You may be chilling out and relaxing at home one evening watching an episode of your favorite TV show after a hard day’s work, when suddenly you start to smell a stench that takes you by surprise (and by disgust).
Was it you? No, you could swear that you haven’t passed gas the entire day. Was it someone else in the room? Nope again, there’s no one there but you and your dog. Wait a second, your dog!
Could it be your dog? Do dogs even fart in the first place? If so, why is your dog farting? Is your dog farting for the same reasons us humans do, or are they passing gas as a sign of something more serious? What can you possibly do to help your dog stop passing gas?
It’s completely normal for all of these questions to be whirling in your head right now, which is why we’ve put together this resource that’ll answer all the questions you have about dog gas and everything related to it.
Do Dogs Fart? If So, Why Is My Dog Farting?
So, “why exactly is my dog farting?”, you may be asking yourself. “Is it something wrong that I’m doing, is there anything wrong with my dogs’ health or is this just normal dog bodily functions the same way we pas gas sometimes?”.
First of all, it should be made completely clear that dogs farting is a completely natural thing and is by no means a necessary sign that something’s wrong with them and they need medical help.
Just like you and I pass gas every now and then, your dog also does the same, and most of the time it shouldn’t be anything for you to worry about (except for the awful smell, of course).
In the following list below, we’ll be discussing some of the most common reasons that cause dogs to fart, some of which you as a dog owner are very much able to control, while others you unfortunately can’t do much about.
1) Excessive Swallowing Of Air While Breathing: Some dog breeds tend to focus on breathing via their mouths instead of their noses, which puts them at a great risk of swallowing excessive amounts of air while breathing, something that ultimately translates to excessive farting later on during the day.
In other cases, some dog owners make the mistake of feeding their dogs food/meals immediately after a session of exercise, thinking that their dogs are going to benefit from this nutritionally more than they would had they eaten without exercise, because of the significant increase in blood circulation.
However, the only thing that feeding your dog food immediately after exercise is going to do is have your dog eat their food while swallowing lots of air in the process because they haven’t had the chance to catch their breath yet.
In other cases, dogs that are fed meals together in the same bowl or in the same room/area tend to see this as a competition, one where they try to eat as fast as possible and finish their food before the other dog does.
Sometimes this is caused by negative influence from the dog owner, where the dog that finishes their food before the other gets heaps of praise, while other times it’s just an innate dog thing where they like to be competitive with one another.
In all cases, and believe it or not, if there was ever a most common reason that causes dogs to pass gas, then excessive swallowing of air is it.
2) Certain Human Foods/Dog Food Brands: Oftentimes, dogs that have a nasty case of dogs are so because of unoptimized diets that haven’t been tailored to the specific needs of the dog being talked about.
You may be feeding your dog human food that shouldn’t be consumed by dogs in the first place, or you may be feeding your dog high quality dog food that’s just not quite compatible with their digestive systems, either way diet plays a big role in this issue and is a very common dog flatulence instigator.
With that being said, there are some human foods out there that are very good and healthy for dogs to eat, such as cauliflower, beans and broccoli, but may contribute to the build up of flatulence inside your dog’s system.
3) Sudden Change In Diet: Sudden dietary changes are also a common reason for excessive gas in dogs, as well as a whole host of other digestive problems as well.
In order to avoid this from happening, make sure that any changes you make to your dog’s diet, whether that be changing the brand of dog food you feed them, feeding them a new food they’ve never eaten before, incorporating a new element in their diet, removing a certain element from their diet, etc .. are done slowly and gradually in order to give your dog’s digestive system the necessary time it requires in order to adjust.
4) Rapid Consumption Of Food: Some dogs tend to eat their food faster than professional athletes would run a 100 meter sprint race, where they don’t chew on their food for an adequate period of time and end up swallowing large amounts of air in the process as well (ties back to the point mentioned right above).
This is just one of the reasons why it’s always advised that you make sure your dog is properly chewing their food and eating it in a slow fashion.
Whether that means that you have to invest in a special dog bowl that helps your dog eat their meals in a slower fashion, you have to give your dog more frequent meals throughout the day but in smaller sized portions, or whatever other method you prefer to follow, just make sure that your dog is eating their food nice and slow if you want them to avoid excessive flatulence.
5) Spoiled/Expired Food: Make extra sure that any food (be that dog food or human food that’s alright for dogs to eat in moderate amounts) that you’re feeding Fido is not expired, rotten or starting to go bad.
Food that’s just starting to go bad leads to a lot of nasty gas in dogs, so you can only imagine what can happen when your dog eats food that has been expired for a very long time (which, by the way, happens much more than you’d think, due to the carelessness of many dog owners out there).
6) Lactose Intolerance: We’ve previously talked in other articles on this site about the dangers of lactose intolerance and feeding your dog food like cheese or having them drink milk that’s not lactose free, and excessive flatulence is one of the side effects that a lactose-intolerant dog will experience if they drink/eat dairy products that contain lactose.
Even if your dog isn’t lactose intolerant, excessively feeding them or having them drink dairy products is also very likely going to give them gas to some extent.
7) Way Too Much Fiber: Feeding your dog a diet that’s high in fiber offers them tremendous health benefits, which is why we wrote this article about why you should feed your dog high fiber dog food, but just like anything that’s beneficial in life, there’s a thin line between the perfect amount and going over the top and having it backfire at you.
Many dog owners don’t realize this fact, and once they read about the benefits of a high fiber diet for dogs, they’ll go over the top and end up feeding dogs much more fiber than their bodies can handle during a day’s time, which results in all sorts of problems such as constipation and excessive gas.
8) Exercise In The Wrong Times: Just like we mentioned in the first point in this section that consumption of food immediately after exercise is a common reason for flatulence in dogs, exercise right after the consumption of food is also another reason for excessive gas in dogs and many other digestive problems as well.
There should be adequate time in between an exercise session and your dog’s consumption of food in both ways.
Dog Farting A Lot – Why Does My Dog Fart So Much?
If your dog is farting every now and then and is doing so on an occasional basis, then there’s most probably nothing you have to worry about as, again, this is most probably just your dogs’ normal bodily functions doing what they have to do.
Meanwhile, if your dog is farting an awful lot and the amount of gas they seem to be passing is unusual, then there may be something wrong with them and a veterinary opinion is best in such cases in order to determine whether there’s an underlying medical condition causing all this excess gas or not.
Greatly excessive dog flatulence may be because of something very silly and harmless, and it also may be because of a very serious condition your dog has developed or a situation they’re passing through, so it’s best that you take your dog to the veterinarian so they can have them checked up if the amount of gas they’re passing is fairly high.
The following shortlist mentions other situations that, if your dog is going through at the same time of their excessive farting, they should be checked on by a professional animal care personnel as soon as possible.
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Sudden behavioral changes
- Decreased appetite
- Sudden and unexplained decrease in weight
When coupled with symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, this could very well mean that your dog is suffering from a medical condition such as gastrointestinal disease which needs to be looked at as soon as possible by a veterinarian.
My Dog Is Farting All The Time, What Can I Give My Dog For Gas?
So, your dog is passing an awfully large amount of gas and you’re getting fed up because of the awful smell?
The only good thing I could think about when it comes to dog farts is that you could simply let one rip away (silently, though, like a ninja) when around household members and just simply put the blame on your dog if they’re around.
Everyone will get a laugh out of it and you won’t have to uncomfortably hold it in, it’s a win-win situation if you were to ask me!
But, all jokes aside, dog farting is almost never a pleasant thought (or smell), and it’s one that all us dog owners would love to take care of right on the spot.
So, the question remains, can you give your dog any medication for the case of nasty gas they’re passing through? Or is medication for dogs bad when it comes to dealing with excessive gas?
Can I Give My Dog Medication For Excessive Gas?
When it comes to stopping your dog’s excessive gas and reliving them of this flatulence, and if trying natural methods didn’t work out for you and the condition is still there, then you may be starting to think about giving your dog medication in order to help with their situation.
This can most certainly be done, however you should never ever give your dog medication for excessive gas without the proper guidance and supervision of a veterinarian.
Your veterinarian is the only person that’s capable of inspecting your dog and determining whether an underlying medical condition is causing this excessive flatulence in their bodies, one that obviously needs medical interference and should not be ignored, or whether a lifestyle change needs to be implemented or day to day routine needs to be modified in order to stop this excessive gas from building up inside your dog’s system.
If your veterinarian determines that neither of the above is true and medication is the best route to go about dealing with your dog’s excessive gas problems, then that’s also perfectly fine, but this should only be determined by a veterinarian and you should never attempt to self-diagnose your dog or just assume that giving them medication for this condition right off the bat is okay.
