How to recognise a sensitive stomach in your dog
A sensitive stomach most often shows up in the stools. If they are loose, soft or vary from day to day, the gut is not working stably. Other signs are frequent gas, rumbling sounds, vomiting shortly after a meal, lack of appetite or a dog that starts eating grass. Some dogs also lick their paws extra or seem restless after eating.
The causes are many. It may be a food with too many different protein sources, a high fat content, artificial additives, or quite simply a food that is difficult to digest. A sudden food change is a classic trigger, and so are treats and table scraps alongside the regular diet. A sensitive stomach is not necessarily an allergy. Often it is simply a matter of the digestion being burdened more than it can keep up with.
If the stomach trouble does not settle after a couple of weeks on a gentle food, or if there is blood in the stools, weight loss or repeated vomiting, it belongs at the vet rather than in a change of food.
Why a gentle food makes a difference
A food for a dog with a sensitive stomach burdens the digestion as little as possible. That means a high proportion of easily digestible animal protein, a manageable list of ingredients and no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives that can irritate a sensitive gut.
The fewer and the purer the ingredients, the easier it is to see what the dog actually reacts to. That is why many turn to food with a limited and transparent composition when the stomach needs to settle down. A stable food gives, over time, firmer stools, less gas and a better uptake of nutrients, because the gut no longer spends energy fighting the contents.
The products in this collection are built around exactly that principle: a high meat content and a composition that is easy to grasp. If you need to take a broader approach, you will find the entire range under dog food, while our full selection for sensitive stomachs is under sensitive stomach.
Grain-free or a single protein source
Two approaches keep coming up when the food is to be made as gentle as possible. One is to remove the grain. Grain is not harmful to all dogs, but a number of dogs with a sensitive stomach digest a grain-free food more easily, because there are fewer starch sources to break down.
The other approach is to keep the number of protein sources down. The fewer different proteins in the bowl, the less there is to react to, and the easier it is to determine whether a particular protein is the culprit. That is the idea behind a so-called single protein food, where the meat comes from just one animal species.
If your dog reacts to several ingredients and not just in the stomach, a dedicated allergy-friendly food may be the way forward. It is a related, but not entirely the same, issue: allergy is a reaction of the immune system, while a sensitive stomach is more often about how easy the food is to digest.
How to change food without upsetting the stomach
The transition itself is just as important as the choice of food. If you switch from one day to the next, you risk giving the dog stomach trouble, no matter how gentle the new food is, because the gut's bacterial flora does not have time to get used to it.
A gradual transition over about a week is the safe method. Mix a little of the new food into the old for the first few days, and gradually increase the proportion of new food while you scale down the old. If the dog has a very sensitive stomach, you can stretch the transition over ten days or more. Keep an eye on the stools along the way. If they become loose, keep the mixing ratio steady for a couple of extra days before you continue.
If you want to read the method step by step, we have collected it in the guide how to change dog food, and you can read more about the background in dog with a sensitive stomach.
Test the food with a trial meal first
When you don't know whether a food will sit well with a sensitive stomach, a large bag is a big commitment. A trial meal lets you see whether the dog both likes the food and tolerates it before you commit to a full pack.
This is especially useful if you are in the process of finding out which protein or which composition your dog digests best. You can try out the food over a short period, keep an eye on stools and appetite, and only then move on to a larger amount. See the selection under trial meals.
Wet food and pâté as a supplement for a sensitive stomach
Some dogs with a sensitive stomach eat more willingly when the food is soft and moist, and a high water content can make the meal easier to digest for a dog that easily gets a stomach ache. Pâté can be used as whole meals or mixed into the dry food to make it more palatable for a fussy or sensitive dog.
The same principle applies here: keep the composition clean and manageable. You will find the wet food under pâté, and if your dog needs an extra gentle diet during a period of stomach upset, tummy rescue is composed for exactly that purpose.
Treats that don't set the stomach off again
Treats are an overlooked culprit with a sensitive stomach. If the regular diet is gentle but the snacks are full of additives or new protein sources, they alone can keep the stomach unsettled. That is why it makes sense to choose treats with the same clean approach as the food.
If you want to avoid grain in the snacks, they are under grain free treats, and if the dog also needs to keep its weight down, you will find leaner choices under treats low in fat. Whatever the case, the same rule applies as for the food: keep the amount down and introduce new treats one at a time, so you can see what the dog tolerates.
