HOLY GAS, DOG!

[Eye_in_the_Sky]

I’m so confused! Our Miniature Schnauzer puppy has THE most intense and smelliest gas and the local air quality has plummeted!

What he eats:
1 cup of Blue Buffalo Small Breed Puppy, which is a chicken and oatmeal based product. He seems happy and healthy. Vet is pleased with his growth-rate and he has regular bowels.

I really like the BB food - is this an indication that his belly isn’t happy with this food? Should I switch him to the Wilderness Puppy Chicken?

Maybe stinky gas is normal, and I’m being silly??? Please advise, oh wise ones!

[paulaedwina]

In my puppy experience smelly gas is normal usually. I call this the tempering his guts :lol: You can always add some enzymes if you’d like (I add some to my old dog’s meals and it makes a huge difference). In my experience however, it should go away.

Paula

[S1969]

Not acceptable in my house. If you just switched food, I might give it some time to see if he adjusts, but if he’s been on it for a while and it is always bad, I’d switch.

Of course, all animals have gas, and from time to time it’s very smelly. But if it’s a constant issue - switch the food.

[Eye_in_the_Sky]

We switched almost a month ago. Only difference now is, we have begun only feeding in the morning. I have noticed he eats VERY fast, so I just placed an order via Amazon for a bowl designed to help him slow down. He gets his final vaccine for the year next Friday, and I’ll speak with the vet about the gas issue and see what she says regarding changing foods, or sticking with it for now.

In addition, he had a loose stool earlier this afternoon, but he isn’t acting unusual. I took him out again about two hours ago, and he ran around like normal, peed, but no stool. I’ll take him out in about a half-hour to see if he needs to eliminate anymore.

[paulaedwina]

The first time Yoshi ate goose crap as a pup he had some moments. He’d play and the sit and give me the puke smile, but he got better. I figure like any other young, the gut has to be tempered and there’s a period of adjustment.

BTW he was a bolter too. I didn’t buy any special bowls, I just turned one bowl upside down in his food bowl so he had to eat around it.

Paula

[tallyho392]

a bundt cake pan works well to slow fast eaters, as well as serving food in ice cube trays…lots cheaper than a special dish…and, as pauledwina said, a bowl inside a bowl works well…
I know our schnauzers while I was growing up had sooooooo many food issues that caused everything from skin to gut issues,might need to try a different protein source…BB has many different proteins to choose from, maybe chicken doesn’t agree with him…?

[Big_Grey_hunter]

For what it’s worth, one of my cats had the most god awful gas on BB. She would just sit there farting so loud and long she would stare at her butt in shock, then everyone had to flee the room. She was also shiny, happy, and healthy, but we couldn’t take the gas. The gas disappeared within a week of switching food. The other cats were fine.

[catzndogz22]

Similarly to paulaedwina, for my scarfer, I put a cat food dish, facing up, in his bowl on top of his dry food. He eats around the edges first and then picks up the cat food dish to finish what’s left underneath.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Eye in the Sky;6998839]
We switched almost a month ago. Only difference now is, we have begun only feeding in the morning. I have noticed he eats VERY fast, so I just placed an order via Amazon for a bowl designed to help him slow down. He gets his final vaccine for the year next Friday, and I’ll speak with the vet about the gas issue and see what she says regarding changing foods, or sticking with it for now.

In addition, he had a loose stool earlier this afternoon, but he isn’t acting unusual. I took him out again about two hours ago, and he ran around like normal, peed, but no stool. I’ll take him out in about a half-hour to see if he needs to eliminate anymore.[/QUOTE]

Why are you feeding only once a day? To be sure, he will be hungrier than normal and maybe eat faster. That said, my guys eat twice a day and you’d think they were always starved by the way they eat.

Ask the vet but in my opinion, stinky bad gas is a symptom of a food that doesn’t agree with the dog. We tried Wellness for our guys and in addition to bad gas, they also had constant, explosive, “soft-serve” poops. Not worth it, so we switched back to Eukanuba that we’ve loved forever.

[wendy]

Ask the vet but in my opinion, stinky bad gas is a symptom of a food that doesn’t agree with the dog.

my opinion too. If the dog is gassy after a week on the food, it’s time to try something else.
If you read the ingredients on your Blue Buffalo food, you’ll notice peas are quite high up on the list- in my experience, peas and other legumes are very poorly digested by dogs and may produce gas. Corn and soy are also notorious gas-producers. Varies a bit by dog, of course.

It’s normal for dogs to gobble their food, and there’s nothing wrong with them doing so. They don’t chew kibble, they just kind of suck it up.

IMHO, puppies should be fed at least twice a day. I feed my adult dogs twice a day.

and remember that all dogs, particularly growing puppies, who are fed preserved processed foods will need to be supplemented with fish oil. Very important for puppy brain development. Omega-3 fatty acids are not very stable and though they may put them into the kibble in sufficient quantities, by the time the kibble is cooked and processed and stored they tend to break down and not make it into your pup. Plus a lot of dog food manufacturers try to substitute flax for fish oil as a source of omega-3’s, and most dogs can’t digest flax.

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_9/features/Fish-Oil-Supplements-For-Dogs_20600-1.html

[Foxtrot_s]

As a breed Boxers have a reputation for gas.

Our daughter gives her yogurt every day and claims it has improved her a lot.
Since we used to dog sit her I’m inclined to agree - when we spent quality time together watching tv with her on the ottoman, I do think it improved.
She would clear a room before and is fed Costco grain free.

[Eye_in_the_Sky]

He has been on the food for about four weeks, but this gas just began 3 days ago. He was eating fast when we fed him twice a day. His breeder suggested that I switch him to once a day. He was fine initially - regular/normal bowels, no gas.

Is there another brand of food I ought to try?

He has had 3 loose stools since I posted last night - he has a normal temperature, and he drank plenty of water. I have a can of pumpkin - when and how do I feed it?

[wendy]

If it didn’t start with the food, then I’d guess he ate something- goose poop? missing any shoes? that is causing both the gas and the loose poop. Just wait a day or two.

[SuckerForHorses]

Curious, why feed only once a day? Don’t you eat more than once a day?

[Eye_in_the_Sky]

My understanding from the breeder as well as my vet, is that it is more natural for dogs to eat once a day. From all the reading I have done as well as the myriad of discussions I had with various breeders, feeding once a day appears to be quite normal.

As far as what he could have eaten…well, all I can come up with is perhaps he’s had one too many maple seeds! He eats them as though they are a fine gourmet meal, and although my research has not indicated that this is poisonous, I do wonder if it has contributed to his belly issues.

He was acting pretty normal when I took him out about one hour ago. I fed him some pumpkin, and he ran and played. He didn’t poop, but he seemed much more energetic. He’s resting in his crate right now, and I’ll take him outside in about an hour.

[S1969]

I would think switching to 1 per day feeding could very likely be the cause of the gas, especially in a puppy. Generally speaking, when feeding puppies you can expect a bowel movement very soon after feeding twice a day; so if you switch to only once a day they may need to have a bowel movement but their digestive processes haven’t figured out the change in feeding.

I’ve never heard a vet recommend 1x day feeding for a puppy. How old is he? My breeder feeds her puppies 3x a day until 6-8 weeks, then switches down to 2x a day by substituting a small biscuit and yogurt mid-day instead of a 3rd meal. We have kept our dogs at twice/day feeding for their entire lives. I don’t know anyone that feeds even adult dogs only once a day.

I think the idea of “natural” feeding is sort of silly. Sure, wild dogs don’t eat twice a day, but they also gorge themselves on food sometimes, and go hungry for days at other times. My guess is they would be hard to house train as a result.

If the food agreed with your dog until you switched to once/day feeding - I would assume that is the cause of the gas. If you like the food, I’d simply switch back to 2x/day and see if it helps.

[Eye_in_the_Sky]

Well, after discussing this with my best friend, who is an amazing coach, barn manager and vet tech, I boiled some rice and a chicken breast and gave him a small amount of that tonight. His poop seemed to still be mushy, but it has a definite shape - yea!

I am going to go back to am and pm feedings. Just as an aside, even with the one time a day feeding, he still had regular poops. DH and I are also trying to figure out the pros and cons of having one or more of our red maples cut down.

[Eye_in_the_Sky]

Well, after discussing this with my best friend, who is an amazing coach, barn manager and vet tech, I boiled some rice and a chicken breast and gave him a small amount of that tonight. His poop seemed to still be mushy, but it has a definite shape - yea!

I am going to go back to am and pm feedings. Just as an aside, even with the one time a day feeding, he still had regular poops. DH and I are also trying to figure out the pros and cons of having one or more of our red maples cut down.

[Shine]

[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;6999671]
As a breed Boxers have a reputation for gas.

Our daughter gives her yogurt every day and claims it has improved her a lot.
Since we used to dog sit her I’m inclined to agree - when we spent quality time together watching tv with her on the ottoman, I do think it improved.
She would clear a room before and is fed Costco grain free.[/QUOTE]

OH, I smell your pain! For a smaller Boxer, she sure can make a stink.:eek: I’ll have to try the yogurt in her diet.

Funny, when my horses fart, it doesn’t bother me at all.

[paulaedwina]

Make sure it’s real yogurt -live culture yogurt. You may be surprised how much fake yogurt is out there.

Paula