How to Treat Canine Constipation

To cope with canine constipation, you may need to rethink Fido's diet. You might be able to help by keeping the right amount of fiber in your dog's diet and making sure your dog is properly hydrated. If you feed your dog a raw or cooked diet, and your dog does not eat vegetables, you can avoid constipation by feeding the proper amount of bone and organ meat.

How Do I Know If My Dog Is Constipated?
If the dog strains during bowel movements or the stool is small and hard or nonexistent, the dog is constipated. Sometimes, the dog might yelp in pain during an attempted bowel movement. Other symptoms include bloat or loss of appetite.

Raw Diets And Constipation
There are several versions of the raw diet, including the prey model and BARF (Bones and Raw Food). People who feed the prey model feed a whole animal, like a chicken, over a few days or for one meal, depending on the size of the dog. BARF consists of feeding meat in proportions as close as possible to the proportions of a whole animal-about 10 percent bone, 10 percent organs and 80 percent muscle meat.

Constipation may occur if the dog gets too much bone. You can avoid constipation by feeding the proper amount of muscle meat, organ meat and bone. If you feed twice a day, and the morning meal is bony, such as chicken frames or chicken wings, you should feed muscle and organ meat for the second meal.

A dog on a raw or cooked diet will have smaller, firmer stools because the dog's body converts more of the food for energy, nutrients and vitamins. Signs of constipation in raw-fed dogs will be apparent when the dog tries to have a bowel movement with no results or strains to have a bowel movement.

Constipation Treatments
Though kibble has a percentage of fiber in it, a kibble-fed dog could still become constipated. If you feed a kibble diet, it is not as easy to adjust the dog's meals to help deal with the constipation. That said, you could try several home remedies for constipation:

• One of the best options is canned pumpkin. Feed a tablespoon once or twice a day until the dog becomes regular. Do not overfeed on the pumpkin, or else it will have the opposite effect.
• Two to three spoons per day of wheat bran or Grape Nuts can also help. Make sure there is no chocolate or walnuts in the cereal. Do not use this method if your dog is allergic to grains and wheat.
• Metamucil may also be effective. Give ½ teaspoon twice a day to a small breed and 2 teaspoons twice a day for larger dogs. Again, do not use this method for dogs that cannot have wheat and other grains.

If these treatments and a change in diet don't help, it might be time to go to the vet to discuss canine medication options, and consult your vet if you have any questions.