Reducing Gas in your Dog

Does your dog have frequent gas? Can he clear a room with his farts? Well, it is probably what he is eating that is the culprit. However, some pretty serious diseases may be causing the problem. If your dog has other signs of gastrointestinal distress, such as weight loss, changes in appetite (decreased or increased), vomiting, or the production of abnormal stools, make an appointment with your veterinarian.

Frequent flatulence can be a sign of these conditions:

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
Gastrointestinal infections
Intestinal parasitism
Pancreatitis
Food allergy or intolerance
Inflammatory bowel disease

Once the veterinarian has given the all is well signal, then you need to look at what you feed your dog. First, you put the dog on an elimination diet. If your dog gets treats, table scraps, eats horse manure in the pasture, or gets in the trash, you have to stop him from doing that. For two weeks, give the dog absolutely nothing but his dog food. If the gas stops or is much less frequent, you know it is not the dog food that is the problem.

However, if the gas continues without showing any signs of going away, you have to assume it is caused by his dog food. You will have to change the dog’s diet. The best thing is to get one of the dog foods labeled for sensitive stomachs. There are many brands out there that claim their food is good for sensitive stomachs. Make sure that corn, soy, and wheat are not in the dog food.

Gradually change him from his previous food to the new food by removing a quarter of the amount of old food you feed him and replacing that food with the new one. The next night, replace half the old food with new food. Continue reducing the amount of old food and replacing it with new food until there is only new food in the bowl.

Feed this food for two weeks and see if the gas is reduced or gone. If so, then you have successfully treated the problem.

If not, you need to choose another brand of dog food for sensitive stomachs and trial it for two weeks. Take the time to change to the new brand of dog food slowly as described above. Continue doing this until you find a brand of dog food that does not cause the dog to have gas. Try some of the specialty foods that are made from unusual ingredients such as duck and potato or venison and rice. Since your dog has not been exposed to these ingredients before, it is less likely that they will cause a problem.

If you have tried a number of brands of dog food and just haven’t found one that works, talk to your veterinarian. There are prescription dog foods for sensitive stomachs that the veterinarian can suggest. However, they will be more expensive than the over the counter foods so they are a last resort.