Digestive Health in Dogs – How Diet Can Help

When Your Dog’s Gut Needs Specialist Support

The digestive system is central to your dog’s health: it’s where nutrients should be absorbed, toxins filtered, and immune responses regulated. When that system is compromised — whether by inflammation, infection, or chronic stress — symptoms such as loose stools, recurrent vomiting, weight loss, or poor coat condition can quickly follow.

Diet is often the fastest lever to pull. Many dogs improve by transitioning to a carefully selected hypoallergenic dog food, a novel protein dog food, or a focused single protein dog food as part of a vet-led elimination diet to identify safe ingredients.

Understanding Digestive Disorders in Dogs

Dogs with sensitive stomachs may suffer from conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic enteritis, or malabsorption syndromes. The root causes aren’t always obvious, but common contributing factors include:

• Altered gut microbiome or disruption of the gut barrier.
• Repeated or high‐intensity stress (travel, boarding, illness).
• Dietary changes, low fibre intake, or feeding high levels of fat or proteins the gut cannot process efficiently.

The Role of Nutrition in Recovery and Maintenance

A veterinary diet aims to reduce digestive load, modulate inflammation, and support regeneration of the gut lining. This means selecting formulas that are highly digestible, with moderate protein and fat, adequate soluble and insoluble fibre, and supportive nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, digestible carbohydrates, and prebiotics.

Our specialist line, Happy Dog VET Intestinal, is designed exactly for this purpose — meeting veterinary standards for dogs requiring short-term feeding and for long-term gut support.

Which Diet Should You Use?

Here are our recommended products for digestive relief, maintenance, and rotation:

• Dry – Intestinal Low Fat – ultra-low fat, suitable for dogs with chronic pancreatitis or fat malabsorption.
• Dry – Intestinal – highly digestible dry formula for long-term gut support.
• Wet – Intestinal – moist, easy-to-digest wet version that pairs perfectly with dry maintenance diets.

Novel Proteins — A Natural Alternative for Sensitive Digestion

Not every dog with a sensitive stomach needs a veterinary-only diet. For many, the solution lies in switching to a high-quality food based on novel proteins — meat sources your dog’s body hasn’t encountered before. These proteins are less likely to trigger inflammation or allergic reactions and can provide a gentler route to restoring digestive balance.

Our Happy Dog Sensible range uses unique single protein dog food formulas that are naturally easy to digest and ideal for dogs with mild sensitivities or after completing a vet-led elimination diet.

• Wet Kangaroo – a lean, low-fat protein perfect for dogs prone to digestive upset.
• Wet Ostrich – gentle on the stomach and ideal for rotating with vet diets.
• Wet Goat – soothing and nutrient-dense for sensitive digestion.
• Wet Horse (Montana) – single protein, low allergen, and highly digestible.

Supporting Gut Health Across Your Dog’s Life

Maintaining gut health after a digestive event means feeding consistently, avoiding sudden ingredient changes, and selecting diets that support the gut barrier. Fibre diversity, moderate fat, and fewer common allergens all play roles in reducing relapse risk.

Alongside feeding the right diet, simple measures such as feeding two or more meals per day, maintaining a healthy body condition, and reducing stress can significantly improve outcomes.