Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an intestinal disease of humans that involves diarrhea and abdominal cramping of unknown cause. It is not a well-defined disease process in veterinary medicine, but is believed to be associated with some sort of functional disorder of intestinal motility or movement, rather than an infectious, inflammatory, or cancerous problem.

It is a chronic (long term) problem with intermittent clinical signs and is primarily a disorder of dogs. There are no breed or sex predilections. Some authors suggest that stress plays a role in the disease process, because IBS has been noted in high strung dogs and performance and working dogs.

What to Watch For