Impact of acute stress on the canine gut microbiota.

ABSTRACT

There is growing evidence that a relationship exists between mental and emotional wellbeing and the gut microbiota. Little is known regarding how the microbiota reacts to repeated acute stress events in dogs, and whether it is a predictor of stress response. In this study, we explored the impact on the gut microbiota and digestive health with two common events many pet dogs find stressful. Twenty healthy adult dogs, living within a colony, were exposed to either car travel or separation three times across eight-week intervals. Faecal samples were collected 24 h before, within 24 h, and 24-48 h after. Faecal quality and pH, and microbiota diversity and composition were analysed in context with wider published work on physiological stress measures. No significant changes were observed in faecal quality or pH with either stress event at any timepoint, indicating all pets remained in good digestive health. Microbiota analysis demonstrated no significant impact on alpha or beta diversity with either stressor. Microbial signatures previously linked to stress were not identified in these dogs and no changes were observed in the functional gut composition. Irrespective of whether the pet was considered "stressed" (i.e., exhibited an increase in serum cortisol), there was no effect on the microbiota and no taxa were predictive of stress response. Collectively, this work demonstrates, for this population, certain acute stress events have no meaningful impact on the canine gut microbiota, and it has no impact on the associated stress response.