How to Tell If Your Dog’s Diet and Supplements Are Working

Wouldn’t it be great to know if your dog’s diet and supplements are actually working? You spend a lot of time, love, and money on your dog and deserve to know if everything is digesting properly. When dogs digest better, they absorb nutrients better.

One of the most crucial signs of a healthy diet is your dog’s ability to digest their food properly. Even the best food or supplements can go to waste if digestion isn’t happening as it should. Symptoms like bloating, gas, diarrhea, or a dull coat may indicate poor digestion.

Beyond digestion, detoxification is another vital process for maintaining your dog’s health. Like humans, dogs are exposed to environmental toxins, chemicals, and processed ingredients that can build up in their system over time. When your dog’s liver and kidneys aren’t detoxifying effectively, it can lead to a range of health problems, from skin irritations to more serious issues like liver disease.

Fortunately, Innovative Pet Lab’s Digestion and Detox Test (that you perform at home) is a game changer. Here’s everything you need to know.

How the Digestion and Detox Test Works

The team of scientists with a combined 100 years of experience at Innovative Pet Labs are pet parents, too. They empower pet parents to make informed decisions about their dog’s diet and supplements in one easy test. The entire body is affected when a dog’s gut is out of balance.

With one small sample of your dog’s stool, you’ll receive clarity and recommendations on how your dog absorbs nutrients and more. After processing the results (about ten days), you’ll receive personalized recommendations for food choices, supplements, and suggested lifestyle adjustments.

The Digestion and Detox test specifically examines two markers–pancreatic elastase 1 and beta-glucuronidase. Those are pretty fancy words for two very important markers.

Dr. Betsy Redmond, founder of Innovative Pet Lab, worked in the human nutrition space for nearly 20 years. Her decades of experience led her to create this veterinarian-approved test to look for these markers in your pet’s bloodstream (all through a poop sample).

“We can now get an idea of how food and supplements are working and monitor to see if the changes we make are working,” Dr. Betsy explains. “We don’t want [pet parents] hoping and guessing if something is working for their pets.”

Testing Your Pet’s Pancreatic Elastase 1 and Beta-glucuronidase

While many pet parents supplement their dog’s diet with probiotics, digestive enzymes, or vitamins, it’s important to understand whether these additions improve your pet’s health. The test results will provide insights into whether your dog is responding well to these supplements.

Pancreatic Elastase 1

Pancreatic Elastase 1 (PE1) is an enzyme produced by the pancreas that plays a crucial role in a dog’s digestion. Specifically, it helps break dog proteins in the food your dog eats. The pancreas releases a substance called PE1 into the small intestine. There, it helps digest the proteins into smaller things (like amino acids and peptides) so your dog’s body can use and absorb them.

If your dog’s PE1 isn’t functioning properly, there can be serious ramifications, including exocrine pancreatic insufficiency or EPI. EPI happens when the pancreas doesn’t produce the necessary digestive enzymes. Symptoms of poor nutrient absorption include weight loss, diarrhea, and other gastric issues.

Your dog should be digesting all of its food, but this only happens with the proper amount of PE1. Some dogs may have no symptoms of low PE1, so testing is crucial.

If the result is low, discuss it with your veterinarian. As always, Innovative Pet Lab will provide recommendations. It is suggested that you retest in three months.

Beta-glucuronidase

Beta-glucuronidase is an enzyme mostly found in the digestive tract. It helps break down and detoxify hormones, medications, and toxins in the liver. Dogs with an abnormal level may show signs of diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, or vomiting, but sometimes, there are no symptoms. This test is valuable for dogs with imbalances in their gut microbiome, which is very important to understand.

Your dog’s microbiome is a collection of organisms living in their GI tract. The word dysbiosis is associated with a microbiome gut imbalance. Dysbiosis occurs when the harmful bacteria in your dog’s gut take over the good bacteria. The ratio gets imbalanced, and all sorts of health issues can occur.

Left untreated, dysbiosis can lead to leaky gut, chronic inflammation, or canine immune system issues. If your dog’s beta-glucuronidase is too high, toxins that have already undergone detoxification are freed. This can lead to intestinal disease and discomfort.

If results are high, a probiotic supplement may be recommended to reduce toxin exposure. High-fiber snacks can also support healthy gut bacteria. Retesting in three months is suggested.

How Innovative Pet Lab’s Digestion and Detox Works

After ordering the Leaky Gut test kit from the Innovative Pet Lab website, you’ll quickly receive your kit in the mail. Collecting a sample of your pet’s stool is simple—just use the provided tools, including rubber gloves, and mail it back to the lab in the prepaid envelope.

The kit includes everything you need, making the process easy and convenient. You’ll receive your pet’s results and recommendations via email within about ten days.

Innovative Pet Lab provides scientifically backed tests to assess your pet’s overall gut health. These tests are designed for at-home convenience, allowing you to share the results with your veterinarian for further insights easily.

Here’s a video to walk you through the process:

FAQs
We focus on test markers that are early indicators of disease and chronic conditions so dogs can enjoy the same quality and comfort of life as their human counterparts. Here are some frequently asked questions we receive about the Digestion & Detox test.

Can my veterinarian do this test in the office?
We collaborate with veterinarians nationwide who offer our test kits in their practices and use them to enhance patient care. We highly recommend that pet parents share their test results with their veterinarian, who can provide further guidance and treatment recommendations based on the findings.

How often do I need to do this test?
If your pet’s test returns normal, we suggest retesting in a year unless there are symptoms. If there are abnormalities in PE1 or beta-glucuronidase, we recommend resting for three after changes have been made to monitor levels.

When will I receive my results?
We offer ongoing support throughout testing and deliver actionable insights within ten days. This empowers pet parents and veterinarians to make well-informed decisions once the final results are available.

Where can I read testimonials and see a sample report?
Check out our Understanding Your Results page

What makes Innovative Pet Labs the best test available for Digestion & Detox?

What other tests does Innovative Pet Lab offer for pets?
Shop our entire collection of tests for dogs and cats (with more species to come) for:

Basic Gut Check
Inflammation and Immunity
Leaky Gut
Comprehensive Gut Check for Dogs
Comprehensive Gut Check for Cats