Dog Gas. Should I Change Foods?

[Camilla and Darwin]

We are currently feeding Darwin Eagle Pack Large Breed Puppy. He seems to be doing well on it but has awful smelling gas. It's not super often... (we can smell it between one and four times a night) Is this a normal amount of gas, or could we possibly switch to a food that would give him less gas? He also burps quite a bit... Any suggestions of food that may help minimize these incidents?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Does he gulp his food down very quickly? That can cause burping. There are various ways to slow down his eating if that's the case.
How long has Darwin been on this food? What was he eating before? How long has the gas been going on?

Jackdoodle has had terrible gas for quite some time now, and I'm not sure if it's his food, his treats, his allergy meds, or a combination of factors, but for now I'm just letting it be. He is doing remarkably well health-wise, and the gas doesn't seem to bother him at all. So I'm trying not to let it bother me. It also seems to be at night. I think he may just be a gassy dog, just like my ex-husband, lol.

[Camilla and Darwin]

He does eat his food really quickly. I worry about him gulping air so I have put a can in the middle of his food bowl... which has worked pretty well. I also feed him small meals three times a day... but he's still pretty hasty about it.

We started slowly transitioning him over to Eagle Pack when we brought him home at the beginning of August (His breeder was feeding him Purina Puppy Chow...) and he has done well on it, other than the gas. He likes it, he is a healthy weight, it seems to be working... I just am not sure if the gas is a problem.

Yeah, I am wondering if it is really nothing and he is just a gassy dog... just wondering if there is anything that might improve it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You definitely made a huge change for the better by switching him from the Puppy Chow...it is pure garbage. By-products, corn, rice gluten, brewer's rice...terrible food.
I wonder if digestive enzymes would help. I know Dianne Carter recommends them, and several others here are using them.
Jack is on Orijen, which is ultra-premium grain-free kibble. He seems to have more gas than he did on Nature's variety and Fromm's. But it's such a good food, and the only one he really seems to love, so I don't want to switch just for the sake of my nose. And if you did switch, without knowing what exactly is causing the gas, it would be hard to pick another food that wouldn't cause the same problem.
Maybe I can do a little research on the gas issue. I'll post whatever I find.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, I did some reading and gulping air definitely is a major contributor to gas. But you're doing everything that was suggested for that...slowing down the eating, and feeding smaller meals several times a day.
Foods that contain rice as the major carbohydrate source are recommended, rather than cereal grains or even potatoes. Hmmmm...that's bad news for grain-free feeders like me. But I think your Eagle Pack is okay on that score. Is it the Holistic formula? The regular Eagle Pack large breed puppy has corn in it, which can contribute to gas, but the Holistic formula is fine.
I am not feeding Jack cruciferous veggies, and I doubt you are either, lol.
Acidophilus and/or Prozyme are recommended. I may try those. Part of the problem is from undigested materials staying in the digestive tract, and the enzymes should help with that. Also, exercise is important; gas is common in overweight and sedentary dogs as well as people; but that's probably not the problem for Darwin. Most doodle puppies are very active.
Maybe try the enzymes, and let us know how they work. I think I'm going to do the same.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Where do you get the digestive enzymes Karen? Timbow doesn't have a bad gas problem anymore, but when he goes outside to eliminate, he goes at least 2 different times before he's done. Almost like he just has a hard time going all at once. I don't know if this is normal or not. He's done this his whole life--it was the worst with purina because he would go up to 5 different times for 1 elimination-canidae was better with only going in about 3 different places and fromm is the best, but I still think something like this could help him.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There is a product called Prozyme that is available all over the internet, from any company that sells pet products, and I think it's available at Petco as well. Just do a Google search for "Prozyme" and you'll get lots of options.
Dianne Carter recommends another digestive enzyme product, and here's a link for that:
http://www.thewholisticpet.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display...

The thing is, a lot of these digestive enzymes are already in certain foods; we had a discussion here recently about certain form of aspergillus being in Fromm's, for example, and that's one of the things that's in the enzyme products. But it isn't in Orijen. I think it may be a good idea to look at the labels before using the enzymes, because if it's already in the food you're using, adding more probably isn't going to help with gas. But I don't know for sure.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Thanks Karen!! I wonder if he'll keep having an easier time going the longer we have him on Fromm. :)

[Camilla and Darwin]

I'll have to check out the digestive enzymes. I agree about the Purina Puppy Chow. We knew we wanted to switch the minute he got home, I have read the label and it's horrible. We are feeding him the regular Eagle Pack... but are hopefully going to switch to the holistic select or a higher quality brand. It is a good food, but it does have corn and a lot of other grains... I'm not sure yet. I was looking at Orijen and I wanted to ask, (kind of a different topic all together) Does the 40% protein content make your dog more energetic? I was just wondering if having so much protein in his food would make him hyper, or even make him grow too fast, as he is still a puppy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jackdoodle is so calm & laid-back, he wouldn't be hyper if I fed him pure table sugar, lol! Actually, carbohydrates are much more likely than proteins to make a dog more energetic or hyper, since sugar is what the body uses for energy, and carbohydrate is broken down into sugar. Proteins are broken down into amino acids, whose job it is to build and repair cells and maintain body functions. So higher protein and lower carbs would make a dog calmer, if anything.
As far as concerns about too much protein, I know some topnotch purebred show breeders who feed their puppies raw...which is nothing BUT protein. I know Dianne Carter feeds her puppies Acana, which is similar to Orijen & made by the same company. I don't think increasing the protein per se causes rapid growth, I think overfeeding, too many calories, etc. would contribute to that. But on the subject of puppies & protein, I am not an expert. For healthy adult dogs, there need be no worry about too much protein.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Camilla- Diane Carter is very nice and I'm sure can answer any questions you have about puppies and protein. Just send her a note. :)

[Camilla and Darwin]

That makes sense. I was just worried because I have heard a lot about the danger with puppies growing quickly. It makes sense that it would be more of a Calorie issue. I have read the ingredients label on Orijen dog food and it looks much better to me than Eagle Pack... I would love to change him over. Do you buy Orijen from a local dealer? If you buy it online, is there one that is generally less expensive than others? There are no Orijen dealers near me, so I would probably purchase online. (sorry for all these off topic things.)

Is Diane Carter a member on Doodle Kisses? Does she know a lot about food? Sorry... I'm a little confused. :-)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Dianne is a Doodle Kisses member and also a breeder of ALDs (Trinity Labradoodles); she is very knowledgable about the various commercial dog foods, and very particular about feeding her own dogs & puppies. She is our "go to" person here in the Food Group when questions about feeding puppies arise...the last time I had a puppy was almost 20 years ago. You can leave a message on her DK page; she is very kind & very helpful.
I buy Orijen locally; it's expensive, and I don't think the prices are much different whether you buy it on-line or from a local store. If you check the Orijen website, they have a store locator, and you may be surprised to find a store near you that sells it. If you buy it on-line, check a lot of different websites for the best prices. Acana is another line made by the same company, which is also very good.
I've been researching dog nutrition & foods and reading labels for over a year now, and have purchased several different kinds of premium kibbles. I honestly believe that Orijen is the best one out there in terms of ingredients and the integrity of the company. But- and it's a big "but"- I don't necessarily think it's right for every dog. Some dogs just do better with some rice in the mixture. It probably won't help with the gas situation...in fact, Jack seems to have worse gas with it than he did on Fromm's or Nature's Variety.
Some of the foods that produce results which seem desirable to us...small firm poop, no gas...may not necessarily be the best things for the dog. In humans, large well-formed stools (rather than little hard ones) are an indication of health. I believe it would be the same for dogs. A certain amount of gas is normal for all animals; if it's not painful, it's not a problem, healthwise. (Socially is another story, lol.) It's hard to know what's right for our dogs, because they can't tell us how they feel, and there isn't any available info that tells us exactly what they need in terms of nutrition. So the best we can do is to try to stay informed through reliable sources, experiment within reason, and try to find a diet that works for each individual dog.