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]

How is Perfect Form used? Is it a powder or a tablet? If a powder, how do you get the dog to take it if they are not eating wet foods?

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

Hi Karen and Jack. It is a powder. I do feed Echo Bravo raw so I can mix it in that or I will make him a treat (ala Dianne Carter) with some canned food (I use green tripe or Mulligan's Stew) like a meatball with that mixed in. You are so correct...if I sprinkled it in with his kibble he would not eat it!! I wish more things would come in tablet form though as not much gets past Echo's nose if it is something he doesn't want to eat!

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Just curious what you have decided to try with this issue and also what your results are?

[Camilla and Darwin]

We have decided to switch him over to holistic select by Eagle Pack, when he turns a year old. We will probably be making the change from puppy to adult then, so it seems logical. We also think it may be possible that his gas is from the chicken tenders we give him. They are just dehydrated pieces of chicken, but he seems to have it worse when he gets those. They are great treats though, so I think we will stick with them. We'll just have to grin and bear it!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Where are those chicken strips from? If they are from china, you might want to consider not feeding them to Darwin anymore. My chihuahua almost died from those a few years ago. Many, many of those chicken strips were included in the recalls of summer 2007. I know that was 2 1/2 years ago, but still....maybe I am paranoid. Sorry to butt in but better safe than sorry! Stick with Merrick brand - I think they do make the chicken strips.
By the way, the ones that got him sick were from Costco, said "made in USA" - read fine print and they were actually distributed from China.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The Dogswell chicken and duck jerky is safe, too. And yes, the chicken & duck itself is imported from China. But Lynne and I have both corresponded with the company, and are comfortable with them. They have a facility here in the U.S. where all ingredients are inspected and tested before packaging.
It's always good to question, check, and question some more.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Good to know about Dogswell also - thanks!

[Camilla and Darwin]

They are the brand Ranch Rewards... from Petsmart, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were. Thanks for the heads up. The only ingredient is Chicken and some vegetable flavoring so I thought they would be okay... I will have to look at the package closer. I will definitely check out Dogswell and Merrick.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

That is smart of you - didn't want to be pushy or make you feel bad, but I am now going through early kidney disease with my Taquito because of those :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

"Old West" is a reliable and safe brand, also. As well as Zuke's, and Jones Natural, if you can find them.

[Camilla and Darwin]

You weren't being pushy! I appreciate the input, Darwin is my first dog and I'm still learning. Thanks for your advice. My local specialty pet store carries all of those brands, so I will check them out. I have been wanting to try the zukes especially. Thanks so much!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have switched my dogs from Fromm's to Solid Gold. Right now hey are on beef and barley. they like it, and are doing fine but now they too seem to have the gas issue, which was not a problem before. If it weren' t freezing here they migh become outdoor dogs tonight--phew ; )