Just like humans, dogs can also suffer from heartburn. Since this is very unpleasant for affected animals, you should do something about the discomfort as soon as possible.
How to recognize heartburn in your dog, what causes it can have and how it can be treated, we explain below.
How heartburn develops in dogs
Normally, food from the mouth enters the dog's stomach through the esophagus. There, digestion begins and a sphincter muscle at the entrance to the stomach ensures that the food cannot pass from the stomach back into the esophagus.
However, if the sphincter is weakened, which may be the case due to acidity in the stomach, for example, it is no longer able to perform its function properly. This can cause the food pulp to flow into the dog's esophagus along with the stomach acid, causing heartburn.
Causes of heartburn in dogs
Weakening of the sphincter muscle at the entrance to the stomach is not the only cause of heartburn in dogs. There are also several other triggers that can contribute to the development of heartburn.
These include hormonal imbalances, excessive stress and inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis). In addition, an incorrect diet can sometimes affect dogs' stomachs and cause digestive problems such as heartburn. This can be the case, for example, when eating incompatible ingredients, when the amount of food is too large or also due to an overall insufficient quality of the food.
Recognizing heartburn in dogs
Since dogs are known not to be able to speak and the symptoms of heartburn are usually quite unspecific, it is sometimes difficult to notice the complaints of the four-legged friend promptly. Nevertheless, there are some signs that owners can use to recognize that their dog may have heartburn.
Symptoms that may indicate heartburn in dogs include:
- Regular vomiting
- Coughing and retching
- Difficulty swallowing
- Frequent belching
- Heavy salivating and smacking
- Excessive eating of grass
- Dogs with heartburn need a veterinarian
If your dog is experiencing possible symptoms of heartburn, a timely visit to the veterinarian is highly recommended. This is because heartburn, which is harmless on its own, may well be caused by a more serious condition.
The veterinarian will probably first talk to you about the symptoms you have observed in your dog and subject the four-legged friend to a general examination. In addition, for a reliable diagnosis of the cause of heartburn, the veterinarian may perform an endoscopy of your dog's stomach and esophagus.
Water can relieve heartburn in dogs
If you want to relieve your dog's heartburn, it is especially important that your four-legged friend drinks enough. This is because the more liquid he takes in, the more his stomach acid is diluted, which experience has shown can help counteract heartburn.
To enhance the soothing effect, you can alternatively give your four-legged friend herbal tea to drink.
Which dog food is suitable for heartburn?
Dogs with heartburn should be fed a food that is as easy to digest as possible, ideally one that contains no grains and has a reduced fat content. Bones and other hard-to-digest foods, on the other hand, should be avoided.
In order to protect the dog's digestion as much as possible, it also makes sense to divide the amount of food into four to five smaller portions. This relieves the stomach and helps to avoid heartburn in dogs.
Why dogs with heartburn eat more grass
Eating more grass is a typical sign of heartburn in dogs. Eating grass helps regulate stomach acid levels, which can help relieve heartburn.
If you observe this behavior in your dog, it's not a problem in principle. However, you should make sure that eating grass is in moderation and avoid areas where the grass may be contaminated with pesticides and exhaust fumes.
Heartburn in dogs - our conclusion
As you can see, heartburn in dogs can usually be managed quite well with simple remedies such as adequate hydration as well as dietary adjustments.
However, depending on the cause, it may be necessary to administer medication on top of that. If this is the case, the veterinarian will inform you accordingly and prescribe your four-legged friend, for example, a means to neutralize the stomach acid or, if necessary, antibiotics.