Abstract-based review · 1990
Beet pulp levels in dog food: stool output and digestion
Beet pulp amount changed stool output and digestion in this controlled dog-feeding experiment.
Review scope
This is an abstract-based review. Full methods, tables and supplements have not been appraised. Unreported details remain unknown.
Question and design
30 female English Pointers. Beet pulp at 0-12.5% of diet dry matter, replacing cornstarch. Comparator: Meat-based diet without beet pulp.
What was measured?
Digestibility, energy utilisation, stool output and fibre transit.
Main findings
More beet pulp increased stool mass and shortened fibre transit; some digestibility and energy measures declined.
Limitations
One experimental diet and population. This does not establish a universal inclusion limit.
Researchers' conclusion
The authors considered up to 7.5% dry-matter inclusion acceptable under these conditions.
Ingredients investigated
Direct ingredient investigations
Beet pulp
Direct · dog. 30 female English Pointer dogs in a dietary fibre experiment.
Tested form: Dietary beet pulp replacing corn starch in meat-based diets. Dose: 10% of dietary dry matter (Dietary dry-matter inclusion; oral feeding). Duration: Not reported in reviewed abstract. Comparator: Meat-based diet containing 0% beet pulp.
Measured finding: Across graded beet-pulp diets, dry-matter and organic-matter digestibility averaged about 6% below control. Wet stool output increased from 117 to 374 g/day across the range. At 12.5%, defecation averaged 5.2 times/day; at 10%, fibre transit time was 13 hours. Other dose-specific findings for this arm are not isolated in the reviewed abstract.
Limitations: Single breed and female dogs; experimental meat-based diets. Several abstract results are pooled across inclusion levels. Product effects depend on diet and dose.
Beet pulp
Direct · dog. 30 female English Pointer dogs in a dietary fibre experiment.
Tested form: Dietary beet pulp replacing corn starch in meat-based diets. Dose: 12.5% of dietary dry matter (Dietary dry-matter inclusion; oral feeding). Duration: Not reported in reviewed abstract. Comparator: Meat-based diet containing 0% beet pulp.
Measured finding: Across graded beet-pulp diets, dry-matter and organic-matter digestibility averaged about 6% below control; wet stool output increased from 117 to 374 g/day across the inclusion range. At 12.5%, defecation averaged 5.2 times/day compared with a mean 2.8 in the other groups.
Limitations: Single breed and female dogs; experimental meat-based diets. Several abstract results are pooled across inclusion levels. Product effects depend on diet and dose.
Beet pulp
Direct · dog. 30 female English Pointer dogs in a dietary fibre experiment.
Tested form: Dietary beet pulp replacing corn starch in meat-based diets. Dose: 2.5% of dietary dry matter (Dietary dry-matter inclusion; oral feeding). Duration: Not reported in reviewed abstract. Comparator: Meat-based diet containing 0% beet pulp.
Measured finding: Across graded beet-pulp diets, dry-matter and organic-matter digestibility averaged about 6% below control; wet stool output increased with inclusion. The 2.5% diet had a reported fibre transit time of 23.4 hours. The abstract does not provide all dose-specific outcomes for this arm.
Limitations: Single breed and female dogs; experimental meat-based diets. Several abstract results are pooled across inclusion levels. Product effects depend on diet and dose.
Beet pulp
Direct · dog. 30 female English Pointer dogs in a dietary fibre experiment.
Tested form: Dietary beet pulp replacing corn starch in meat-based diets. Dose: 5% of dietary dry matter (Dietary dry-matter inclusion; oral feeding). Duration: Not reported in reviewed abstract. Comparator: Meat-based diet containing 0% beet pulp.
Measured finding: Across graded beet-pulp diets, dry-matter and organic-matter digestibility averaged about 6% below control. Wet stool output increased from 117 to 374 g/day across the range. At 12.5%, defecation averaged 5.2 times/day; at 10%, fibre transit time was 13 hours. Other dose-specific findings for this arm are not isolated in the reviewed abstract.
Limitations: Single breed and female dogs; experimental meat-based diets. Several abstract results are pooled across inclusion levels. Product effects depend on diet and dose.
Beet pulp
Direct · dog. 30 female English Pointer dogs in a dietary fibre experiment.
Tested form: Dietary beet pulp replacing corn starch in meat-based diets. Dose: 7.5% of dietary dry matter (Dietary dry-matter inclusion; oral feeding). Duration: Not reported in reviewed abstract. Comparator: Meat-based diet containing 0% beet pulp.
Measured finding: Across graded beet-pulp diets, dry-matter and organic-matter digestibility averaged about 6% below control. Wet stool output increased from 117 to 374 g/day across the range. At 12.5%, defecation averaged 5.2 times/day; at 10%, fibre transit time was 13 hours. Other dose-specific findings for this arm are not isolated in the reviewed abstract.
Limitations: Single breed and female dogs; experimental meat-based diets. Several abstract results are pooled across inclusion levels. Product effects depend on diet and dose.
Evidence.pet interpretation
Assess the whole formulation; an ingredient's presence alone does not predict a product's effects.
Funding and conflicts
Not established from the reviewed abstract.
Ingredient investigated
Beet pulp. The relationship concerns the tested preparation and diet.
Source and review date
Fahey GC Jr et al. Dietary fiber for dogs: I. Effects of graded levels of dietary beet pulp on nutrient intake, digestibility, metabolizable energy and digesta mean retention time. Journal of Animal Science. 1990;68(12):4221-4228.
Primary source: PMID 1962765 · DOI record
Abstract reviewed 2 October 2026. Next review 2 January 2027.