The Organs of the Dog Digestive SystemThe dog digestive system is where all dog health problems begin. This is where things can start to go wrong. If your dog is sick, look no further than the dog digestive system. It all starts here. All mammals have the same body systems and organs. They may differ slightly in some ways according to species, but mostly they are the same. Since your dog is a carnivore, the carnivore digestive system is different from the human digestive system, because your dog is by nature a meat eater. So there are some major differences that we will mention here, to help you understand how dog digestion works.
Think of what your dog would eat in the wild if he were left to fend for himself. He has little small teeth in the front of his mouth for scraping meat off bones. He has large scary looking fangs. They will hold and tear the meat. He has big incisors at the sides of his mouth. They will cut the food to the right size. He has large molars at the back of his mouth for grinding. Also, human beings chew their food. For this purpose our mouths secrete enzymes. These enzymes help to break down the food in your mouth, before it goes to the stomach. Dogs do not chew. So your dog does not produce enzymes in his mouth. Also, your dog cannot move his jaw from side to side, and so chewing is impossible. His jaw is like a hinge. It only moves in one direction, up and down. Take a look at the image of the canine body systems below. You will see the important digestive system organs. It is a good digestive system diagram including, the mouth and teeth, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine and the large intestine ( colon ).
Dog Digestive System OrgansStep 1 - The Mouth and TeethThis is the very start of the dog digestive system. First the food is cut to the correct size by the teeth. Then it goes straight from the mouth, lubricated by saliva and guided by the tongue down into the esophagus. Step 2 - The Esophagus The esophagus is the connecting tube to the stomach. It is a muscle and contracts in wave like motions, to move the food along the path to the stomach. You can see where the expression 'wolfing down' your food comes from. Step 3 - The Stomach Once the food reaches the storage area called the stomach it is further broken down into a very thick liquid called chyme. The job of the stomach is to take care of preliminary digestion. It does this with enzymes and hydrochloric acid which is a very strong chemical. The stomach works like a cement mixer, mixing and grinding and liquifying the food. The stomach prepares the food for complete digestion in the small intestine. The environment in your dog's stomach is extremely acidic... about 1-2 PH. It would burn your hand if you were to touch it. This is way more acidic than human stomach acid which is about 5 PH. Along with this acid and some enzymes, the stomach breaks the food down into a usable form. The lining of your dog's stomach is covered with a thick mucus. This prevents the stomach from digesting itself, due to the strong acid.
Step 4 - The Small Intestine The small intestine is the next stop on the journey of dog digestion. Basically, the small intestine is a long hollow tube. It is about four times the length of your dog's body. The lining of the small intestine has millions of little finger type things called villi. These little villi increase the surface area of the small intestine to better assimilate and absorb nutrients. Within the small intestines there are openings that let digestive juices enter from the pancreas and gallbladder.
The main job of the small intestine is to absorb nutrients from the liquid food that has been broken down. The canine intestinal system is shorter than that of a human. This is because for proper dog digestion, as a carnivore, you dog needs a faster passing time for all the protein he eats. Almost all nutrients are absorbed from the small intestines into the blood. The small intestines provide nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body through the blood stream. Step 5 - The Large Intestine The large intestine is also known as the ' colon '. Last but not least, the large intestine has the important job of saving water and electrolytes from the food that has passed through the whole system. It keeps hydration in the body at a constant level. In addition, bacteria is produced to help break down the very last hard to digest material . It is in the large intestine that feces are formed and stored and await exit through the rectum. The rectum is the last stop in the dog digestive system.
I hope this has helped you to better understand the dog digestive system including all the important functions of the digestive system organs. The best way the keep your dog's digestive system working efficiently is by feeding good natural dog food.
|
