Just to straighten things out, this term constipation generally difficulties in bowel movement, and to say it more simply, your pet might be having trouble going to the bathroom. This type of condition can happen more often than not since we tend to forget and make mistakes sometimes!
Lack of water cause constipation since your body needs water to absorb nutrients and also to digest food. Even though this is probably the most basic among our list of causes, we tend to forget to refill the water bowl and regularly change the water out when it grows stale.
What Are the General Symptoms of Constipated Dogs?
The general symptoms that you can catch right off the bat are lack of bowel movement (Didn’t go to the bathroom for two days or more), and problems when going to the bathroom (Straining, crouching, or even crying out when he tries to pass stool). If you do see your dog undergoing such symptoms, you need to contact your vet right away.
What Do I Do for Constipated Dogs?
Make sure that your dog gets enough water in his bowl, and regularly change out the water daily with fresh, cold water. Adding additional fiber to his diet helps a lot even though we learned this fact in our elementary classes, we tend to forget that fiber such as bananas, pumpkins, and apples greatly aid in digestion.
Also, take note of his rear end to see if anything is blocking him from passing stool, and remove any excess hair that might have matted near the anal area. Just as another precaution, adding digestive supplements and health chews into his diet might be a big step towards a healthy lifestyle.
To further aid the digestive system and its working parts, Zesty Paws have formulated a probiotic supplement, which contains pumpkin and papaya, a great source of fiber. In addition, it contains probiotics that help with your dog’s gut health and aids with the digestive bacteria that carry out the internal process.
In addition to digestive problems, your dog’s anal gland might not be working properly. If that is the case, Glandex Soft Chews are scientifically formulated to ensure healthy anal glands, and it even contains digestive enzymes and pumpkin seeds that will aid with the digestive process. You can get two jobs done with one product!
General Causes Behind Constipation
After covering several introductory questions, now is the time to get into our list of general causes that might be behind your constipated dog. Make sure to pay careful attention to the small details, and without further ado, let’s jump straight in!
1. Dehydration
Also known as the lack of water, dehydration is a condition that can happen very quickly and very often. Even though water is an essential ingredient in sustaining life, you still have to remember refilling your dog’s water bowl, regularly changing stale water with clean, fresh liquid, and cleaning the bowl for sanitary purposes.
Dehydration is the first general cause for constipated dogs since water is a must when it comes to digestion. Since your dog constantly use up water when digesting food and eliminating wastes from its body, you need to provide a reliable source of water for your dog, so that she can restore her water balance.
2. Lack & Too Much of Fiber
Even though fiber is already included in many natural foods, you still have to consider this aspect of your dog’s diet when buying doggie food for your pet. If you want additional sources of fiber just to be safe, you can use pumpkins, apples, carrots, blueberries, strawberries, and even brown rice.
Most of the fruits listed here can be too sweet for your pet, so moderate the amount of fiber that is given out per day. Also, if these types of fiber have not been introduced to your pet’s diet, make sure to start small and slowly increase the amount a little bit at a time. Also, giving too much fiber causes constipation, so be very careful!
If you don’t really have a good source of fiber already included in your food and can’t find the time to give out fruity snacks for your dog, adding a fiber supplement to your dog’s diet plan might not be a bad idea. These supplements also contain digestive enzymes to aid with the internal organs, but first, check the reviews before buying this product!
3. Problems With the Anal Sacs
If the anal sacs get clogged or become filled with fluids, your pet is definitely going to face some problems when trying to poop. Anal sacs are little organs that are located on either side of his rear end, and the fluids inside those sacs are used to express his identity (when marking up his territories and boundary marks).
Since the anal sacs are located very close to his rear end, your dog’s restroom time will definitely be hindered if those sacs become clogged and infected. Whenever he tries to eliminate waste through his rectum, your friend will undergo immense pain and discomfort if he doesn’t have a healthy anal gland.
If you want to fix this problem and prevent this condition from ever happening, Glandex will do the job for you since this company was created to maintain healthy anal glands for all pets. They have made a specific formula just for dogs, so be sure to try it out if you are trying to your pet with constipation!
4. External Blockage in the Anal Area
Your dog might be facing constipation since his avenue of eliminating wastes is blocked by matted patches of hair. If that is the case, cut off the hair near the anal area to prevent further blockage, and don’t forget to get a nice trim every once in a while when you take your dog out for grooming.
In addition to mottled patches of hair, big flaps of the skin can also cause the hole to grow smaller, which can become blocked over time. Even though this is rare, obesity can cause this situation to happen where clumps of fat overlap and shrinks the anal area, which also leads to constipation.
5. Internal Blockage & Obstruction
This is probably the section where professional assistance is required since you need medication and specialized treatments for internal blockages and obstruction. For example, your dog might have swallowed something that he shouldn’t, and that particular object might have gotten stuck in his digestive tract.
If it has gotten stuck, the digestive route will be partially blocked, which causes the bowel movement to slow down (constipation). Any type of internal blockages need to be treated by a vet immediately, and they can be usually found and treated by using the x-ray to scan for hidden objects.
In addition, tumors and masses of the skin can cause an internal obstruction in the digestive system, and internal disorders & hereditary diseases can be the sources behind the digestive problems. Since these causes cannot be treated first-hand, make sure to visit the vet if you can’t figure out the cause on your own!
Conclusion: Lack of Exercise
Even though this might pair up with obesity, lack of exercise can be the cause behind constipated dogs. Research studies have proven that regular exercise helps with preventing constipation and promoting a healthy digestive system. In contrast, lack of exercise weakens the digestive system, which can lead to constipation.
When done on a consistent basis, exercise can even strengthen your pet’s digestive tract, which has many positive benefits. Make sure to consistently exercise your dog, and if you can’t find the time to do it yourself, hire somebody else in your neighborhood to do the job for you!
Make sure to maintain constant supervision on your dog at all times, and as always, stay hydrated and make sure that your dog gets the same treatment too! Spend time with your dog since the relationship with your pet only grows stronger and firmer with time, so use your time wisely!
Thank you for reading through our post called Ways to Help Constipated Dogs (Causes & Solutions), and please share this information with other people around you if you have found this post to be helpful. You are welcome to visit our homepage anytime, and please have a great rest of your day.
