my dogs digestive problems

Question
I have a male neutered dog that is approximately 9-10 yrs old. He is a Lab-Dalmation mix.  We have fed him the same dog food all of his life.  Lately, he has had the most horrendous gas/flatulence problem, we can barely be in the same room with him.  From time to time he has had ear infections which we treat at the vets and then regularly clean his ears out.  Would this have anything to do with this problem??   His breath is also horrendous.  Would you know what this could be attributed to now.  It has never happened in the past.  Any suggestions???

Answer
First I would have to ask if he is solely on dog food or if he gets and treats or table scraps that could be causing his gas problem.  If not then its possible that the brand of food has changed the ingredients (sometimes it happens just because a particular grain is cheaper that day - if it says "contains one or more of the following" that's a good sign that the recipe varies between bags).  Ear infections in labs are pretty common since they like to swim and their floppy ears create a warm, moist environment that bacteria and yeast love.  Sometimes chronic ear infections can be attributed to allergies.  Even if he's been on the same food its possible that he has developed an allergy to something in it - that could possibly account for his flatulence problem as well.  His breath is most likely a result of bad teeth.  If he's never had a cleaning done, then he probably needs one since he's 9-10 years old.  I would definitely recommend taking him to your vet to discuss all these issues as well.  The vet can tell you if they think its an allergy or if something else could be going on as well as evaluate his mouth to see if he has any teeth that need to be pulled or if he just needs a good cleaning.

Amanda