Cats are “supposed to be” finicky eaters, but a dog’s stomach is more so. The average dog may not be very selective of what goes through the teeth and through the gums, but once its there, things don’t always happen like they are supposed to. There are low grade dog foods that are supposed to be “bad” and premium dog foods and home cooked diets that are meant to be “good.”
It was the darnedest thing, but quite a long time ago when in a really awful pinch, my dog ate Pedigree. It was given to me for him during the tough time and I used it to stretch the little premium I had left. Oddly, despite how the food is not SUPPOSED to be as good for him, he thrived on it. Once he was switched to a premium food, he lost weight and benefited the room with his fragrance. What went wrong?
The premium food was formulated for senior dogs, and thus had a higher fiber content. The fiber made him feel full, but creates a lot of excess gas. In fact, his anal glands were even full of air. When years ago he was on a weight maintenance formula, he actually gained weight for the same exact reason.
The big reveal was that although the lesser dog food at more additives, the protein content was much higher. He appeared to thrive in the short term because of it, but would likely have health issues down the road because of additives and ingredients he just didn’t need. It was only an illusion that the premium food was doing more harm because of the constant flatulence.
The moral of the story? Even for a senior, the less excessive fiber, the less gas. It is a fine balance, as you don’t want so much protein your dog will pack on the pounds too quickly, so mixing a higher protein food with a secondary food or feeding the dog less will most likely do the trick.
He is now on a premium food, but has switched to a small breed formula mixed in until his senior formula is gone.
Luckily, or not so luckily, my dog will eat practically anything food-wise if I let him, aside from lemons. Before you say “my dog loves iams ” or “my dog has to have Wysong only” or Old Roy for that matter, just remember that sometimes a dog’s distaste for a particular brand might really be the symptoms we associate with it as the scarf it down, rather than turning up their nose.
If your dog is having extra fragrant problems, yogurt helps. Before you medicate, get the best food you can afford and check his/her food to make sure there is enough protein for their activity level. Going by activity level sometimes is more telling of an indicator than age. Surely, if a dog is flatulent its a blessing compared to pets with severe medical problems, but excess gas can eventually or periodically cause stomach pains and other complications. And that doesn’t exactly smell like a bed of roses.
