Dog Health Care - Gassy Dogs

Gassy dogs

Gas results either from swallowed air or from bacterial activity in the large intestine. Its population of normal, harmless bacteria breaks down those parts of the dog's food that have so far escaped digestion in the stomach and small intestine for one reason or another. The results of this bacterial fermentation are, among other things, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane and hydrogen sulphide. All but the last one are odorless. Hydrogen sulphide is well known for its odor of rotting eggs, and the more if it the intestinal gas contains, the worse it smells.

Gas escaping the body is a normal occurrence in every healthy dog. We only really notice it when it becomes excessive and odorous. In order to solve this problem we have to address its underlying causes, and there are a number of possibilities:

Swallowing air

Dogs can swallow air for several reasons, for example eating too fast (gulping), producing larger quantities of saliva that requires frequent swallowing, or nervous swallowing due to stress. In most cases, excess air will be expelled from the stomach by belching, but some of it passes on to the digestive tract.

Slowing down food intake can be accomplished by feeding from a flat surface (e.g. a cookie sheet instead of a food bowl) or putting several large, smooth, clean rocks into the bowl so the dog has to work around them. If stress is the cause, other changes to the dog's lifestyle may be required.

Poor digestion

This is the number one cause of gas in dogs (and in people too!). There is a long list of reasons why digestion could be poor, such as a higher amount or specific types of starch and/or fiber present in the diet than the individual dog can tolerate, intolerance to dairy products, insufficient levels of hydrochloric acid or specific enzymes, or loss of muscle tone of the digestive tract.

The remedies are as diverse as the causes for gas. If the gas is persistent and chronic, my recommendation for the first course of action is examining the dog's food and keeping notes of what Rover is eating. In many cases all that's needed is switching to a higher quality, more digestible food, which can mean eliminating certain sources of carbohydrates from the diet and/or reducing the fiber content. Intolerance to specific meat sources is less frequent but possible. This can take a bit of trial and error, so "simple" products with a limited ingredient list that do not include a variety of protein and carb sources, fruits, veggies and other extras are preferable. In persistent cases where a change of commercial foods doesn't bring the desired results, an elimination diet may be necessary.

For milder cases supplementation with a good probiotic can help. Many dogs improve from adding even just a good heaping tablespoon or two of organic, cultured yogurt to every meal, others require a high-dosed probiotic supplement.
The characteristics of a quality product are

• sufficient amounts of viable organisms to have a therapeutic effect (at least several billions, not just millions or even less) of colony forming units/CFU per serving),


• live organisms guaranteed not only at time of manufacture but throughout the shelf life of the product,


• do not contain fillers, sweeteners and preservatives.

It is safe to use any probiotic supplement marketed for humans. Give the full dose suggested for humans for two weeks, after that reduce to about half the amount for maintenance. At times of stress or illness, or whenever antibiotics are administered, give the full human dose. Antibiotics are not "selective" and kill all bacteria, good and bad alike, so it is a good idea to supplement any dog who is being treated with antibiotics for at least 2 weeks after treatment has ended. Make sure to administer probiotics 2-3 hours after the antibiotics, otherwise the "good bacteria" will just be killed off.

Where lack of digestive enzymes is a problem, other symptoms also occur, including weight loss, a general lack of energy, poor skin and coat condition, persistent, loose, foul smelling stools, malodorous breath and/or body odor. In
case of stress or illness, short-term supplementation with a plant-based digestive enzyme supplement for a short period of time may bring relief, but I do not recommend long term supplementation on a daily basis without consulting a veterinarian, as this can cause the body to decrease production of its own enzymes even more.

Probiotics do not only aid in improving digestion, they also boost the immune system and promote general good health. I strongly recommend using these for long term supplementation on a daily basis - not only for your dog, but also for yourself!

Increasing the daily amount of exercise can also be helpful. Movement expels excessive gas from the body where nobody is bothered by it, and vigorous walks condition the digestive tract, contributing to its motility.

If excessive gas occurs as an acute, temporary problem, such as for example after a raid on the garbage bin or successful counter surfing for "people food" the dog is not accustomed to, there are harmless home remedies that can help:

Herbs and spices with carminative (conducive to expulsion of gas from the intestines) properties such as peppermint, fennel, ginger, oregano or thyme can be used to make tea. Pour one cup of boiling water over 1-2 teaspoons of the
dried herb, cover and steep for 15 minutes. Strain, cover again and let cool to body temperature. Many dogs will drink this tea all on their own, otherwise you can just lift the lip on one side of the mouth and pour it in one spoon at a time.

The homeopathic remedy Nux vomica will help relieve gas and bloating. Administer 1-2 drops or pellets of 6C potency every half hour to an hour for up to 10 doses, depending on severity of the gas. As a side note, this is also helpful for treating motion sickness in dogs who are uncomfortable on car rides.

Parasites

Especially the single celled organisms giardia and coccidia can be responsible for chronic, malodorous gas (usually accompanied by loose stools as well), but an infestation with roundworm and whipworms is also a possibility. If you suspect that intestinal parasites are the cause of gas in your dog, please have a fecal sample checked by your vet as soon as possible and be sure to mention the "gas problem".

Depending on the cause, resolving the problem may take as little as a few hours with the help of home remedies, or a few weeks or months if a change in diet is required, until a suitable food is found.

As a rule, if a dog shows visible discomfort from excessive gas and simple home remedies do not bring relief within several hours, please see your veterinarian.

Canine Nutrition - Body weight and feeding amounts

Feeding guidelines on dog food packaging are just that - guidelines. You need to adjust the daily amounts up or down, depending on the caloric requirements of the individual dog.

This is influenced by many different factors, age, body size/weight (the larger the dog, the less kcal per pound of body weight are needed to maintain weight), activity level, ambient temperature, metabolism and so on. Dog food manufacturers can really only take age, size/weight and, to an extent, estimated activity level into consideration for their feeding recommendations, since the other factors vary too much and most owners are too subjective when it comes to assessing them.

In this regard, even activity level is iffy - a rather sedentary person might think that their dog is "active" when all the exercise it gets are two quick walks around the block for going potty and some play time indoors, while someone else who owns a dog of the same breed/size takes it along as a jogging partner for several miles each day and then plays fetch with it in the back yard for another hour.

The ideal weight of a dog is assessed from the body condition. There are some charts out there, such as for example this and this, but going only by a visual aid isn't helpful enough for many people.

Here's an easy method that you can use to evaluate your dog's body condition:

Curl your left hand into a loose fist. Don't clench, just fold the fingers into your palm until they touch it. Run the fingertips of your right hand across the knuckles. If your dog's ribs feel like this, he is underweight and you should adjust the daily feeding amount upward.

Next, run your fingers across the back of your hand. If this is how it feels when you run your hand over your dog's rib cage, he is overweight and should lose a few pounds.

Now run your fingertips across the front of your fist, below the knuckles. This is how a dog's ribs feel if he is at ideal weight.

Of course results will vary a bit depending on how thick a dog's skin and coat are, but it's a good rule of thumb. Performance dogs with a high activity level often are even a bit thinner than what would be considered normal, but generally speaking it is healthier for a dog to be a bit underweight than a bit overweight.

Normally I would recommend that people talk to their vet about their dog's weight at the annual wellness exam, but going by what I see at local dog parks, it seems to be a sad trend that even many veterinarians aren't truthful about dogs' weights, either because they are somewhat overweight themselves and don't make an unbiased assessment; or because they don't want to offend the person and risk losing a client by telling them their little sweet pea is getting too many cookies and could stand to lose a few pounds.

I'd like to mention this link to the results of a study done by Cornell University:


If you have a dog who needs to lose weight, I'd suggest reducing the amount of food they get by about 15 to 20% as a first step. Don't just go by eye and scoop, weigh out the daily portion, since volume measurements can be deceiving. Keep a diary of your dog's weight and body condition and weigh weekly at the very least to track progress. You don't want your dog to drop a large amount of weight in a small time frame, slow and steady is much better.

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