Gassy dogs?

My sister's dog is staying with us for the weekend. I've mentioned her before. She's the German Shepherd mix.

She has been really gassy (flatulence) for about two weeks. She was experiencing some diarrhea, too. They did some tests and everything came out okay. They have added yogurt to her diet to help her digestion

The diarrhea seems to be gone, but the flatulence is not. My sister said she was better, but she was only with us an hour yesterday when she started in. I'm beginning to think it's more due to stress than diet. She is 11 years old and is the one that has seizures (she's on medication for that). While she has no reason to be nervous here, she has been here over night many times, I think maybe as she gets older she does not like being away from her family and home.

Has anyone experienced this with their dog? If so, did you find a remedy? Is this more common in older dogs?

 

My Sherlock suffers with terrible, terrible flatulence, and it is the most horrific smell we're ever experienced. The thing is, his gut is OK for him, he's just one of those dogs that creates horrible smells. It might be worth trying some charcoal tablets, because whilst that didn't work for Sherlock, they do work very well with other dogs. You can just put them with their food, crushed up and sprinkled. It will come out in the stools making them look black, but see how your dog goes with that.

 

Her flatulence is like your dog's. I call her the serial farter. She leaves them behind in rooms and you just want to flee.

I hadn't heard of the charcoal tablets. I'll mention it to my sister. She'll have to check with the Vet to see if it will work and if they are okay to give her dog. She's on a restricted diet because of her seizures.

We don't think it is dietary unless something has changed in her dog food. It can't be something she is eating outside because she has the same problem here as at home. You would expect it to clear out in one place or the other. I guess that as they age their digestion slows down and they have a little bit more trouble with these things.

 

It SHOULD be OK, but it's always good to check. Sherlock is epileptic, and we have to be careful what we give him too. He can clear an entire room in second with one of his emissions, they're absolutely awful. It's even worse when he's asleep, because all of a sudden we'll hear this squeaky old man fart, which is our only signal to flee from the room and hide.

 

No, I have never has this gassy problem with any of my dogs yet. The worst which I had experienced was burping. And that's bad enough.

 

I don't have this problem with my boys. But my sister does with all her dogs. Just the gas, not the aftermath. She has tried everything, even prescribed meds by the vet. All of our dogs are Pitbull/bull breeds and on the large size. Maybe this is something that larger dog owners have to deal with.

 

Saturday night the whole episode lead to diarrhea. Poor dog! She seemed a lot better afterward and she's been eating and running around as if nothing ever happened.

I thought it might be dietary. But, now I wonder if it's because of how much water she drinks. Her anti-seizure medication makes her thirsty. But, she's also obsessive about water. To be exact, she cannot let a fresh bowl of water go undrunk. She must have some the minute you put it down. She has always been like that.

I noticed the episode Saturday night came about two hours after she completely drained the water bowl I had filled. It makes me wonder if she is drinking too much water at once and it's causing her to have an upset tummy. I'm going to mention it to my sister. I've been rationing the water since. Not so much depriving them of it, but putting smaller amounts down so she doesn't gorge. She has not been gassy since Sunday morning, so we'll see.