Considering that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, this seemed like a very appropriate question to address for November. Acute Turkey-itis is, after all, our most common diagnosis for sick patients the Monday after Thanksgiving.
For starters, it isn’t leftovers or food-gone-bad that makes dogs sick. And not all dogs get sick from a few table scraps here and there. I’m just as guilty as the next dog owner for sharing parts of my meals with my dog Joe (he is a professional sad-face beggar…). It’s any larger amount food outside of their normal dog food that has potential for problems. When I see a dog with vomiting and/or diarrhea, our first question to the owners is “Has he had any table scraps?”. The most common responses are things like “Yes, but it was really good food…” or “Yes, but it’s stuff he’s had before”. I always believe these answers 100%, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is still the most likely cause for the pooch’s problems. Like most things, I try to present an analogy back to myself to explain why. Every 6 months or so, my guy friends and I like to get together. This can often involve the coveted “Steak Night”: our reward for eating healthy the rest of the time. On top of steak, it usually includes rich and wonderful side dishes full of cheese and sauces. It’s a fantastic evening followed almost invariably by a morning of regrets, shame, and a feeling like someone dropped A-bomb in our guts. There was nothing wrong with the food, it was just very different from the type of meal from that we usually eat and our bodies don’t have the enzymes and tolerance needed to handle the new foods. This all happens despite humans’ habits of switching up their menus on a regular basis. We will eat fish one day, then chicken, then pasta…. Now imagine you’re a dog who only eats the same dog food every day, twice a day, 365 days a year. Giving them a meal rich in new fats and other ingredients can be a nightmare for their gastrointestinal tracts.
So why does this happen? Digestion is, as my vet school professor called it, “a complex symphony of organs and enzymes”. I still get migraines thinking about the diagrams in our textbooks. Those organs keep a lot of those enzymes in storage ready to digest and process our meals. If we eat a low-fat diet, the body learns it doesn’t need to store all that much bile to process those fats. But, if we then go and eat a big eggs Benedict with a side of bacon at a special bunch (and maybe a slice of cheesecake… Hey, you earned it), you are going to wipe out that supply. The result will be that a bunch of undigested fats are now working their way down your intestinal tract instead of getting absorbed by the body. Just like digestion, there is also a complex symphony of bacteria in our system that are also used to a set diet. Those unprocessed fats are like sending those bacteria their own Sunday brunch and they will begin overgrowing their environment. The resulting inflammation and swelling is what leads to us reaching for the Pepto.
If signs are mild, we can usually fix this in dogs with a special diet, probiotics, and some medicine for the bacterial overgrowth. However, in many cases, this can also progress to a more serious condition called pancreatitis. While we are not sure why this occurs this way in dogs, the pancreas becomes inflamed and begins leaching stored digestive enzymes into the surrounding tissue instead of safely into the intestines. This effectively means the dogs are digesting themselves from the inside. The resulting damage is not only very painful, but also allows intestinal bacteria into the blood stream creating a dangerous condition called sepsis. This can be fatal as is leads to heart arrhythmias and shock. So, while many times dogs can work out a little diarrhea on their own with some boiled meat and rice at home, be proactive and have them checked out if they are acting sick. The typical ICU stay at one of the overnight hospitals can easily top in the thousands in cases of severe pancreatitis. Better yet, keep those scraps out of the dog bowl. Maybe a little piece of popover instead… Joe will probably be getting one.