Treating Flatulence in Pets

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

14 Nov 2008 04:21 PM

For the last week or so, my German shepherd mix Moose has been extremely gassy. I used to think my dog Miko had bad gas (he would toot when he was nervous -- even the vet had to open a window) but this is pretty awful.

In Moose's case, I don't think nerves are the problem. He's a pretty laid-back dog most of the time.

Since his encounter with Giardia over the summer, he's been a little more sensitive in the stomach. I wonder if the irritation hasn't developed into some form of inflammatory bowel disease.

The first thing I'm going to try is gradually switching his food to a "sensitive stomach" formula. Inflammatory bowel disease is often an allergy problem -- especially a food allergy problem. A food formulated to be gentler on the stomach (it may contain yogurt, which is full of good digestive bacteria) or a hypoallergenic formula (that doesn't use a lot of the standard pet food ingredients) may help relieve the gas problem.

One thing that I may not be able to adjust is how fast Moose eats. He's the kind of dog who gobbles his food without stopping to breathe -- so he may be gulping a lot of air with his food. (He does sometimes belch after he eats... Moose is such a classy dog!) It's entirely possible that he's just got some extra air pockets in his digestive system right now and they'll eventually work their way out one end or the other.

Dogs can safely take some human digestion aids, like Pepto-Bismol, Mylanta, and milk of magnesia. I may call over to the vet and see if they think something like that could help with Moose's frequent farting. It's always a good idea to check in with your veterinarian before offering any human medications to your pets!

If all else fails, Moose may need to get his insides checked. Under sedation, your vet can use a colonoscope to take a look inside and get biopsies of the intestinal lining.

In the meantime, I'm hanging out around the house with a bandana over my nose to help block the stink!

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Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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Courtney Mroch (9169) 14 Nov 2008 05:12 PM

Flatulence is treatable??? HALLELUIAH!!!!!!!

Courtney Mroch (9169) 14 Nov 2008 05:13 PM

Seriously though, I hope it's nothing serious with Moose and his worse-than-normal gas is a passing phase. =)

Samual (10782) 15 Nov 2008 02:27 AM

For our dog eating raw meat stops him farting, when he did fart, they were silent and deadly.

drnewmom (274) 15 Nov 2008 06:47 PM

A raw meat diet is seldom balanced properly (remember, in the wild, canids eat more than just "meat"). Additionally, there is the increased risk of diseases such as e. coli, salmonella and campylobacter. Gas can frequently be due to eating ANYTHING the dog is not used to. I had a client in the office once whose dog would get gassy if he at anything besides his food--even 1 potato chip would cause it! The best bet is to exclusively feed a highly-digestible, high quality diet.