Pre‐illness dietary risk factors in dogs with chronic enteropathy

BACKGROUND: Dietary factors have been extensively studied as potential triggers of inflammatory bowel disease in humans. Scant literature exists regarding diet as a pre‐illness risk factor in dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE). HYPOTHESIS: To evaluate possible pre‐illness dietary risk factors in dogs with CE. ANIMALS: Ninety‐five client‐owned dogs; 48 with CE (25 presumptive and 23 confirmed) and 47 without a history of signs of gastrointestinal disease. METHODS: Retrospective case‐control questionnaire‐based study at a veterinary referral teaching hospital in the United Kingdom. Diet history was obtained relating to the onset of initial presenting signs for all dogs. The main diet consumed underwent ingredient analysis and caloric distribution calculation using a guaranteed analysis convertor software. Length of time the main diet was fed and adherence to the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Global Nutrition Committee guidelines was also recorded. RESULTS: The frequency of the main diet containing no carbohydrate was greater for controls (5/47 dogs, 11%) vs the combined presumptive and confirmed CE dogs (0/48 dogs, 0%; P = .05). Fewer dogs with confirmed CE were fed a main diet containing red meat as the primary protein source (2/23 dogs, 9%) vs controls (15/47 dogs, 32%; P = .03). A main diet moisture percentage of ≤14% as fed was significantly associated with confirmed CE in logistic regression analysis (OR 5.71 [95% CI: 1.18‐27.69]; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The presence of dietary carbohydrate, protein source, and dietary moisture content, or factors related to moisture content such as preservatives, might play a role as potential pre‐illness dietary risk factors in dogs with CE.