Cocker Spaniel Gut Health: The Protein-Losing Gut Explained

Summary

The Cocker Spaniel, both English and American varieties, presents a gut health profile that is more clinically demanding than its cheerful temperament might suggest. This breed has a documented presence in chronic enteropathy and inflammatory bowel disease case series, shows measurable susceptibility to food sensitivity and immune-reactive gut disease, and carries a breed-specific metabolic predisposition to taurine deficiency associated with dilated cardiomyopathy. When chronic inflammatory enteropathy progresses, it can compromise intestinal mucosal integrity to the point of protein-losing enteropathy, a serious, potentially life-threatening complication requiring urgent veterinary management. At the centre of this picture is the gut-immune axis: a compromised or insufficiently diverse gut microbiome is both a driver and a consequence of intestinal inflammation in this breed. This guide explains the key digestive challenges Cocker Spaniels face, what the research shows about their gut microbiome, and how targeted nutritional support can help maintain mucosal integrity and long-term gut resilience.

---

Introduction

When Cocker Spaniel owners describe a dog with a “sensitive stomach,” they are often understating what is, for this breed, a genuinely complex immunological picture. The Cocker Spaniel sits at an intersection of gut-immune reactivity, chronic inflammatory gut disease, and metabolic idiosyncrasy that sets it apart from the majority of dog breeds. It is not that every Cocker Spaniel will develop serious gastrointestinal disease. Many will not. But the genetic and immunological ground is more fertile for it, and that has direct implications for how owners approach nutrition and daily gut care.

The gut-immune axis is the most important lens through which to understand this breed’s gastrointestinal health. In Cocker Spaniels, the intestinal mucosa is the primary site of vulnerability: it is where food antigens are processed, where commensal bacteria maintain the barrier, and where immune dysregulation most readily takes hold. When that barrier is compromised, a cascade of consequences follows, from food sensitivity and chronic diarrhoea through to, in more serious cases, protein malabsorption and systemic hypoproteinaemia.

This article examines the Cocker Spaniel’s gut health profile in full, with a particular focus on protein-losing enteropathy, chronic enteropathy, food sensitivity, and the taurine metabolism picture. It draws on current peer-reviewed evidence and provides practical, evidence-based guidance for owners who want to support their Cocker Spaniel’s gut health from the inside out.

---

Key Takeaways

• Cocker Spaniels appear consistently in chronic enteropathy and IBD case series, with an identified association with inflammatory gut disease, including in UK breed studies.
• Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) can develop as a complication of chronic intestinal inflammation in this breed; it carries a guarded prognosis and requires prompt veterinary management.
• Cocker Spaniels show a documented predisposition to food sensitivity and food-responsive enteropathy, making dietary composition a key lever in long-term gut management.
• Both English and American Cocker Spaniels have breed-specific taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy associations documented in peer-reviewed research; taurine status should be monitored by a veterinarian.
• The gut microbiome plays a direct role in maintaining mucosal barrier integrity; dysbiosis is both a consequence and a driver of inflammatory gut disease in dogs.
• Belly (for digestive sensitivity and mucosal support) and Biotics (as a daily microbiome foundation) are the most targeted Bonza supplements for this breed; Block is the alternative lead for dogs whose primary presentation is food sensitivity or immune-reactive skin.

---

In This Guide

• The Gut Health Profile of the Cocker Spaniel
• Protein-Losing Enteropathy in Cocker Spaniels: What Owners Need to Know
• Chronic Enteropathy and the Gut-Immune Axis
• Food Sensitivity and Adverse Food Reactions in Cocker Spaniels
• Taurine Deficiency and the Metabolic Picture
• Cocker Spaniel Gut Dysbiosis: What the Research Shows
• How Bonza Supports Cocker Spaniel Gut Health
• How To Support Your Cocker Spaniel’s Gut Health: A Practical Guide
• Safety Considerations and When to See Your Vet
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion
• Related Articles
• References
• Editorial Information

---

The Gut Health Profile of the Cocker Spaniel

The Cocker Spaniel, in both its English and American forms, is a gun dog breed with an immune system that has a demonstrable tendency toward overreaction at the gut wall. That is not a metaphor. Chronic enteropathy and inflammatory bowel disease have been reported at elevated rates in Cocker Spaniels across multiple veterinary settings, and the Merck Veterinary Manual identifies Cocker Spaniels, alongside German Shepherd Dogs and Yorkshire Terriers, as breeds in which inflammatory bowel disease may occur more commonly.¹

What distinguishes the Cocker Spaniel’s gut profile is not one single disease but the convergence of three overlapping vulnerabilities. The first is a susceptibility to chronic inflammatory gut disease, including food-responsive, immune-mediated, and protein-losing forms of enteropathy. The second is a documented metabolic predisposition, in both the English and American varieties, to taurine deficiency and its cardiac consequences. The third is the role of the gut microbiome in all of the above: dysbiosis in the canine gut is both a driver and a consequence of intestinal inflammation, and for a breed already carrying elevated immune reactivity at the gut wall, a compromised microbiome represents a meaningful long-term health risk.

Understanding these three threads, and how they interact, is the starting point for effective gut health management in this breed.

What Makes the Cocker Spaniel’s Gut Immune System Distinctive

The intestinal immune system in dogs operates through gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), which functions as a constant interface between the host’s immune cells and the enormous antigen load of the gut lumen: commensal bacteria, dietary proteins, environmental particles. In healthy dogs, GALT maintains a delicate tolerance: reacting protectively against genuine pathogens while remaining non-reactive to harmless commensal bacteria and food.

In Cocker Spaniels, the evidence suggests this tolerance is more readily disrupted. Breed-specific genetic architecture, while not yet mapped to specific mutations in this breed as it has been in German Shepherd Dogs, appears to influence TLR (toll-like receptor) signalling and mucosal immune calibration in ways that make chronic immune activation at the intestinal wall more likely.⁴ The practical consequence is a gut that reacts where it need not, sustaining inflammation that, over time, damages the very mucosa it is supposed to protect.

---

Protein-Losing Enteropathy in Cocker Spaniels: What Owners Need to Know

Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is not a disease in itself but a syndrome. It describes a state in which the rate of protein loss across the intestinal wall outpaces the liver’s capacity for protein synthesis, producing hypoproteinaemia, which is low circulating protein, particularly albumin.¹ ² PLE in dogs develops most commonly as a complication of chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE), and to a lesser extent intestinal lymphangiectasia.

In the peer-reviewed PLE literature, which spans more than four decades of clinical data involving over 450 dogs, PLE has been associated with disease-related death in more than half of affected animals.¹ That figure places it in a different category of severity from uncomplicated IBD, where disease-associated mortality is substantially lower. A 2024 UK referral hospital study of 107 dogs presenting with PLE recorded an in-hospital mortality of 21.5%, with Cocker Spaniels among the breeds represented in the cohort.³

Cocker Spaniels are not among the primary genetically predisposed PLE breeds, which include Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, Norwegian Lundehunds, and Yorkshire Terriers. However, they do appear consistently in PLE case series, and this is best understood through the pathway most relevant to this breed: PLE as a complication of chronic inflammatory enteropathy and immune-mediated gut disease rather than primary intestinal lymphangiectasia. In a breed already predisposed to chronic enteropathy, the progression to protein malabsorption represents a clinically plausible escalation if gut inflammation is poorly managed or goes unrecognised for extended periods.²

Recognising the Warning Signs

The clinical presentation of PLE can be subtle in its early stages. The most common signs in dogs include: diarrhoea, which may be intermittent or chronic; weight loss; reduced appetite; a soft or distended abdomen from ascites (fluid accumulation); and oedema, particularly noticeable as swelling of the limbs or under the belly. In some dogs with PLE, gastrointestinal signs are minimal and weight loss is the most prominent presenting complaint.¹

Any Cocker Spaniel showing unexplained weight loss, persistent diarrhoea, or visible abdominal swelling should receive prompt veterinary assessment, including serum albumin measurement. Hypoalbuminaemia, a serum albumin concentration below 20g/L, is the hallmark biochemical finding in PLE and a negative prognostic indicator when severe.²

---

Chronic Enteropathy and the Gut-Immune Axis

Chronic enteropathy (CE) is the umbrella term for persistent or recurrent gastrointestinal signs lasting three weeks or longer, once other causes such as infection, parasitism, and non-gastrointestinal disease have been excluded. In dogs, CE is further classified according to treatment response: food-responsive enteropathy (FRE), antibiotic-responsive enteropathy (ARE), immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathy (IRE, also termed idiopathic IBD), and non-responsive enteropathy.⁵

Cocker Spaniels feature in UK-based breed-IBD research and in the chronic enteropathy literature as a breed in which inflammatory bowel disease occurs at an elevated rate.⁴ The gut-immune axis is the relevant biological framework here. As explored in Bonza’s The Gut-Immune Axis in Dogs: How Gut Health Supports Immune Health, the intestinal mucosa does not merely absorb nutrients: it is the body’s largest immune organ, continuously sampling the contents of the gut lumen and calibrating immune responses accordingly.

When dysbiosis and mucosal inflammation become established, the gut-immune system enters a self-perpetuating inflammatory cycle. Beneficial commensal bacteria, including short-chain fatty acid producers such as Faecalibacterium spp., decline; the bile acid-converting Peptacetobacter (Clostridium) hiranonis becomes depleted; and the mucosal barrier, dependent on tight junction integrity and butyrate-driven colonocyte energy, begins to fail.¹⁰ In Cocker Spaniels, where the immune system already has a tendency toward over-activation at the gut wall, this cycle is harder to interrupt once established.

Lymphoplasmacytic Enteritis: The Most Common Histological Finding

In dogs with chronic enteropathy requiring biopsy, the most commonly identified histological pattern is lymphoplasmacytic enteritis, which is an infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells into the intestinal mucosa. This pattern is non-specific to any single aetiology: it occurs in food-responsive, antibiotic-responsive, and immunosuppressant-responsive forms of chronic enteropathy alike, and is the most likely finding in Cocker Spaniels presenting for endoscopic biopsy.⁵ Its presence indicates that the immune system has established a significant presence within the gut wall, and that the mucosal environment is genuinely inflammatory.

Treatment approach depends on subsequent response to dietary trial and, where necessary, immunosuppression. The good news for many Cocker Spaniels is that food-responsive enteropathy, which responds to dietary management alone without pharmacological intervention, is the most common form of CE across all dog breeds, accounting for 50-65% of cases.⁵

---

Food Sensitivity and Adverse Food Reactions in Cocker Spaniels

Food-responsive enteropathy describes chronic gastrointestinal signs that resolve or significantly improve following an appropriate dietary trial. It encompasses both immune-mediated food allergy, where specific dietary proteins trigger an inappropriate immune response, and non-immune-mediated food intolerance, where reactions occur without involving IgE-mediated pathways.⁵

Cocker Spaniels appear in FRE cohorts across multiple clinical settings, including in a veterinary study investigating food-responsive enteropathy and amino acid profiles, and are recognised in veterinary nutritional literature as a breed with an elevated tendency toward food sensitivity.⁵ ⁸ The underlying mechanism relates to the same gut-immune overreactivity described above: a mucosal immune system that, in the context of increased intestinal permeability and dysbiosis, becomes sensitised to dietary antigens it would otherwise tolerate.

The most common food allergens in dogs are animal proteins, with beef, dairy, chicken, wheat, soy and corn consistently appearing across canine food allergy literature. In Cocker Spaniels with food sensitivity, identification of the offending ingredient requires a proper elimination diet trial lasting a minimum of eight weeks, conducted with veterinary guidance. During this period, all potential allergens are removed from the diet and the dog is fed either a hydrolysed protein diet or a novel protein source to which they have had no prior exposure.⁵ Plant-based foods are being recommended by the veterinary profession more frequently given their success.

Why Dietary Composition Matters Beyond Allergen Avoidance

Even in Cocker Spaniels without a confirmed food allergy, dietary composition has a direct bearing on gut microbiome diversity and mucosal health. Dietary fibre, in its soluble and fermentable forms, is the primary substrate for the beneficial SCFA-producing bacteria that sustain mucosal integrity, regulate immune activation, and counteract dysbiosis.⁸ A diet that provides consistent, diverse prebiotic fibre does not merely support digestion: it actively shapes the microbial environment that the gut-immune system depends upon.

---

Taurine Deficiency and the Metabolic Picture

Both the English and American Cocker Spaniel carry a documented breed-specific susceptibility to taurine deficiency, and its most serious consequence, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

The foundational clinical evidence comes from the Multicenter Spaniel Trial (MUST), in which fourteen American Cocker Spaniels diagnosed with DCM were shown to have significantly reduced plasma taurine concentrations. Those supplemented with taurine and L-carnitine showed measurable echocardiographic improvement, establishing the taurine-responsive nature of a subset of DCM cases in this breed.⁶ Subsequent work documented the same association in English Cocker Spaniels in the United Kingdom: a retrospective study at a UK academic referral centre found that thirteen of sixteen English Cocker Spaniels with a DCM phenotype had low plasma taurine concentrations (below 50µmol/L).⁷ Taurine supplementation was associated with improvement in left ventricular systolic function, though it was not curative, and conventional cardiac management remained necessary.⁷

The Mandatory Editorial Position: This Is Not About Diet Type

In accordance with the evidence-based position locked for this series, the taurine deficiency seen in Cocker Spaniels is best understood as a breed-specific metabolic susceptibility rather than a dietary risk attributable to any particular diet type. The hypothesis that grain-free or legume-containing diets cause DCM in dogs was never established by the available evidence. Observational studies identified a pattern of taurine-deficient DCM in certain breeds whose diets varied in composition, but correlation in an observational study is not causation. Subsequent prospective work has not demonstrated adverse cardiac effects attributable to grain-free or legume-rich dietary formulations. DCM in dogs remains primarily a genetic and metabolic condition, and in predisposed breeds such as Cocker Spaniels, the aetiology is multifactorial, involving genetic susceptibility, individual metabolic differences in taurine synthesis and recycling, and breed-level variation in the transsulfuration pathway.⁶ ⁷

The appropriate clinical response for any Cocker Spaniel owner is veterinary taurine screening, and echocardiographic monitoring from mid-life onwards, in consultation with a qualified veterinarian.

---

Cocker Spaniel Gut Dysbiosis: What the Research Shows

The role of gut dysbiosis in canine chronic enteropathy is now well-established in the veterinary microbiome literature. Dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy demonstrate consistent and measurable shifts in gut microbiome composition compared to healthy dogs: reductions in Faecalibacterium spp. and Fusobacterium spp., depletion of the bile acid-converting Peptacetobacter hiranonis, and functional impairment of short-chain fatty acid production.⁸ ¹⁰

In 2024, a study specifically examining the gut microbiome in dogs with inflammatory PLE, using the validated Dysbiosis Index (DI) quantitative PCR assay, found that dogs with PLE displayed significant microbiome disruption alongside altered fecal metabolomic profiles, including changes in bile acids, long-chain fatty acids, and sterols.⁹ This establishes a direct mechanistic link between gut microbiome disruption and one of the most serious gastrointestinal complications seen in the Cocker Spaniel: the gut microbiome is not merely a bystander in PLE but an active participant in mucosal integrity and immune regulation.⁹

The Microbiome-Mucosal Barrier Relationship

The gut microbiome’s role in maintaining mucosal integrity operates through several interconnected mechanisms. Beneficial bacteria, including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia species, produce butyrate through fermentation of dietary fibre. Butyrate is the primary energy source for colonocytes, the cells lining the intestinal wall, and adequate butyrate production is essential for maintaining the tight junction proteins that prevent unregulated movement of bacteria, antigens, and bacterial products across the gut wall.¹⁰ When the microbiome is disrupted, butyrate production falls, tight junctions become compromised, and intestinal permeability increases, creating the conditions in which immune reactivity, food sensitivity, and protein loss can become established.

For Cocker Spaniels, whose gut-immune system is already more reactive than average, maintaining a healthy and diverse gut microbiome is not a lifestyle addition: it is a genuine clinical priority. The more consistently microbiome diversity and mucosal barrier support are maintained, the less opportunity there is for dysbiosis to establish the inflammatory cycle that characterises this breed’s most common gut presentations. For a deeper exploration of the gut microbiome’s role in whole-body health, see Bonza’s The Dog Gut Microbiome: Vital Key to Dog Health.

---

How Bonza Supports Cocker Spaniel Gut Health

Belly: The Primary Supplement for This Breed

Belly is the most targeted supplement in the Bonza Bioactive Bites functional supplement range for the Cocker Spaniel’s gastrointestinal profile. Its formulation addresses digestive sensitivity, gut motility, and mucosal support, which are the three areas most directly implicated in this breed’s characteristic presentations: food sensitivity, chronic enteropathy, and the mucosal barrier compromise that underpins protein malabsorption risk.

For Cocker Spaniels with a history of sensitive digestion, intermittent soft stools or diarrhoea, or those recovering from a chronic enteropathy episode under veterinary management, Belly provides targeted bioactive support for the gut lining and the motility patterns that underpin consistent digestive function.

Biotics: The Universal Microbiome Foundation

Regardless of primary presentation, every Cocker Spaniel benefits from a consistent, daily microbiome foundation. Bonza’s Biotics prebiotic, probiotic and postbiotic supplement delivers the full Biotics Triad: prebiotics to feed beneficial bacteria; Calsporin® (Bacillus velezensis DSM 15544), Bonza’s live probiotic, which supports gut-associated immune regulation and microbiome stability; and postbiotics including TruPet™ and Lactobacillus helveticus HA-122, which support mucosal immune function through heat-inactivated microbial components. This triad directly addresses the core vulnerability of the Cocker Spaniel’s gut: the tendency toward dysbiosis, mucosal compromise, and immune over-activation at the intestinal wall.

Block: The Alternative Lead for Immune-Skin Presentations

For Cocker Spaniels whose primary presentation is food sensitivity with concurrent atopic skin disease, immune reactivity, or signs pointing more strongly toward the gut-skin axis than gastrointestinal protein loss, Block is the recommended alternative lead. Block addresses the gut-skin-immune intersection and is positioned as an alternative to Belly rather than a supplement to be stacked alongside it. A Cocker Spaniel with chronic itching, recurrent skin infections, and digestive sensitivity that responds to elimination diet is a Block candidate. A Cocker Spaniel with weight loss, chronic soft stools, and low albumin is a Belly and Biotics candidate, with urgent veterinary assessment as the priority.

For our full supplement recommendations and a practical protocol built specifically for Cocker Spaniels, see: Best Gut Health Supplements for Cocker Spaniels: A Canine Nutritionist’s Guide.

For a full explanation of the three-layer prebiotic, probiotic and postbiotic framework that underpins these recommendations, see Gut Health Supplements for Dogs: Why Probiotics Alone Are Not Enough.

---

How To Support Your Cocker Spaniel’s Gut Health: A Practical Guide

---

Safety Considerations and When to See Your Vet

The supplements described in this article are designed to support everyday gut health in Cocker Spaniels and are not intended to replace veterinary treatment. The following situations require prompt veterinary assessment rather than nutritional intervention alone.

Seek veterinary advice immediately if your Cocker Spaniel shows any of the following: sudden or unexplained weight loss; persistent vomiting lasting more than 24 hours; profuse, watery diarrhoea or diarrhoea with blood; visible abdominal distension; swelling of the limbs or under the belly; difficulty breathing; or collapse.

These signs may indicate protein-losing enteropathy, intestinal obstruction, acute haemorrhagic diarrhoea syndrome, or other conditions requiring urgent clinical management. PLE in particular is a medical emergency when severe: hypoalbuminaemia below 20g/L is a recognised negative prognostic indicator, and early intervention substantially changes outcomes.¹ ²

For Cocker Spaniels already under veterinary management for chronic enteropathy, PLE, or cardiac disease, always discuss any nutritional changes, including new supplements, with your veterinarian before introducing them. This is particularly relevant where immunosuppressive medication is in use.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

---

Conclusion

The Cocker Spaniel is a breed whose gut health deserves more serious attention than it typically receives. Behind the cheerful exterior is an immune system that is more reactive at the gut wall than most breeds, a digestive system predisposed to food sensitivity and chronic enteropathy, and a metabolism that carries a documented susceptibility to taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy. These are not reasons for alarm. They are reasons for informed, proactive management.

The gut microbiome sits at the centre of this breed’s long-term health picture. Microbiome diversity, mucosal barrier integrity, and the consistent production of beneficial metabolites such as butyrate and secondary bile acids are what separate a Cocker Spaniel with resilient gut health from one trapped in the dysbiosis-inflammation-malabsorption cycle that characterises the worst outcomes in this breed. Supporting that microbiome consistently, with the right prebiotic substrates, a validated live probiotic, and postbiotic immune support, is not an optional extra. It is the most meaningful preventive investment a Cocker Spaniel owner can make.

What the evidence makes clear is that gut health for Cocker Spaniels is not a problem to be solved once and forgotten. It is an ongoing biological reality that responds, measurably and meaningfully, to what you do every day. Feed well, monitor closely, and work with a veterinarian who understands this breed’s specific vulnerabilities. The gut-immune axis in your Cocker Spaniel is always in conversation with the choices you make. Make sure it is receiving the right signals.

---

Related Articles

• The Dog Gut Microbiome: Vital Key to Dog Health
• The Gut-Immune Axis in Dogs: How Gut Health Supports Immune Health
• The Gut-Longevity Axis in Dogs: Key To Improved Healthspan
• Best Probiotics for Dogs: Canine Nutritionist’s Guide to Real Gut Impact
• Best Prebiotics for Dogs: Canine Nutritionist’s Complete Guide
• Gut Health Supplements for Dogs: Why Probiotics Alone Are Not Enough
• Gut Dysbiosis in Dogs: Causes, Symptoms & How to Restore Balance

---

References

1. Craven MD, Washabau RJ. Comparative pathophysiology and management of protein-losing enteropathy. J Vet Intern Med. 2019;33(2):383-402. doi: 10.1111/jvim.15406. PMID: 30762910. PMC: 6430879.
2. Dossin O, Lavoué R. Protein-losing enteropathies in dogs. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2011;41(2):399-418. doi: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2011.02.002. PMID: 21486643.
3. Hawes C, Kathrani A. In-hospital mortality in dogs with protein-losing enteropathy and associated risk factors. J Vet Intern Med. 2024;38(4):2265-2272. doi: 10.1111/jvim.17123. PMID: 38819636. PMC: 11256150
4. Kathrani A, Werling D, Allenspach K. Canine breeds at high risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease in the south-eastern UK. Vet Rec. 2011;169(24):635. doi: 10.1136/vr.d5380. PMID: 21896567.
5. Dandrieux JRS. Inflammatory bowel disease versus chronic enteropathy in dogs: are they one and the same? J Small Anim Pract. 2016;57(11):589-599. doi: 10.1111/jsap.12588. PMID: 27747868.
6. Kittleson MD, Keene B, Pion PD, Loyer CG. Results of the multicenter spaniel trial (MUST): taurine- and carnitine-responsive dilated cardiomyopathy in American Cocker Spaniels with decreased plasma taurine concentration. J Vet Intern Med. 1997;11(4):204-211. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.1997.tb00092.x. PMID: 9298474.
7. Basili M, Pedro B, Hodgkiss-Geere H, Navarro-Cubas X, Graef N, Dukes-McEwan J. Low plasma taurine levels in English cocker spaniels diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. J Small Anim Pract. 2021;62(7):570-579. doi: 10.1111/jsap.13306. PMID: 33594697.
8. Suchodolski JS, Markel ME, Garcia-Mazcorro JF, Unterer S, Heilmann RM, Dowd SE, Kachroo P, Ivanov I, Minamoto Y, Dillman EM, Steiner JM, Cook AK, Toresson L. The fecal microbiome in dogs with acute diarrhea and idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. PLoS ONE. 2012;7(12):e51907. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051907. PMID: 23300577.
9. Cagnasso F, Suchodolski JS, Borrelli A, Borella F, Bottero E, Benvenuti E, Ferriani R, Tolbert MK, Chen CC, Giaretta PR, Gianella P. Dysbiosis index and fecal concentrations of sterols, long-chain fatty acids and unconjugated bile acids in dogs with inflammatory protein-losing enteropathy. Front Microbiol. 2024;15:1433175. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1433175. PMID: 39464397. PMC: 11505111.
10. Suchodolski JS. Analysis of the gut microbiome in dogs and cats. Vet Clin Pathol. 2022;50(Suppl 1):6-17. doi: 10.1111/vcp.13031. PMID: 34514619. PMC: 9292158.

---

Editorial Information

Field	Detail
Published	[Date of publication]
Last Updated	[Date of update]. This article is reviewed annually and updated in line with current peer-reviewed evidence.
Reviewed by	Veterinary Advisory Board
Next Review	[One year from publication date]
Author	Glendon Lloyd, Dip. Canine Nutrition (Dist.), Dip. Dog Nutrigenomics (Dist.), Founder, Bonza
Disclaimer	This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute veterinary advice. Always consult a qualified veterinarian before making changes to your dog’s diet or supplement regimen.