[RukatheBlackfish]

I have a 6 month old lab/pointer mix. We can’t do all raw food so we are trying to do the next best thing with 4/5 star kibble on rotation, with a wet food topper, and raw food stuffers. We noticed that he had an incredible amount of gas. I did some research on here and started him on a probiotic/enzyme supplement. That helped a lot, like incredibly so with nearly instant results. However he still has gas. I don’t know how much is normal. Usually he has gas around the same time of day too, that’s what I find interesting. It’s around 5:30pm then again at night (I think 10pm). He eats usually between 11:30-12pm and again at 8:30-9pm. He gets the probiotic with each feeding but not the raw food. However he’ll be gassy whether he eats the raw food or not.
I was thinking it might be the wet food. I think I’m rotating it too fast. There’s definitely some wet foods that make him have horrible gas. It’s nearly all stews (chunks of meat) and Merrick. His gas isn’t as bad on the food that’s one solid blob like Wellness Core, Halo, and Nature’s Variety Instinct.
I guess I’m wondering how much gas is normal. And if his gas is unusual what I can do to help it. Should I keep him on the same wet food through the whole bag of kibble? Or should I rotate it more often. And like with dry food should there a transition between wet foods? Or this normal as he’s a young dog and his gut flora is still maturing. I don’t know, shooting in the dark.
I really appreciate any help!

[theBCnut]

I have one dog that requires extra enzymes or he has gas. If enzymes helped some, he may need a higher dose of them. If it is the canned food and you think it’s worse on Merrick, move on to a different one. Try going a few days without the canned and see if that helps. Kibble and canned foods, both, do not have enzymes in them, unless the kibble has them added back, because the way they are processed destroys the enzymes, and some dogs just do not produce enough on their own. It certainly can change over time, but no guarantees.

[RukatheBlackfish]

Yeah he doesn’t get the wet foods I know cause him to have even more gas.
Right. Is it possible for him to get too much of the enzymes? Would that cause gas or do nothing? You think adding tripe to his diet might help?

[theBCnut]

Other than feeding so much enzyme that it is taking the place of other nutrition, which would be quite a lot, no, I don’t think you have to worry about the amount. Tripe has some enzymes in it naturally, so yes, I think it would help. But if you haven’t experienced tripe before, you might think the bad gas is better than tripe. Also, if you have fennel in your spice cabinet, try running a pinch or 2 through a coffee grinder, or hit it with a hammer, and add that to his food. Fennel is a natural remedy that is supposed to help with the volume of gas as well as the smell.

[RukatheBlackfish]

Oh ok. Thanks for the advice.
Hm can fresh fennel work the same?
Do you think him eating too fast and not chewing his food is adding to the problem?

[theBCnut]

Most dogs don’t chew, but I’ve heard many people think gulping the food contributes. My dogs burp when they eat too fast, so I tend to think air would/should come back up, not go all the way through. You can add water to slow them down and have them swallow less air, or you can pour the food on a cookie sheet so they have to pick it up one piece at a time. Yes, fresh fennel works the same, don’t over do it.

[Jenmarlew]

Hi. I recently had the same problem with my Bouvier. I added enzymes and probiotics but the culprit seemed to be the kibble (Wellness Core Puppy). Even though it was grain free, he still had terrible gas. We switched to Annamaet Aqualuk. We still do the toppers (including Wellness) but he hasn’t had any gas at all since.

[RukatheBlackfish]

Right, and he does burp sometimes, not all the time.
We’ve thought about it, but if it doesn’t really cause any issues, then it’s not worth doing it every time.
Oh ok, I might try that. Right now we are trying different things to see if it’s the cause.
Interesting. I guess just like people certain dogs just digest foods differently.

[theBCnut]

Definitely!

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