flatulance

Question
I have a 12 year old male lab who has with a flatulence problem.  It is so bad that he can clear a room.  He has been a working hunting dog up until the last couple of
years when he developed arthritis,his exercise is very limited.  nothing in his diet changed  He's fed Purina lamb &rice twice daily, a raw carrot after his morning meal, at noon, at his evening meal and 1 before bed.  He also gets a dog bone just before his evening meal.  No talbe food or other snacks except a couple of grapes and in the summer, watermelon.  Please help before my wife throws us both out.

Answer
Well Gene,
Dogs do seem to have this problem more often as they age but it is just like us, it's from digestive issues.

First thing I want to tell you is to stop giving him grapes. While your dog has been lucky, grapes are now known to be extremely toxic to dogs as well as raisins, onions and a variety of foods that are harmless to us.

Dog bones are just junk food for dogs- so if he has a weight issue I would cut those out too. The carrots are the best thing he is eating.
Purina foods are basically junk food too- they do not stick to one formula when they process and make the food so whatever is cheap on the docks that day is what that batch of food is made from. The next batch (or bag that you buy) is made from another great buy of the day.

No food on the market now has a fixed formulation except for Science Diet foods. Iams used to but to keep up with and compete with Science Diet they dropped it in favor of the cheap ingredients approach.
What does this mean for your dog? An unstable, and gut churning diet.
His lack of exercise doesn't help because now instead of his food being digested quickly for energy to hunt, it sits in his gut longer and ferments, causing the lovely, odoriferous cloud you are experiencing in the house.

Another cause of flatulence in dogs is soy based foods- which many manufacturers have done away with due to public outrage (and both dog and husband on the couch over it). So they use meals instead, and most of the time these are meals made from ground up animals, bones, chickens, wheat, etc.
Wheat is the number one allergen in dogs followed by meat, pork, lamb, soy, milk and barley. Corn is way, way down on the list and rarely causes a problem plus it doesn't cause flatulence in most animals.

Brewers rice is the second ingredient in Purina lamb and rice and it is a rice with zero nutrition.
Here is a description of it:
"Brewers rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. (AAFCO definition). Brewers rice is a processed rice product that is missing many of the nutrients contained in whole ground rice and brown rice thus reducing the quality.

Brewers rice and second heads are one of the many byproducts that rice milling creates. Second heads are milled rice kernels that are one half to three quarters of the original kernel. Brewers rice is a milled rice kernel that is one quarter to half the size of a full kernel. Second heads, depending on their quality are used to make rice flour. "If the quality of the second heads are poor, they will be sold for pet food or dairy feed. Brewers rice is sold for pet food and dairy feed exclusively." -Pacifica Ag Commodities"
So basically your dog is eating really old lamb or sheep and corn.

I think since your dog is a senior that he needs to be put on a food that is made for senior dogs and is more digestible than what he is eating now. If he has allergies he can stay on the lamb and rice but another brand, preferably Science Diet, or a total change that is made for dogs with Sensitive Stomachs.

Science Diet lamb and rice is not made for senior dogs so I wouldn't want to recommend it for that reason. It is more digestible than any Purina product so if you really want to keep him on L&R then get that.

However, I would put him on the Longevity Diet which is a senior diet that is balanced and formulated for older dogs that have unique nutritional needs such as less protein (for kidney health), more fatty acids (for coats and brain health).
Other key benefits:
       
BENEFIT:                  -NUTRIENT:               HOW IT WORKS:
Healthy Immune Function -    Vitamin C + E---   Optimal levels of clinically proven antioxidants for a healthy immune system.

Healthy joints and cartilage---Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate--   Key building blocks of healthy cartilage for sustained mobility.

Lean muscle and ideal body weight--high quality lean proteins   --Protein is the building block for lean muscle and helps maintain ideal body condition.

Healthy heart and vital organs--Sodium and Phosphorus--Controlled levels of sodium and phosphorus help maintain kidney and heart health.

Easy to digest--High quality ingredients   --Ensures optimal nutrient absorption to keep your dog fit and healthy.

I know that is hard to read so you can read about it here:
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/products/productDetails.hjsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_i...

I have been recommending and feeding Science Diet for over 28 yrs and our clients that keep their dogs on it have pets with fewer health problems, live long lives and I have never had one come in and say the dog's gas was an issue.

The very digestibility of this food is one reason there is very little gas. The dog's stool is much smaller too. That is because so much food is utilized by the dog.

My recommendation to you to get a 20lb bag of the Adult Senior (Longevity) formula and when he is almost out of the Purina start mixing in one quarter of his food new and 3/4 old until over seven days you have him on all new and no old.

This will help prevent digestive upsets and diarrhea from the switch.
Check the box of dog bones and chuck them out as they are probably contributing to the problem.
You might want to feed him once a day in the morning only so he can burn off his food during the day instead of sleeping on it all night. That also helps him digest better. Just give him his carrot at night.

I hope this helps Gene. Make sure he eats NO table food of any kind and give the new food a month to see if it is helping. It takes a month for the old food to get out of the system and the new food to work.
Drop me a line if you have any more questions and let me know how he is doing in a month.