Glossary

Antibiotics and Gut Flora (Care)

The idea that a course of antibiotics acts not only on the bacteria being treated but also on the resident bacteria of the gut, which is why digestion sometimes changes during and after treatment.

Apple (Food)

A fiber-containing fruit used as a treat and gut-friendly topper for dogs. Core and seeds removed, small amounts only.

Bad Breath (Halitosis) (Care)

A strong smell from a dog's or cat's mouth, most often produced by bacteria living in plaque and tartar, and sometimes reflecting something further down in the body.

Banana (Food)

A soft fruit that contains pectin, a soluble fiber, and is commonly offered to dogs in small pieces as a treat or a food topper.

Bone Broth (Food)

A broth made by simmering bones for many hours, popular as a hydration helper and appetite-boosting topper for dogs and cats. Unsalted, and never with onion or garlic.

Bristol Stool Scale (Care)

A seven point scale that sorts stool by form and firmness, developed for people and borrowed as a way of describing what comes out of dogs and cats.

Cabbage (Food)

A leafy brassica vegetable that supplies fiber and is sometimes cooked and chopped as a small topper for dogs.

Carrot (Food)

A root vegetable with fiber and beta-carotene, popular as a topper for dogs and cats. Its tough cell walls mean cooked and soft beats raw for digestibility.

Chicken Breast (Food)

A lean, high protein cut of poultry used widely in pet bowls and as a treat, whose effect on the gut depends largely on how much is fed and how well it is digested.

Dietary Fiber (Nutrients)

The poorly digested food components that work in the gut: regulating stools and feeding beneficial bacteria. Two kinds, soluble and insoluble, do different jobs.

Dysbiosis (Gut Basics)

A state in which the balance of the gut bacteria has broken down: diversity is lost and less helpful bacteria gain the upper hand.

Fermented Food (Food)

Foods created by the work of microbes, such as yogurt, kefir and Japan's natto. A gut-care topic for pets, with real rules about which kinds and how much.

Food Transition (Care)

The practice of moving from one food to another gradually over several days to a week by mixing increasing proportions of the new food, rather than swapping in one step.

Goat Milk (Food)

Milk from goats, sold in dog and cat formulations and used as a treat and a way to get more fluids into pets.

Green Tripe (Food)

The unprocessed fourth stomach of ruminants such as cattle and sheep, containing digestive enzymes and bacteria. A well-known gut-friendly food in dog raw feeding.

Gut Microbiota (Gut Basics)

The entire community of bacteria living in a dog's or cat's intestines. Often called the gut flora, or the gut microbiome when its genes are included.

Gut-Brain Axis (Gut Basics)

The two-way communication between the gut and the brain through nerves and hormones. Gut condition is thought to relate to mood and behavior, and stress to the gut.

Hydration (Care)

The daily craft of getting enough water into a dog or cat. Water shapes stool consistency and gut movement, making it one of the quiet foundations of gut care.

Kefir (Food)

A fermented milk made with multiple bacteria and yeasts working together. A cousin of yogurt that comes up in dog and cat gut care.

Leaky Gut (Gut Basics)

A proposed state in which the gut lining's barrier function weakens, letting through substances it would normally keep out. An area of active research in dogs and cats.

Okra (Food)

A green pod vegetable whose slippery texture comes from soluble fiber, sometimes cooked soft and offered to dogs in small amounts.

Postbiotics (Nutrients)

The beneficial compounds gut bacteria produce, and components of the bacteria themselves. Short-chain fatty acids are the flagship example.

Prebiotics (Nutrients)

Nutrients that feed the beneficial bacteria already living in the gut. Oligosaccharides and soluble fiber are the classic examples.

Probiotics (Nutrients)

Live beneficial bacteria, and the foods or supplements that contain them, given to support a healthy gut environment in dogs and cats.

Pumpkin (Food)

A fiber-rich vegetable popular as a gut-friendly food for dogs and cats, served cooked, plain and in small amounts.

Short-Chain Fatty Acids (Gut Basics)

Compounds such as butyrate, acetate and propionate that gut bacteria produce by fermenting fiber. They are considered central to gut health.

Slippery Elm (Nutrients)

The powdered inner bark of the red elm, rich in mucilage that turns gel-like in water. A well-known digestive-care herb in Western pet circles, used with veterinary guidance.

Stool Color (Care)

The color of a dog's or cat's stool: brown comes from bile pigment transformed by gut bacteria, and shifts in color reflect the bacteria's work and transit time.

Sweet Potato (Food)

A fiber-rich favorite among gut-friendly foods for dogs and cats, served cooked, plain and in small amounts.

Synbiotics (Nutrients)

The approach of taking beneficial bacteria (probiotics) together with the food those bacteria eat (prebiotics), so the two arrive as a working pair.

Xylitol (Never Give to Pets) (Care)

A sugar alcohol used in human dental care products. In dogs, even small amounts are reported to cause severe reactions. Never give it, in any form.

Yogurt (Food)

Milk fermented with lactic acid bacteria. A familiar gut-care food for dogs and cats when served plain, unsweetened and in small amounts.