Feeding & digestion basics – the main feeding styles

Proper digestion is essential for your dog’s health

A dog’s digestive system can be divided into two parts:

• Upper digestive tract: mouth, oesophagus and stomach

• Lower digestive tract: small intestine, large intestine and anus

The upper digestive tract ends at the stomach, where most of the digestion happens.
When food reaches the stomach, strong stomach acid helps break it down.

A fun fact about a dog’s stomach acid

Do you know what it contains?

• hydrochloric acid

• free hydrochloric acid

• pepsin – the main digestive enzyme that breaks proteins down into polypeptides

• other digestive enzymes that help turn food into a mush

A dog’s stomach acid is much, much more acidic than a human’s. No surprise: we don’t eat bones or raw meat.
Your dog’s stomach pH is typically around 1–2 (low pH = acidic, higher pH = alkaline), while the human stomach is much less acidic during digestion – roughly 5–6.

The nervous system and stress also affect digestion

Just like in humans, a dog’s central nervous system controls the mouth, throat and oesophagus — chewing and swallowing (somewhat consciously).
The autonomic nervous system controls the stomach, as well as the small and large intestines. This is the part of the nervous system that manages unconscious functions like breathing and heartbeat.

So if your dog has stomach issues, remember that stress can have a real impact — and your dog may react to it unconsciously, causing intestinal and digestive problems.

Liver, gallbladder and pancreas: the digestion team

Next to the stomach, you’ll find the liver and gallbladder. They produce bile, a yellowish, bitter fluid that breaks down fats in the small intestine.

Food moves from the stomach (with help from the pancreas) into the small intestine. These organs process and “manage” nutrients.
Up to this point, the digestive tract is almost sterile, thanks to the acidic environment.

That changes immediately once the “leftover waste” reaches the large intestine.

The large intestine: where the bacteria party starts

The large intestine is where most bacteria live — basically waiting excitedly to break down the mush that isn’t “poop” yet 😄
The large intestine also plays a major role in the immune system: when it’s functioning well, it keeps beneficial bacteria in balance and suppresses harmful ones.

It also helps absorb fluids and optimises the water content of stool.

Once the large intestine has finished “processing the waste,” the central nervous system takes over again so your dog can control when and where to poop 🙂
(Not a bad feature at all — when it works… and for whoever it works… 😅)

Even though the large intestine is essentially the body’s waste centre, it has a huge role in water balance and electrolyte use before the body finally removes what it can no longer use.

Gut bacteria have a major impact on immunity

Most bacteria live in the large intestine — they feel right at home there 🙂
These good bacteria help break down and utilise food, and they also supply the body with useful vitamins such as vitamin K.

The gut bacteria strongly influence the immune system — they can both strengthen and suppress it.
When these “good guy” strains are damaged, digestion gets thrown off. Triggers can include:

• stress

• illness

• poor diet

• medications — especially antibiotics, which kill both good and bad bacteria

This can lead to loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation.

A slightly gross but important comparison

Okay, this part is a bit “ew,” but you’ll need it to understand next week’s post 😄
Imagine the inside of your dog’s intestines like a terry towel sock: an outer wall with lots of little fibres (villi) inside.
Normally, these sit close together and protect the body from toxins and bacteria passing through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.

When the villi aren’t hydrated enough, they don’t stick together properly — that’s when inflammation, constipation or diarrhoea can appear.

But as shocking as that might sound… that’s not even the worst part.

Think of the intestines as a safe channel designed to carry dangerous waste out of the body.
If that channel is damaged, toxic waste can “leak” and enter the body.

And that doesn’t just affect poop quality…
A damaged gut lining doesn’t only absorb nutrients — it can absorb things that should never pass through. Besides digestive issues, this may contribute to anal gland inflammation and — hold on — many skin problems are linked to a poorly functioning large intestine and an overworked liver.
Wow. Would you have guessed that?

I won’t go deeper (even though I could write a lot about it).
The main point: proper nutrition is the foundation of everything.

The three main feeding approaches (commonly used here)

Order is random.

1) Kibble (dry food)

The most widely accepted, most convenient and easiest feeding method. Everything your dog needs is in one bag, right?
But honestly, it can be one of the worst ways to feed your dog — even if you buy the most premium kibble.

I know not everyone can do raw feeding. But even then, it’s important to know the facts.

Kibble often contains lower-quality meat sources, and not all of them are truly fresh (no matter what the packaging says — a lot can be “improved”).
Yes, some dogs eat kibble and seem fine. But we don’t know how they would be if they received the most bioavailable, species-appropriate food.

I’m not trying to judge anyone. My job is simply to open eyes a little.

Kibble is often packed with grains. Grains alone wouldn’t necessarily be an issue — prey stomach contents used to contain some. But in much smaller amounts.
Grains aren’t added for health reasons; they’re added because they make production cheaper.

Feeding kibble is a bit like you eating oatmeal for the rest of your life — not the healthy kind, but the sugar-and-colourings kind.
That’s enough for an intro show today — we’ll talk more about it later 🙂

2) Cooked diet

A step better than kibble, because you can see exactly what goes into your dog’s bowl.
However, cooking destroys many valuable vitamins your dog needs, and heat also changes the structure of the protein in meat, which isn’t ideal.

Still, it’s generally better than kibble.
With cooked feeding, the key is to consistently support your dog with the right additions, including seasonally.

3) Raw feeding

You’ve probably guessed it: this is the feeding method I truly prefer.
Not because it’s trendy. Not because I want chicken legs stuck in my dog’s throat. And not because I want to spend millions at the vet…

Honestly, I spent the most money on vets back when we fed Bosco kibble and gave him medications — “because surely that will fix it.”
Well… it didn’t.

Dogs are carnivores — meat is what they’re built for 🙂
Sure, bulldogs, yorkies and even dalmatians aren’t wolves — obviously.
But their digestive system hasn’t fundamentally changed. It’s still designed for meat.

And I always say: dogs depend on us — they eat what we give them.
So it’s our responsibility whether they eat in a healthy way or not. Just like with a child: the parent decides whether to hand them chocolate or an apple.

My examples may sound a bit blunt — but I can’t illustrate it more simply.