dogs have a strong gag reflex
3. Stomach
This is where the partially digested food is stored. The dog’s body releases digestive enzymes and acids to further break down the food. Since the dog’s stomach is designed to break down protein and dense bone matter, it is 100% more acidic than a human stomach.
4. Intestines
Dogs also have a combination of small and large intestines. Once the food is released into the small intestine, it is mixed with enzymes released from the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. This process aids in the absorption of nutrients. After this, the food moves further down the gastrointestinal tract and enters the large intestine. Here water and fluids are extracted and waste is stored till it’s time for it to be expelled from the body.
How Long Does It Take a Dog to Digest Food And Factors that Determine the Outcome
Now, finally coming to the question we started with, how long does it take a dog to digest food? Well, a dog can take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours to fully digest a meal. The duration varies, depending on the dog’s age, size, breed, and the type of diet they’re on. For instance, if you’re wondering how long does it take puppies to digest food? The answer is up to 4 hours. However, for adult dogs of large and giant breeds, this process can take upward of 8 hours.
Likewise, wet food, whether it is store-bought or homemade, takes 4-6 hours to digest whereas dry kibble can take 8-10 hours (another indicator that nutritionally balanced homemade food is better for your dog).
The digestion process is longer in dogs because the canine digestive system is laterally inverse to ours. Humans keep 30% of ingesta — nutrition from food — in the stomach and 70% in the intestinal tract. However, dogs keep 70% in the stomach and 30% in their intestinal passage. This also makes our furry babies more vulnerable to digestive issues.
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According to a study, the risk of digestive issues or digestive sensitivity also varies depending on a dog’s size. The risk from consumption of any toxic food is lesser in large dogs as compared to small dogs. The difference in size does not just govern the extent or severity of dog digestive system problems but also their bowel movement. For example, larger dogs produce softer, moister stools, whereas, it can be a sign of infection or digestive distress in small dogs.
As you can see, there is no single answer to the question, how long does it take a dog to digest food? It varies, depending on factors such as:
- Breed and size: How long does it take a dog to digest food? As must be clear by now, the answer depends on the breed and size of the dog. Larger dogs take longer to digest food than smaller dogs
- Type of food: The total gastrointestinal transit time also depends on the type of food a dog is being fed — kibble, wet, or raw diet. Dry, processed kibble takes a lot longer to digest than meals made from fresh, whole foods
- Age: Age also plays a role in determining the digestion time. Puppies digest food faster than adult dogs
- Gut microbiome: Gut microbiome refers to the bacteria and microorganisms living in the digestive system. They play an important role in breaking down the food. So, naturally, the quality and quantity of gut microbiome plays a crucial role in your dog’s digestive health
Tips to Avoid Dog Digestive System Problems
So far, we’ve established two things — the time a dog takes to digest food depends on a variety of factors, and the way dogs’ GI tract functions leaves them at an increased risk of digestive issues. We already know how important digestive health is to the overall well-being. As a concerned parent, you may wonder, what can be done to alleviate dog digestive system problems and make sure they can extract optimal benefits from their diet? Here are a few tips that can help:
1. Feed your dog a healthy diet
This is canine nutrition 101 — make sure your pet gets a balanced, well-rounded diet that meets their daily requirement of macro- and micronutrients. This includes everything from protein, fat, carbohydrates, and fiber to vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. The best way to make sure you get this mix right is to consult a vet or a canine nutritionist and come up with a diet plan that works for your pet’s current nutritional requirements, depending on their weight, age, and activity levels, among other things.
2. Focus on digestibility of food
A crucial yet often overlooked factor of canine nutrition is digestibility, which refers to the amount of a food’s nutritional value that can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Feeding your dog sufficient nutrients is meaningless if they just pass through and aren’t accessible to the body in a usable form. Focusing not just on what foods to give your dog but also on the quality of ingredients can help improve digestibility.
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3. Make sure your pet gets adequate exercise
Exercise is a crucial component of a dog’s overall health and well-being. It not only keeps them happy and fit but also promotes good bowel movement. The muscle contractions as well as increased blood flow and heart rate stimulate the movement of food through the digestive tract. So, keep those long walks and games of fetch going.
4. Give your dog a stress-free environment
Dogs have emotions and are capable of feeling grief, sadness, and anxiety, among other things. These negative emotions can have a direct impact on their digestive health. Stress or anxiety brought on by sudden changes in their environment can lead to digestive distress, resulting in diarrhea or constipation.
Often, dogs also stop eating altogether when they’re stressed or anxious. Making any foreseeable transition — be it travel, moving to a new place, or being apart from a person they are too attached to — as gradual and seamless as possible can help avoid digestive issues.
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5. Make sure your dog stays hydrated
Water is another crucial component of your dog’s overall well-being, including their digestive health. Make sure your pet has access to clean and fresh drinking water throughout the day.
6. Add pre- and probiotics to their diet
It can be helpful to give pre- and probiotics to dogs who struggle with chronic digestive issues. These improve digestion by supporting the gut microbiome. These are available in the form of powders, pills, as well as food items, and can be easily fed to your dog. However, you must consult your vet before giving your dog any supplements.
I hope this guide not only answered your question, how long does it take a dog to digest food, but also helped you learn more about the canine digestive system.
