Stinky gassy puppy!

[szelynn]

I just switched her Kali to Orijen Senior and WOW are those farts treacherous! Sometimes it feels like they stick in the air!!

I realize now that maybe I should have tried something else first instead of something so rich considering that I knew she had major gas in general with Wysong Synorgon (it would be a fart symphony when she would go up and down the stairs - and let me tell you it's not so funny if you're walking behind her as she's walking up!) She was OK on Wysong Senior, I just wanted her off the corn!

It's only been almost 2 weeks though on the Orijen Senior, and now that she's 100% Orijen her gas is horrible and her poops are really dark coloured and quite a bit more in volume then when she was on Wysong Senior... my husband's not too happy with me right now

She just had surgery recently and a lot of antibiotics, and an ear infection to boot so I want to give her some probiotics, and was thinking digestive enzymes - which should I try?

[Chaser]

I think there is a difference between "digestive enzymes" and probiotics like acidophilous (sp?)...but I haven't entirely figured them out yet so I'm sure someone will be along in a bit to help you figure out which is best for gas.

What I DO know is I have found giving my dog a tablespoon of plain organic yogurt with each meal has helped with moderate gas and got us through a food transition without stinking the whole house up. But I don't really know the hows and whys of it....I just know it worked for him!

[pitgrrl]

Probitoics are the good bacteria that live in the gut. Anti-biotics work because they kill bacteria, all bacteria, even the good stuff that you actually want in there, hence replacing them with a probiotic.

You can use plain yogurt (I would personally go for one that has multiple bacterias and nothing else added- this is the one I usually get) or get a probiotic in supplement form in healthfood stores, some supermarkets and a few pet stores. They should be in the fridge.

Digestive enzymes work in the stomach to help with better digestion of food and therefore better absorbtion of nutrience. Personally I use a human digestive enzyme for the dogs because it's easy for me to get, but dog specific ones exist like Prozyme.

There are also products available that contain both a probiotic and digestive enzymes. Eagle Pack Holistic Solution is one I can think of off the top of my head.

To answer your original question though, both probiotics and digestive enzymes would likely help with the fartiness, so you could try either or both. I'd be inclined to suggest trying the probiotic first if you only want to do one at a time due to the recent antibiotics, though the enzymes might be more help in the poop volume department (unless there's some sort of intolerance going on) because there's less waste when the dog is actually able to break down and use more of what's going in.

[szelynn]

Should I perhaps try out the Orijen Fish one? Or should I give the Senior more time? I read somewhere here that I should at least give a food 6weeks to a few months?

She seems so bloated right now after dinner, and in the last 5 minutes I've heard her fart at least 5 TIMES

[szelynn]

Went out and bought some Prozyme yesterday, it's just more convenient for me as I practically live at the Global's I gave Kali some starting with last night's dinner and so far no change...how long should I give it to work before throwing in the towel with Orijen, should it have been right away?

Also, I don't know if this makes a difference or not but I noticed she really only gets gassy after dinner not really during the day after breakfast? I wonder if I give her something else for dinner would take make a difference??

[pitgrrl]

I would give it a couple of days, but it should work pretty fast. Given the anti-biotics recently, I would try adding at least yogurt before deciding the food isn't working for you.

[szelynn]

So I gave up on Orijen Sr. and moved to Fish...no go same deal and then the allergies came in full force. My vet told me this year 3 out of 5 dogs came in because of allergies, it seems to be really bad this year...probably from all that rain we got here...

So Global's suggested I try some allergy formulas, my first go...now I have her on Wellness Whitefish and Sweet Potato, can't really tell if her allergies are better since she's been on Vanectyl (sp?) and a couple of days that she's gotten off she developed a hot spot on her face (All the ppl at the vet's office know me very well there now)
On the Wellness Whitefish and Sweet Potato, she's pretty gassy although not as stinky any more and sometimes I can hear her tummy gurgling like she has gastroenteritis (sp?)

She did well gas-wise on Wysong Senior - I'm thinking she probably needs a lower protein Senior type diet..and it's probably about time I just give in, (I wanted to be stubborn and try out foods that I preferred first) but I'm not sure which I should try...any suggestions? It would need to be about 18%. I had really high hopes for the Wellness...I'm so disappointed that it's not agreeing with her

[Goldens4Ever]

Originally Posted by szelynn

....so I want to give her some probiotics, and was thinking digestive enzymes - which should I try?

Nzymes Bac-Pak-Plus This is a digestive enzyme & probiotic all-in-one. It is a tasteless, odorless powder you sprinkle on the food. It's wonderful.

Another good one by Great Life is ENZYmes Pro +, which also is a combination of the two.

[szelynn]

Originally Posted by Goldens4Ever

Nzymes Bac-Pak-Plus This is a digestive enzyme & probiotic all-in-one. It is a tasteless, odorless powder you sprinkle on the food. It's wonderful.

Another good one by Great Life is ENZYmes Pro +, which also is a combination of the two.

I've tried different kinds of enzymes already...Prozyme - went through a bottle of it - no real difference. NuPro Joint Supplement - I believe all kinds of different stuff is in it. And I give her yogurt in every meal, and pumpkin once a day...it's not really doing much to control the gas.

[Goldens4Ever]

Originally Posted by szelynn

I've tried different kinds of enzymes already...Prozyme - went through a bottle of it - no real difference. NuPro Joint Supplement - I believe all kinds of different stuff is in it. And I give her yogurt in every meal, and pumpkin once a day...it's not really doing much to control the gas.

I don't believe the Prozyme you mentioned above contain probiotics - only enzymes. The NuPro is specifically for joint health - not GI functioning.

Also, by adding pumpkin to the diet, you're increasing the fiber content, which is one of the things contributing to the gas. High fiber (& sometimes high protein) within diets are some of the factors that contributing to excess gas. Dogs bodies demand low-fiber & low carb diets.

Yogurt doesn't do all that much to control gas - it establishes a health level of flora (bacteria) within their intestines, which may help them achieve better GI functioning, thus potentially reducing gas. But using a combination supplement mentioned above, in conjunction with an appropriate food would bring resolution to the problem at-hand.

Effectively trouble-shooting GI problems should be done systemically - getting to the actual root of the problem. So, if you're trying all the other things with no success, then the actual "root" has not been discovered.

[Kinguni]

We tried Prozyme with our dog (Shabba) as well and it made no difference (trying to eliminate soft stools). According to Lew Olson dogs need animal based digestive enzymes, whereas Prozyme contains plant based digestive enzymes. If a dog is fed a raw diet then they get those enzymes from the meat.

That said, when we tried Orijen the first time it made her very smelly which caused us to switch to a food with grain, but a second go was fine in the smell department. We were just never able to eliminate some of her soft stools.

We're now a few days into a 100% raw diet. Would have done it sooner, but it took a while to convince my wife.

[AmericanBullMom]

I dont know much about gas, BUT could the DH or anyone else be slipping her some table scraps?? I know my parents dogs get the WORST gas when they give them leftover steak, or anything thats been marinated...
Hope you get it all worked out!!

[szelynn]

Originally Posted by Goldens4Ever

Effectively trouble-shooting GI problems should be done systemically - getting to the actual root of the problem. So, if you're trying all the other things with no success, then the actual "root" has not been discovered.

But how do I go about getting to the root of the problem?

Originally Posted by AmericanBullMom

I dont know much about gas, BUT could the DH or anyone else be slipping her some table scraps?? I know my parents dogs get the WORST gas when they give them leftover steak, or anything thats been marinated...

Oh he knows better than to do that!

[szelynn]

Raw is also another option, but probably just one of those frozen premade one's.
I was kind of hoping I could keep it easy with kibble..

The hubby's not too keen on the idea, but I'M the one who feeds the girls...not him.

[TeriM]

It sounds to me like Orijen is just not working for her. Unfortunately sometimes the best foods just don't work for certain dogs . You could try giving her system a bit of a rest by feeding bland foods (ie chicken and rice or oatmeal) for a few days and then adding back the orijen over a few days.

Since she has problems on both the Synorgen and Orijen I wonder if perhaps she has a bit of a chicken intolerance? I would recommend trying something without chicken to see if that helps. Possible choices would include Orijen Fish, California Natural Lamb & Rice, Wellness makes some good choices and so does Timberwolf.

Goodluck.

[im_nomad]

My dog is on a low protein diet (Hill's prescription C/D to be exact), I think this was one of the things you mentioned as well. It's because she has UT issues, but I can tell you, i don't know if it's this or not, but the couple of times I gave her a different canned food (dry seemed to be ok), like one of those caesar things as a treat, man oh man I paid for it. I lol'd at your fart symphony because I heard nothing but little zippers going for about two days and she was almost too rank to stand herself. It totally screwed up her digestion. This is a dog who has over the years eaten a roll of toilet paper, half pack of cigarettes and such, with nary a digestive complaint. But protein? forget it.

She stays on her C/D, and her only treats are the occasional piece of cheese or natural peanut butter on a treat to take her pills, and even rarer steamed rice from the take out orders. No protein heavy anything, no table scraps and all is good on the belly home front. Her breath also stays pretty fresh, when on her proper diet.

The protein in C/D canned is about 5%, much lower than the 18% you mentioned.

[Kinguni]

Originally Posted by im_nomad

the couple of times I gave her a different canned food (dry seemed to be ok), like one of those caesar things as a treat, man oh man I paid for it. I lol'd at your fart symphony because I heard nothing but little zippers going for about two days and she was almost too rank to stand herself. It totally screwed up her digestion.

Those aren't a treat. Those are junk, mostly by-products.

[Kinguni]

Originally Posted by im_nomad

The protein in C/D canned is about 5%, much lower than the 18% you mentioned.

Can't compare canned to kibble like that.

[Chaser]

Originally Posted by Kinguni

Can't compare canned to kibble like that.

Exactly, protein is virtually always lower in canned food. And you may want to reconsider feeding the Hill's....Wellness food tends to be one of the lower protein ones, but with quality ingredients and few fillers.

But,

szelynn - I agree with TeriM...sometimes Orijen is just too much There are lots of other good-quality options you can try though. I agree with trying a fish-based kibble, and Now! Grain Free is another good option. Their adult formula is turkey, duck and salmon based, and is 26% protein as compared to Orijen's 42%

http://www.petcurean.com/index.php

[Gail P]

Maybe even just think about what type of protein you're feeding? My dogs do great on a chicken and rice type of food, and they can handle just about any kind of leftovers, table scraps, or "extras" that I cook up for them, but I can't seem to feed them lamb or they get gassy. I've had lamb & rice kibble that made them really stinky, even when I mixed it with their other food. Anything else though, they have no problem with. I heard somewhere about mixing something with the food that can help to eliminate gas problems. I think it may have been ground fennel? I can't remember for sure now that that's what I seem to recall.

[szelynn]

I've already tried Orijen Fish and Wellness Whitefish and Sweet Potato, I had really high hopes for the Wellness since the protein level is like half of what Orijen is. My local Global's doesn't sell California Natural L&R (he said supply is always a problem) or Go Natural (he said he doesn't like companies that don't make their own food) ...I just want to try them to see what happens maybe I'll call around and see where they stock it regularly.

She wasn't gassy on Wysong Senior, her fur got oily and smelly on it though so I don't think it's chicken that's causing her gas at least...that's why I was thinking maybe another Senior diet??

Why can't they just eat what I want them to eat??? if only it were THAT easy

[im_nomad]

Originally Posted by Chase_Mom

Exactly, protein is virtually always lower in canned food. And you may want to reconsider feeding the Hill's....Wellness food tends to be one of the lower protein ones, but with quality ingredients and few fillers.

Was that one for me, or the OP? I don't know of the Wellness products you mention, don't think i've seen them at the Vet, which is where i buy the Hill's. The Hill's S/D and then C/D was what was initially prescribed by the vet when my dog was first diagnosed with kidney problems. I'm sure the OP, who's dog I didn't gather had UT problems, could go with a dry.

Back on-topic, could your pooch do with a few days of say, rice only? I've done that a couple of times when mine's had belly problems to get things back on track.