Table of Contents
How do you know if your dog needs more fiber?
If you’ve ever noticed your dog has fewer tummy troubles on one type of diet versus another, this is probably the result of different amounts and types of fiber between the two diets. Many people assume that if one diet is not tolerated well that a food allergy or intolerance is to blame. The Nutrition Service at Tufts Veterinary School , argues that the amount and ratio of fiber in food is more likely why one diet better tolerated than another diet.
Any dog that is having frequent diarrhea or constipation can benefit from the addition of fiber to the diet.
Benefits of fiber for dogs
Fiber can assist with a variety of diseases in dogs:
- Anal sac disease
- Dietary indiscretion
- Intestinal disease: inflammatory bowel disease, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, gastroenteritis, megacolon, stress colitis
- Weight management
- Diabetes regulation
Fiber reduces the rate of passage of digestion products within the GI tract. This slows digestion, increases satiety, and helps to maintain more steady blood sugar levels. Psyllium (metamucil) is a soluble fiber that forms a gel-like consistency in water which can help to soften feces in a constipated pet. It also adds form to loose stool in dogs prone to diarrhea.
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have altered intestinal bacterial flora. This leads to decreased numbers of bacteria that produce short chain fatty acids and nourish the gut. Fermentable or soluble fiber promotes regular bowel movements and creates short chain fatty acids that provide nutrition for the colon and increase the immune function of the intestinal tract.
How do I give my dog fiber and what type is best?
Fiber is added to dog food diets, but there don’t exist standards for dietary fiber in dog food.
Pet food labels unfortunately are not helpful to compare dietary fiber between brands of dog food. This is because crude fiber is all that is required to be listed as opposed to total dietary fiber. The crude fiber listed on pet food labels accounts for only 5 to 20% of the total fiber in the food. It does not account for any of the soluble fiber in food.
There also are no guidelines for recommended amounts of dietary fiber in pet food diets. Studies have shown that adding fiber via a prescription therapeutic fiber diet or supplementing fiber with Metamucil provides a proven heatlh benefits to dogs. The most common conditions treated with a high fiber diet are: canine diabetes, weight management, constipation, and bowel conditions that lead to frequent diarrhea symptoms.
Examples of fiber enriched veterinary diets are Hills W/D diet and Hills GI Biome diet.
Metamucil is a fiber supplement that you can give your dog by mixing it into moist food. See below for a dosing chart.
Pumpkin or metamucil for dogs? Which is best?
Canned pumpkin is often recommended as a way to supplement your dog’s food with dietary fiber. Pumpkin does have a mixture of soluble and insoluble fiber. However, pumpkin’s ability to prop up fiber in your dog’s diet is unfortunately a widely propagated myth. This is because it takes far more than a few tablespoons added to your dog’s diet to increase their fiber intake.
According to the Tufts University Veterinary Nutrition service, in order to achieve the same amount of supplemented fiber as a common therapeutic fiber diet, a dog would have to consume 12 cups of pumpkin!!
Although supplementing fiber to your dog’s diet is best achieved with a therapeutic fiber diet, you can successfully supplement fiber in your dog’s diet by adding Metamucil.
When increasing soluble fiber with a supplement like Metamucil, it’s best to add it gradually so the intestinal microbiome (the bacteria that live in the gut) can adapt to the new amount of fermentable material provided. Dogs diagnosed with chronic idiopathic large-bowel diarrhea had a very good to excellent response to 2 tablespoons per day of Metamucil added to an easily digestible diet (Hills I/D).
Dogs included in the study had 32 weeks of chronic intermittent diarrhea with occasional blood, straining and infrequent vomiting before they were enrolled in the study. Some of the treated dogs were eventually able to have the fiber reduced or eliminated or were able to be transitioned to a store brand of dog food without return of their diarrhea symptoms.
Soluble and Insoluble fiber in pet food
There are two main fiber types in food: soluble and insoluble fiber. Solubility describes how fibers disperse in and absorb water Most soluble fibers dissolve into and absorb water to form a gel. Soluble fibers are usually fermentable which means the bacteria in the bowel can convert soluble fibers into short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Short chain fatty acids are the preferred nutrition for the cells that line the colon. Fermentable soluble fiber helps to promote a healthy colon as it feeds the colon and supports the immune function of the colon. Metamucil is a popular fiber supplement that is composed mostly of soluble fibers.
Insoluble fibers are fibers like Lignin and cellulose and are not considered food sources. Insoluble fiber is also a healthy addition to the diet. Insoluble fibers improve gut health and most therapeutic fiber diets contain mostly insoluble fiber.
It is important to note that large amounts of insoluble fiber can alter nutrient digestibility. This is why quality pet food companies employ veterinary nutritionists to create their diets. Veterinary therapeutic fiber diets have their nutrition adjusted to account for the altered digestibility of a food with high amounts of insoluble fiber.
The chart below compares the soluble and insoluble fiber in two Hills Science Diet therapeutic fiber diets and one regular Science Diet adult formula to a recommended dose of metamucil.
| Diet vs Fiber supplement | Metamucil fiber in a 2 tablespoon serving for a 30 lb dog | W/D dietFed a 30 lb dog *Prescription food | Hills GI BiomeFed a 30 lb dog *Prescription food | Hills adult 1-6 yr Fed a 30 lb dog *Over the counter food |
| Soluble fiber in grams | 30 gm | 4 gm | 6.5 gm | 4.95 gm |
| Insoluble fiber in grams | 5 gm | 57 gm | 32 gm | 15. 75 gm |
You can see that the two prescription foods contain between 2-4 times the amount of insoluble fiber as the over the counter Hills Adult food.
Hills W/D diet is a well known therapeutic fiber diet. Hills GI Biome diet is a newer prescription therapeutic fiber diet. This diet is also fiber enriched like W/D, but has half the insoluble fiber as W/D which makes it more calorie dense and digestible.
Hills GI Biome diet has a proprietary blend of fermentable fiber that has prebiotic effects. Prebiotics are fermentable carbohydrates that foster the “good bacteria” in the GI tract. The GI Biome diet has a study to support that it can firm loose stools in 24 hours with it’s “ActiveBiome” technology.“Good bacteria” can also be added to the gut by using probiotics.
Probiotics are another supplement with huge benefits in the treatment of diarrhea in dogs. Read here to learn what probiotics work best for dogs.
If you choose to add Metamucil to your dog’s existing diet , you will increase primarily the soluble fiber volume. Two tablespoons per day will increase your dog’s soluble fiber intake about 6 fold when compared to a standard diet like Hills Science Diet 1-6 years.
| Diet | Crude fiber | Soluble fiber | Insoluble fiber |
| Hills W/D diet | 16% | 1.9% | 25.5% |
| Hills Gi biome | 7.2% | 2.8% | 14% |
| Science diet chicken and barley 1-6 years | 2.1% | 2.2% | 7% |
Is fiber better for constipation or diarrhea in dogs?
Fiber has the unusual ability to treat both diarrhea and constipation symptoms. Fiber can create a gel matrix in the colon which helps to absorb excess water from diarrhea. This matrix can also bulk up the stool. Adding fiber softens stool in constipated animals by binding to water. An easy way to treat diarrhea or constipation in dogs is by adding in Metamucil to their diet.
How much fiber should I give my dog for diarrhea or constipation?
The preferred Metamucil product is the unflavored Metamucil Powder. This product contains 2.4 grams of soluble fiber per teaspoon.
Plumb’s Veterinary Formulary recommends the following for psyllium supplementation (use of Metamucil):
- Adjunctive treatment of idiopathic large bowel diarrhea
- 1300 mg/kg orally per day
| Weight in lbs | Amount of Metamucil for chronic diarrhea in dogs |
| 10 lbs` | 2.5 teaspoons per day |
| 20 lbs | 1.5 tablespoons per day |
| 30 lbs | 2.5 tablespoons per day |
| 50 lbs | 4 tablespoons per day |
| 80 lbs | 6.5 tablespoons per day |
| 100 lbs | 8 tablespoons per day |
For a lot more information and tools for the treatment of diarrhea in dogs read this.
Less fiber is needed to treat constipation in dogs. Adding psyllium at 2-4% of the diet has been studied as an effective dose to manage constipation symptoms in dogs.
The chart below provides averaging dosing to treat constipation in a dog based on weight.
| Weight | Amount of Metamucil per day for constipation in dogs |
| 15 lbs | 1-2 teaspoons per day |
| 30 lbs | 2-4 teaspoons per day |
| 60 lbs | 1.5- 3 tablespoons per day |
| 90 lbs | 2-4 tablespoons per day |
Can I mix metamucil with my dog’s water
You can mix metamucil with water, however, it will then produce a gelatinous substance which may not be as palatable to your dog. Another way to use Metamucil is simply to mix it into your dog’s moist food.
Are there adverse effects of fiber for dogs?
Psyllium rarely produces adverse effects. However, adequate water should be given with psyllium. There is an increased possibility of esophageal or bowel obstruction when fiber is given with insufficient water as it produces a bulking effect. A more common side effect can be flatulence when initially using the fiber. It can take a little time for your dog’s GI system to adapt to the increased fermentable fiber. Dogs that eat a fiber enriched diet like Hills W/D, with a sharp increase in insoluble fiber, will have a much greater stool output. Dogs on this diet can defecate twice as much as they might have on a non fiber-enriched diet.
Conclusion
Fiber has many beneficial effects to maintain the health of the GI tract and promote better quality stools in your dog. Fiber enriched veterinary diets rely mainly on insoluble fiber and must have adjusted nutrition to account for differences in how these diets are metabolized. Metamucil is a psyllium based fiber source and can also be easily added to your dog’s daily diet.