Acid Reflux in Dogs

Bernie’s Perfect Poop helps battle acid reflux

Photo of Bernie's Perfect Poop grass bits up close. When your dog suffers from acid reflux, they have gastric distress that makes them uncomfortable. How can Bernie’s Perfect Poop acid reflux in dogs?

Good dog gut health is essential for your dog’s digestive system. Dog’s diet and food impact acid reflux symptoms in a significant way. If your dog cannot properly digest the food he’s eating, the undigested food may be a risk factor for acid reflux. Bernie’s helps your dog digest his food better, and that helps to prevent reflux of the stomach acid.
Some foods are hard for dogs to digest and can lead to canine acid reflux and digestive pain. High-protein diets are often good for many of your dog’s body systems, but if protein isn’t digested appropriately, acid reflux may occur. Quality fiber helps your dog digest his food better, which helps prevent acid reflux into the chest cavity. The perfect combination of soluble and insoluble fiber that comes from the Miscanthus grass, pumpkin and flaxseed in Bernie’s gives your dog the fiber and healthy diet they need to battle acid reflux.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop also combines prebiotics and probiotics to balance your dog’s gut microbiome and help with acid reflux. If your dog’s gut is imbalanced, harmful bacteria takes over and adversely affect the acid levels of your dog’s stomach acid. Too much or too little stomach acid can cause digestive issues which might prompt acid reflux. The prebiotics and probiotics in Bernie’s encourage optimal dog gut health to keep your dog’s stomach pH levels balanced and free from acid reflux.
Every cell of your dog’s body needs nutrients that the food you give offers. The combination of digestive enzymes in Bernie’s breaks your dog’s food down better. Their digestive system doesn’t have to overwork and over (or under) produce the stomach acid that causes acid reflux.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop is a 4-in-1 combination of fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes. Good dog gut health is the key to a happier, healthier life for your dog and a balanced digestive system. Acid reflux in dogs stems from the gut. Bernie’s helps balance the digestive tract and provides a better gut microbiome. Better digestion and better dog gut health mean less acid reflux issues.

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What other pet parents say

He came home on NINE medications and was on a super expensive hydrolyzed dog food that the vets thought would be gentler on his system just in case we still were dealing with an allergy. Even with the specialized food, anti-diarrhea meds, anti-acid meds, and limited treats, our poor boy still continued to have diarrhea. We felt completely helpless and our vet didn’t even really know what to test for next. Then a friend at work told me about Bernie’s Perfect Poop… after THREE days of slowly adding this to Milo’s food, the diarrhea stopped. It was a MIRACLE. – Stephanie S.

What is acid reflux in dogs?

Acid reflux in occurs when your dog’s stomach acids and enzymes come back into their esophagus. When your dog is appropriately digesting his food, stomach and intestinal acids combine with enzymes to move the food through their system, but when those acids go back into their esophagus, it can be uncomfortable and dangerous. The acidic contents of your dog’s digestive system can eat away at the protective mucus lining of his esophagus with repeated exposure, and this can lead to ulcers and even cancer risk.

As the stomach gastric acid continues to move back and forth from your dog’s stomach to his esophagus, the irritation and inflammation can also cause his esophagus to thin out and narrow, and even become necrotic. In those situations, acid reflux regurgitation can cause vomit to get into your dog’s lungs. This can cause more damage, and in severe cases, aspiration pneumonia.

The symptoms of acid reflux in dogs include:

Smelly breath
Poor appetite
Weight loss
Gagging after meals
Lethargy after meals
Wheezing
Discomfort or whining after eating
Vomiting bile

Why dogs get acid reflux

There is a muscle at the base of your dog’s esophagus called gastroesophageal sphincter that restricts stomach fluids from coming back up the esophagus. If your dog has acid reflux, this sphincter is not working. It relaxes, for whatever reason, and allows the stomach acids to come back up. This is also known as gastroesophageal reflux, or you may see it referred to as GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). If you have a younger dog, it tends to be more at risk to develop acid reflux as its sphincters are still developing.

There are many reasons this sphincter may not effectively prevent stomach acids from going back into the esophagus. Most often, it’s poor gut health that causes inflammation and lower levels of gastric stomach acid. This slows down protein digestion (and absorption) in your dog, and can cause acid reflux.

Acid reflux in dogs can also be caused by hiatal hernia, a congenital condition in the stomach area that leads to the stomach protruding through the diaphragm into the chest cavity. This causes of reverse flow of stomach contents. Other causes of dog acid reflux include:

Possible causes of dog acid reflux	Can Perfect Poop help?
Poor indigestion	YES
Poor gut motility linked to lower quality food	YES
Megaesophagus	YES
Slow digestion/food obstruction
Allergies
Poor gut microbiome
Excessive antibiotic use	YES
Inflammatory Bowel Disease	YES
Nutritional deficiencies	YES
Excessive weight	YES
Stress	YES
Liver Disease
Kidney Disease
Hiatal Hernia
Loose/dysfunctional lower esophageal sphincter

Illustration of Bernie sitting and smiling.

Warning: If your dog has acid reflux

If your dog has acid reflux, you’ll want to make sure you help it resolve. Continued back and forth of stomach acids in your dog’s esophagus can not only cause discomfort, but can thin the lining of his esophagus and create more significant problems. It’s rare, but untreated acid reflux in dogs can lead to adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. If your dog has continued acid reflux regurgitation or symptoms, you’ll want to check with veterinary professionals to ensure there’s nothing additional underlying adding to your dog’s acid reflux.

More information about acid reflux in dogs

Good dog gut health is pivotal to overall health in your dog. If your dog’s gut is healthy, their digestive system is most likely in good working order too. Dogs who have balanced guts also are less at risk for acid reflux and other diseases or illnesses that may cause later problems.

Fiber may help with dog acid reflux

Fiber is helpful in battling acid reflux in dogs because it aids your dog’s digestive system and keeps everything moving properly through the system. When your dog has the right fiber intake, their balanced microbiomes are capable of making sure the stomach acid production in your dog’s gut is just right. The right combination of insoluble and soluble fiber helps prevent heartburn, regurgitation and poor nutrient absorption. It also keeps your dog’s gut ready to balance their gut flora and keep stomach acid production balanced, and that prevents acid reflux conditions.

Prebiotics and probiotics may help with canine acid reflux

Prebiotics and probiotics are key supplements to helping your dog’s gut health be at its best. Prebiotics and Probiotics balance your dog’s digestive tract bacteria and microbiome. This imbalance is one of the leading causes of unbalanced stomach acid production in dogs. The prebiotic in Bernie’s is Inulin, which acts as a fertilizer to feed the good bacteria in your dog’s lower digestive tract. When the good bacteria in your dog’s digestive tract gets the right nutrition, they thrive and help your dog’s stomach produce just the stomach acid it needs for proper digestion.
Probiotics are the good bacteria in your dog’s gut. Adding that good bacteria through supplementation helps achieve good dog gut health by pushing harmful bacteria out of the gut. It helps keep your dog’s intestines keenly aware of making the right amount of stomach acid and reduces acid reflux. When we add good bacteria with Bernie’s, we help achieve good dog gut health with thriving, healthy bacteria that stimulate proper acid production.

Enzymes may help with GERD in dogs

Enzymes in Bernie’s Perfect Poop will help your dog’s digestive tract break food down better. When acid fills your dog’s stomach, digestive enzymes break food down to help further nutritional absorption. The supplemental enzymes in Bernie’s are activated when your dog begins digesting. They act as superpowers to make sure just the right amount of acid is produced to get maximum nutrition.

Your dog’s digestive system is detailed and involves several organs. The healthier and more balanced that system is, the better your dog’s digestion will be. This means better-regulated stomach acid and acid reflux for him.

Other ways to help

Feed quality Foods
Consider wet food/wet diet
Feed smaller meals many times a day
Make sure your dog is hydrated
Extra walks during the day
Raising head above torso when eating/resting

Additional reading

Related terms

GERD
Reflux Regurgitation
Gastroesophageal Reflux
Reflux
Megaesophagus
Canine Indigestion
Dog ulcer
Reflux Esophagitis
Reflux Coughing
Canine heartburn
Barrett’s esophagus