How Does a Dog's Stomach Differ From a Human's?
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From the Mouth to the Stomach
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Digestion is essentially the same in canine and human bodies. The process begins when food is taken in the mouth and chewed. The saliva and teeth start breaking down the food. Food then travels down the throat and through the esophagus into the stomach.
Temporary Storage
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Both the dog's stomach and the human's stomach are temporary holding areas. Food is briefly stored while gastric acid works to break it down further.
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Trash Compacter?
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Crushing food is a function of the stomach; however, the dog's stomach uses about 20 times more force to crush food than a human's stomach. The ability to crush food allows dogs to eat comparatively larger volumes of food in a short time. Food then moves into the intestines.
Gastric Torsion
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Bloat (gastric torsion) occurs when the canine stomach fills with air. The expanding stomach can cut off the blood supply to vital organs. In the worst cases, the stomach itself can become twisted and begin to die. About 20 percent of the dogs with bloat die, even with immediate treatment. To prevent recurrence, surgeons staple the stomach to nearby muscle, preventing twisting in the future.
Bloat occurs in twice as often dogs that eat once a day as compared to a dog that eats two or more times a day. It is believed that deep chested breeds like the German Shepherd or Great Dane suffer bloat more often than others. Dangerous bloat is extremely rare in humans with few reported cases.
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Comments
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Leilani Luckett
Jan 17, 2010
Bloat is a medical condition in which the stomach becomes overstretched by excessive gas content. Bloat in dogs is likely caused by a multitude of factors, but in all cases the immediate prerequisite is a dysfunction of the sphincter between the esophagus and stomach and an obstruction of outflow through the pylorus.
