Dogs and humans share similar gut bacteria

Coriolan

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Dogs and Humans Share More Than a Psychological Bond, Gut Science Reveals

"For thousands of years, dogs and humans have kicked it side by side. Over the course of our millennia-long relationship, we’ve come to share things like a mutual love of snuggles and even our looks with our canine best friends. But according to a study published in Microbiome on Wednesday, that connection goes even deeper than we ever thought — all the way to our guts.

In both humans and dogs (and most other animals), the gut microbiome, or flora, consists of trillions of microorganisms living in the digestive tract. Scientists have previously shown that the gut microbiome is closely linked to the health of its host and is suspected to mediate the link between a person’s diet and overall wellness. Now, it seems that it links us to dogs, as well: In the paper, the international team of scientists reveal that dog and human guts contain very similar microbes. While not exactly the same, the dog and human microbes are actually largely related strains of the same species."


It's not surprising as humans and dogs live together and share food quite often. I read that some gut bacteria can make people more happy or more depressed. I wonder if a happy dog passes on good bacteria to its owner and makes him or her happy in return.
 
Dogs and Humans Share More Than a Psychological Bond, Gut Science Reveals

"For thousands of years, dogs and humans have kicked it side by side. Over the course of our millennia-long relationship, we’ve come to share things like a mutual love of snuggles and even our looks with our canine best friends. But according to a study published in Microbiome on Wednesday, that connection goes even deeper than we ever thought — all the way to our guts.

In both humans and dogs (and most other animals), the gut microbiome, or flora, consists of trillions of microorganisms living in the digestive tract. Scientists have previously shown that the gut microbiome is closely linked to the health of its host and is suspected to mediate the link between a person’s diet and overall wellness. Now, it seems that it links us to dogs, as well: In the paper, the international team of scientists reveal that dog and human guts contain very similar microbes. While not exactly the same, the dog and human microbes are actually largely related strains of the same species."


It's not surprising as humans and dogs live together and share food quite often. I read that some gut bacteria can make people more happy or more depressed. I wonder if a happy dog passes on good bacteria to its owner and makes him or her happy in return.

Nice article.

I do know that my dog seems to have no trouble with any human food. Vets tell you to give them only commercial dog food, but I've had dogs all my life, and with the exception of chocolate and almonds, I give them human food mixed into the commercial dog food or even just alone. Oh, I try to limit dairy as most dogs are lactose intolerant. My dog loves cheese, though, and will sneak it off the counter if I'm not careful. Too much garlic isn't good for them either, but I'm very sparing in my use of it. His favorite treat is peanut butter. They sell teething toys which you can fill with peanut butter and then freeze.

I don't know if dogs make humans happy because we share gut bacteria, but I do know they make people happy, and I think we make them happy too.

My almost fifty pound "puppy" makes me very happy indeed, and he won't let me out of his sight if he can help it, so I guess he likes me too. :)
 
My 9 pounder Benny can digest most from my daily menu too, though prefers deli meats.  It makes most of his diet. He is a happy camper. The worse for dog's digestive system is a change of diet, from dry dog food to human food or vice versa. It requires different bacteria in guts to digest other food properly. It takes couple of weeks to adopt gut bacteria (build proper colonies in numbers) to drastic diet change. Similar scenario in humans too.
 

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