Bella's new-ish gas problem (diet, foods, protein, walk)

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by jaime_mac

I think if I find a bowl cheap enough I'll get it, I'm afraid one of the two dogs will try to eat the rock! lol

I thought raised feeders were suppose to prevent bloat? That's what I read at least....as well as prevent gas.

I'm definitely going to try the yogurt, will pumpkin cause her to have the runs?

When Artie's stool was loose, I gave him pumpkin. It made it looser. But that's just him being all contrary, I guess, because most people found that it didn't cause loose stools. The only thing that firmed up his stool was (another contradiction) Metamucil, as per the vet's recommendation.

But your issues isn't loose stools, it's gas... right? Have you been feeding him any veggies? Carrots? Broccoli? That will cause gas.

As for Wellness Core, I mix that with TOTW for Artie. I used to feed him just Wellness Core (it is grain-free) but he got bored of it; that's why I mix a couple of foods. But, YEAH, Wellness Core is really expensive. Not THE most expensive out there, no, but it's painful at the register.

One last thing about the slow-feeding bowl. If you're worried about the rock, throw in a tennis ball or something like that. Just something in the bowl that will move around and make the food less accessible.

[jaime_mac]

Originally Posted by DandJ

When Artie's stool was loose, I gave him pumpkin. It made it looser. But that's just him being all contrary, I guess, because most people found that it didn't cause loose stools. The only thing that firmed up his stool was (another contradiction) Metamucil, as per the vet's recommendation.

But your issues isn't loose stools, it's gas... right? Have you been feeding him any veggies? Carrots? Broccoli? That will cause gas.

As for Wellness Core, I mix that with TOTW for Artie. I used to feed him just Wellness Core (it is grain-free) but he got bored of it; that's why I mix a couple of foods. But, YEAH, Wellness Core is really expensive. Not THE most expensive out there, no, but it's painful at the register.

One last thing about the slow-feeding bowl. If you're worried about the rock, throw in a tennis ball or something like that. Just something in the bowl that will move around and make the food less accessible.

No veggies or human food, just dog food and a small treat at night so she doesn't get sick in the morning. I'm going to try the yogurt, if that doesn't work I'll try the pumpkin.

She'll take the tennis ball out of her bowl and play with it lol I'll try it before I spend money on a new bowl though and see what she does.

If all else fails, we'll try a new food! Thanks for the tips everyone!

[Greenchili]

Bannanas also firm up the stools. Our boxer got two bannanas off the counter and ate them skin and all. Her stools were "optimum" the next
day. I cant believe she ate them,but she did. It didnt upset her or anything,so if your dog likes them.Try it.

Greenchili

[jaime_mac]

Originally Posted by Greenchili

Bannanas also firm up the stools. Our boxer got two bannanas off the counter and ate them skin and all. Her stools were "optimum" the next
day. I cant believe she ate them,but she did. It didnt upset her or anything,so if your dog likes them.Try it.

Greenchili

ahahaha that's funny! I'll give that a try too. Her poops are pretty good most of the time. This morning they were a little looser than normal, but for the most part she doesn't suffer from the runs or anything, just horrid gas!

[DawnMTL]

Jaime -- which "flavor" of TOTW are you feeding her? I'm wondering if there's a particular ingredient (whether meat or carb) that's in the TOTW that wouldn't be present in another grainless food (whether a different food altogether, or another TOTW flavor) that may be causing the gas. Artie gets the venison/bison flavor of TOTW, but it's also mixed with Natural Balance (some meat -- I don't remember which -- and sweet potato) and Wellness Core (turkey? chicken? I don't recall the primary ingredient), but it could VERY WELL be that your girl isn't responding well to some facet of the TOTW flavor that she's being fed.

So, if you do plan on switching foods, make sure that you find a food that has at least one different primary ingredient so that you can determine if that's the cause. It may be a bit of trial and error, so you might want to buy small bags of food to start -- yeah, it's more expensive like that, but in the long run, if you're going to have to try two or more different foods, you'll save money.

[jaime_mac]

Originally Posted by DandJ

Jaime -- which "flavor" of TOTW are you feeding her? I'm wondering if there's a particular ingredient (whether meat or carb) that's in the TOTW that wouldn't be present in another grainless food (whether a different food altogether, or another TOTW flavor) that may be causing the gas. Artie gets the venison/bison flavor of TOTW, but it's also mixed with Natural Balance (some meat -- I don't remember which -- and sweet potato) and Wellness Core (turkey? chicken? I don't recall the primary ingredient), but it could VERY WELL be that your girl isn't responding well to some facet of the TOTW flavor that she's being fed.

So, if you do plan on switching foods, make sure that you find a food that has at least one different primary ingredient so that you can determine if that's the cause. It may be a bit of trial and error, so you might want to buy small bags of food to start -- yeah, it's more expensive like that, but in the long run, if you're going to have to try two or more different foods, you'll save money.

They get the bison/venison as well and Buster has done phenomenal on it, Bella....another story. For a while I thought the gas was from Buster but when he was on the other side of the room and she was right next to me and I smelled it again I knew it was her. I don't want to have to have them on separate foods because that's just too expensive for me right now.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by jaime_mac

They get the bison/venison as well and Buster has done phenomenal on it, Bella....another story. For a while I thought the gas was from Buster but when he was on the other side of the room and she was right next to me and I smelled it again I knew it was her. I don't want to have to have them on separate foods because that's just too expensive for me right now.

I can definitely understand not wanting to feed two separate foods. That would be expensive and a pain in the butt.

Hey, when's the last time that Bella was at the vet? I'm asking because I read that, although diarrhea is the most common symptom, gas is also a symptom of Giardia.

Maybe it's worth bringing in a stool sample of hers to have them rule that out?

[jaime_mac]

One thing I forgot to mention and just realized for the most part her gas problem is only at night. I'll take her out twice after her dinner time, usually about 2 hours after she eats and then again before bedtime and her poops are pretty solid, but they get a little looser in the morning when we go out after we wake up before she eats anything.

[jaime_mac]

Originally Posted by DandJ

I can definitely understand not wanting to feed two separate foods. That would be expensive and a pain in the butt.

Hey, when's the last time that Bella was at the vet? I'm asking because I read that, although diarrhea is the most common symptom, gas is also a symptom of Giardia.

Maybe it's worth bringing in a stool sample of hers to have them rule that out?

She went to the vet about a month or two ago because it looked like she was pooping out worms. So she got a dewormer and seems fine on that end....minus the gas lol

[FiveHorses]

On the issue of raised bowls and preventing bloat... well, suffice it to say there are two schools of thought on it.

The issue with using anything like a tennis ball or a porous rock in the food is one of hygiene/harbouring bacteria.

The gas might also be due to an inability (digestive) to break down (and therefore absorb the nutrients from) food properly. There are digestive enzymes available that can be added to food to deal with this (on veterinary recommendation of course). Probiotics also come in powdered form - which might be better than finding out the hard way the dog is lactose intolerant....

(You can use human probiotics available at any good health food store and adjust for weight. Generally speaking, the human variety will be cheaper than a canine-specific one.)