Green Fog: What's Up With My Farting Dog?

So I read that dogs fart more often when they age, when their intestines start losing their muscular tone. Hmpf. I beg to differ; my dog is still very toned! Although, I've never actually seen her intestines, so perhaps there's some truth to that after all.

And there are certain foods known to give dogs gas, like milk and other lactose products, raw vegetables, meat that's not fresh, and yesterday's leftovers, though different breeds can react ... well, differently. My Sassy is a mixed, mixed breed, meaning I'm quite sure she's the product of two very muttly mutts.

(By the way, that's not her heiny right there. Hers is still black and much smaller too.)

But anyhow...

Sometimes dogs get flatulent just by eating too quickly, which causes them to swallow too much air. One way to avoid this is by using a wide feeding bowl and crushing the food so the dog ingests smaller amounts at a time. That sounds reasonable enough. I can do that.

There are also products that can can be added to dog food to reduce farting, but these should be used only after consulting your veterinarian. Activated charcoal is one of those products, which absorbs the gasses that cause flatulence. These tablets are sold over the counter in most pet stores, but the down side is that activated charcoal can also rob the dog's body of the nutrients it gets from the food, so it should be used sparingly~~no more than two or three days at a time. But I think I'll opt for not using that at all, actually.

Here are some other suggestions I came across in my research:

*Try giving the dog more exercise. This might move things along, at least, while your dog is still outside. (And even if it doesn't reduce the farting, it'll be good for the dog, not to mention the owner.)

*Try adding a few tablespoons of plain yogurt to the dog food. (My dog's an occasional eater, meaning she doesn't gobble all her food at once, so yogurt in her dish would get yucky. That won't work.)

*Try eliminating soy from the dog's diet. (Soy? My dog doesn't eat tofu!)

*Try a better dog food, such as Nutro Ultra Weight Management Dry Dog Food, that isn't made up of fillers. (Well, she is worth the money.)

*And if the better food doesn't do the trick, you can try Prozyme Pet Formula, a digestive enzyme that helps older dogs digest food.