As a pet parent, you must expect your dog to produce unpleasant smells from time to time. It’s all part of being a dog owner. Dog flatulence is a normal process in the body that happens during the digestion of food.
While you don’t have to be worried, sometimes dogs can pass smelly or excessive gas. Such cases indicate that your pup’s gastrointestinal tract isn’t doing well. You can solve this problem using canine gas remedies like CBD oil, probiotics, or a tummy massage.
In this guide, we’ll discuss what causes your dog’s gas and the remedies you can use.
Canine Gas Remedies You Can Use to Solve the Excessive Gas Problem
The first step in solving dog farts is examining your dog’s diet slowly and ruling out any disease. When you rule out any serious health issues, you must get gas relief for your dog as soon as possible. Some of the canine gas remedies you can use include:
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Probiotics
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Tummy massage
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Warm bath
Let’s look at each of these remedies in more detail:
CBD Oil
You can give your dog CBD to help manage gas and bloating. Your gassy dog may be experiencing digestive discomfort due to swallowing air or dietary changes. Studies show that CBD may help with occasional discomfort by reducing tension in the digestive tract and promoting relaxation. CBD may also support a healthy inflammatory response, helping comfort your dog and maintain digestive health.
Seek your vet’s guidance, who may help come up with a daily dose that’s most effective in providing gas relief. The vet may also help you identify pet-specific CBD products specially formulated for your dog’s body weight.
Probiotics
Probiotics can also help provide gas relief by adding good bacteria back into your dog’s gut. Dairy products like yogurt contain probiotics, which may improve digestion. You can also purchase probiotics supplements and add them to your dog’s diet. However, consult with your vet to ensure that your dog doesn’t have a dairy sensitivity.
Tummy Massage
A tummy massage can help get the gas in dogs moving, providing some comfort. Do this by simply getting yourself into a comfortable position and using a flat palm of your hand to gently massage your pup’s abdomen. Continuously do this in a circular motion while applying mild pressure.
Warm Bath
A warm bath can also help get the intestines moving. It can also provide some gas relief. You can also try massaging your pup’s tummy while bathing them.
Don’t Feed Them Table Scraps
Most dogs can’t resist human food scraps. However, they can be hard to digest, especially foods high in fats and sugars. You can feed them human-grade dog foods to reduce bloating and gas.
Slow Down Their Eating
Divide the food that your dog eats into smaller portions throughout the day. You can also try a slow-feeding dish to slow their eating habit down.
Keep Your Dog Active
Aside from focusing on your dog’s food, you can also incorporate dog activities. Ensure that your dog gets plenty of exercise and playtime.
What Causes Dog Gas Problems?
Your dog’s flatulence is a normal part of the digestive system. It occurs when bacteria in your dog’s digestive tract break down undigested carbohydrates. After breaking down the carbohydrates, gas is released.
As a result, it’s normal for canines to pass gas several times a day. However, the gas shouldn’t be loud or overly smelly. Any changes in the gas that your canine companion passes could indicate a problem with the digestion of their food. Here are some of the causes of dog gas problems:
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Changing your dog’s diet
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Poor quality food
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Digestive problems
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Obesity
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Extra air in their gut
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A high intake of carbohydrates
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Gastrointestinal disease
Let’s dive into each of these causes in detail below:
1. Poor-Quality Dog Food
The quality of dog food you give them plays an important role when it comes to gas in dogs.
Eating dog table scraps, processed food, or food high in additives can cause tummy issues and predispose your dog to gas. Additionally, feeding your dog foods or snacks with artificial preservatives, fillers, or low-quality ingredients can cause dog farts. Such foods can also upset your dog's stomach.
If your dog has a high-quality diet but still passes too much gas, your vet can conduct a test to see if they have poor digestion. Your dog’s vet should also check for any food intolerance or food allergies. This check can be done by eliminating ingredients from the dog’s diet and reintroducing them again.
2. Changing Your Dog’s Diet
What your dog eats greatly affects how their digestive tract functions. While you may not have given your dog poor-quality food, you may have introduced new food or changed their diet.
While changing the diet isn't bad, you may notice increased dog farts when you add spices, milk products, high-fiber foods, high-fat diets, or spoiled foods to your dog’s diet. The bacterial fermentation of nutrients in such foods will result in bad gas in dogs, which must escape from time to time.
3. Obesity
If your dog is consuming large amounts of poor-quality dog food, they might be prone to obesity, which could make the gas problem worse. Studies show that sedentary, overweight, and obese dogs are at a higher risk of developing chronic flatulence, regardless of their diet.
4. Extra Air In Your Dog's Gut
You may also be surprised to find that the source of gas in dogs comes from swallowing too much air. Short-nosed dog breeds such as Boston Terriers and Pugs tend to swallow a lot of air when eating or drinking.
How can they even swallow air, though? Your dog can swallow air when gobbling food. Such an activity may result from competing with another animal for food and, then, eating quickly.
Also, your dog may swallow air when feeding shortly after exercise before they have had an opportunity to slow their breathing. A respiratory disease that increases the respiratory rate may also be the culprit.
Excessive fermentation in the colon or extra air in the gut can also cause excess gas in dogs. Your dog can pass excess gas if they take food they have an allergy or sensitivity to. Also, excess air can occur in your dog’s gut if they are trying to digest foods with lots of carbohydrates
5. A High Intake of Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates can be subdivided into simple and complex types. On one hand, the simple carbohydrates are those absorbed by the small intestine and converted into glucose. On the other hand, complex carbohydrates include carrots and other non-starchy veggies. These foods are made up of more starches and fibers, which require more digestion.
Increased amounts of carbohydrates in a dog’s diet slowly increase the glucose levels in the blood, leading to more digestion requirements in the body. Also, a lack of digestive enzymes in your dog’s pancreas can affect how they digest these carbohydrates. Therefore, it’s important to feed your dog a limited-ingredient diet that’s low in carbohydrates.
Gastrointestinal Disease
Disease may also play a significant role in causing your dog’s farts. Such diseases include acute and chronic intestinal ailments. If a gastrointestinal disease is the cause of dog’s gas, you may notice symptoms like loss of appetite and weight, vomiting, and diarrhea. If you notice such symptoms, visit a veterinarian immediately.
Other diseases that can cause excessive flatulence in dogs include failure of the pancreas to function normally, parasites, irritable bowel syndrome, or an inflammation of the intestines (inflammatory bowel disease) caused by a virus.
Is It Time to See the Vet?
If your dog still has excessive gas after implementing these remedies, it may be time to visit your vet. If your dog has had smelly gas combined with diarrhea, vomiting, and loss of weight or appetite, discuss potential causes and treatments with the vet.
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