By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about the benefits of dietary fiber. And if you haven’t… you really need to.
Because fiber might just be one of the most amazing (and overlooked) nutrients in dog food.
You simply won’t believe what it can do for your dog.
Now, before we talk about fiber’s many talents, what exactly is it?
Well, dietary fiber represents that part of edible plants that can’t be digested1.
Because fiber is only found in the wall of a cell… and since animal cells don’t have cell walls… fiber can only come from vegetables and grains. Never from meat.
Basically, dietary fiber includes the carbohydrate remnants of plant cells… after digestion.
There are two kinds…
- Soluble fiber
- Insoluble fiber
In a nutshell, one dissolves in water and the other doesn’t. That’s why each contributes different benefits to a dog food recipe.
Fiber Helps Prevent Constipation… and Diarrhea
Yes, you heard that right. It can do both!
That’s because insoluble fiber absorbs water… like a sponge So, it can attract moisture from outside the colon and into a dog’s stools… to help promote regular bowel movements.
And in certain conditions… it can also absorb excess water from inside the colon… to help control diarrhea, too.
Fiber is a stool “normalizer”. It’s the perfect solution to many canine regularity problems.
Imagine… help for both constipation and diarrhea… from the same nutrient.
Fiber May Help Reduce the Risk of Colon Cancer
In a dog’s gut, good bacteria ferment fiber to create special “short chain fatty acids” that can help a dog’s colon repair itself… and prevent cancer.
But fiber can help in another way, too.
As water is absorbed into the colon, fecal matter swells against the colon wall. This pressure causes muscle contractions… which can speed food faster through the digestive tract.
This faster “transit” time allows less contact between the colon wall and dangerous cancer-causing substances.
Fiber Helps Promote Weight Loss
Adding fiber to any dog food “dilutes” its caloric content. So, there are fewer calories per serving. And that can significantly aid in weight loss.
As fiber absorbs water, it expands… causing a dog to stop eating sooner. That’s because (in dog’s) a full stomach signals “satiety”… or hunger satisfaction2 .
So, dogs feel fuller… and consume less energy… fewer calories… per meal3.
A recent study showed that dogs fed a high fiber diet lost more than five times the fat mass of dogs fed a low fiber diet4.
As a matter of fact, trying to bring about canine weight loss without using dietary fiber makes the whole process needlessly more difficult.
Continue on to Part 2 and discover…
- How to help your dog avoid the misery of uncontrolled diabetes
- The one valuable detail most dog food shoppers innocently overlook
- The ideal fiber content to look for on a dog food label
Continue on to read The Amazing Benefits of Dog Food Fiber (Part 2).
- National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, “Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats”, 2006 Edition, National Academies Press, Washington, DC, p. 50 ↩
- Pappas et al, Gastric distension is a physiologic satiety signal in the dog, Digestive Diseases and Sciences 1989 34:1489-1493 ↩
- Brown RG, Current topics in nutrition, Canadian Veterinary Journal 199031:308-309 ↩
- Jewell et al, Satiety reduces adiposity in dogs, Veterinary Therapeutics 2000 1:17-23 ↩
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
So, which are the high fiber foods? I tried searching on “high fiber” on your site, to no avail.
Our dog’s stools were loose — formed but soft and squishy –on a high quality diet*, so our vet recommended substituting some Science Diet w/d, which is some 15% fiber. This worked great: his stools now are firm and easy to pick up. But I’d rather not have to buy dog food from the vet during his office hours, so I’m looking for alternatives. Rather than go to every feed store in town, reading labels, I’d like to just be able to find the information here.
*Another issue: He did great, other than the stool, on Eagle Pack Holistic. Is it the same food now that a new company owns it? I see “Now with Canola Oil!” on some of the new packages.
Hi Michael… I’m planning to add a list of high fiber foods (as well as other specific lists) in the future. Until then, why not choose from our 3, 4 and 5-star foods and look at the bottom of the yellow “dashboard” on each review.
In our current database, dry matter fiber content averages about 4 to 5 percent. So, products with fiber content over 4% or so should help you achieve the results you’re looking for. Hope this helps.
Just a question on fiber. I had asked a question on a food that contains powered cellulose on the Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul Weight management formula, and you pointed out that the fiber was there to reduce the calories.
I have read so many warnings on different websites to avoid at all costs, any dog food that contains powdered cellulose which they always refer to as ” sawdust”. This leaves me with the impression that if I feed my dog food containing powdered cellulose, it is like giving her a ground up 2 x 4 as part of her meal. My question is, does this ingredient have the potential for causing any negative problems with the dog’s health? I would like to use this food, since my dog does lose weight when eating this food and it seems to work better than some of the other weight lose foods that I have tried. The Chicken Soup brand also does have the lowest calories per cup of almost all the foods I have looked at.
Hi Bob… the Food and Drug Adminstration classifies powdered cellulose as “GRAS”… which means “generally recognized as safe” for use in human foods (as a thickening agent, etc.) and in pharmaceuticals (to make tablets). Raw cellulose comes from the cell walls of all plants… and, yes… even trees.
Cellulose is used in the human food industry to make breads and other edibles. And it has the ability to “dilute” the calorie content of certain foods… including dog foods.
Even though it does sound rather unappetizing (to say the least)… it has no real nutrient value (other than the normal benefits of dietary fiber).
I am not personally aware of any significant health issues caused by its use in dog food. Our software has been programmed to highlight powdered cellulose in red only to call your attention to its controversial nature.
Thanks Mike, for the answer to my question. This is a great website……
First off, thank you for all of the information you’ve provide through this website, it is very helpful.
You frequently refer to dog’s ancestors and their biological adaptation to a primarily carnivorous diet; thus making carbs unnecessary. However, you’ve shown the benefits of fiber in a dog’s diet and simultaneously informed us that it is only attainable through eating plants. How then do wolves, dog’s ancestors, obtain fiber?
Hi Chris… even primitive canines ate some carbs via wild plant material (although minimal). Much of the carb content of a carnivore’s diet probably came from the stomach contents of its prey. The most “unnatural” source of carbs are obtained from grains (the major component of today’s kibbles). Even primitive humans ate littler (if any) carbs. It was not until the invention of refining (milling) that significant cereal grains were added to the human diet.
MY DOG ITCHES ALL OVER AND HER SKIN IS REAL SENATIVE,WHEN I GIVE HER DOG FOOD.I HAD THE BLOOD PANEL TEST TO SEE WHAT SHE IS ALLERGIC TO, THEY TOLD ME WHAT MEAT AND SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS,SHE IS ALLERGIC TO,BUT I THINK THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT IS BOTHERING HER IN THE FOOD,HER ANAL GLANDS BOTHER HER. I TRIED GIVING HER FRESH GREEN BEANS FOR A DAY OR TWO, AND THE ITCHING,STOPPED ALOT. HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHAT IS BOTHERING HER?
Why is dried beets a controversial ingredient.
Hi Matt… We consider beet pulp a controversial ingredient because many denounce the raw material as an inexpensive filler… plus some believe it can “stain” a dog’s coat.
However, others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.
We only call our readers’ attention to beet pulp due to the controversy surrounding it and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.
Hi Margery… Try using a limited ingredient diet. These are special hypoallergenic dog foods with very short ingredient lists. This way you’ll have a better chance at isolating the offending allergens.
Look at our navigation tab near the top of our website labeled Tag Cloud and click on the link that says “Hypoallergenic”. This will give you a list of brands that contain at least one limited ingredients dog food. Hope this helps in your detective work.