Flatulence problem in Golden--help!

[maxyboy]

Hi,

I have an 8 year old Golden/Shepherd mix who began having flatulence issues recently (immediately after eating). He has always been on a high quality diet and has never had flatulence probs until now. He was on Merrick dog food and I switched him to Innova EVO (raw, no grain) thinking it was something he wasn't digesting properly in the food but still the same problem. We excercise him daily, very active dog. He recently had bloodwork done for his checkup & all results normal. No diarrhea, no vomiting, stools normal/regular.

He does have a tendency to eat fast but he has always eaten quickly so this hasn't changed. Do all senior dogs do this? Are these brands too rich for a senior dog? Any & all advice would be wonderful! I'm running out of air freshner!

[SuperWanda]

I've also noticed this in my 8 year old dog. Like your dog, she has also been eating a higher quality grain free food - although it started before the food switch. She gobbles her food as well and I was wondering if she gulps in more air therefore producing more gas?

I got her a bigger dish so that the food was spread out more so she would slow down a bit but she still seems to eat fast.

Maybe trying some probiotics might help?

I have been experimenting with this but I find too much probiotic gives her looser stool but I would like to investigate the addition of digestive enzymes as well if anyone else has a recommendation.

[TKoller3]

I had a flatulence problem with my boxer, and I tried several different foods to try and fix the it. I found that the Royal Canin brand took care of his gas. They have different foods for different dogs - from puppies to seniors, with a few breed specific varieties. Ty is on the Maxi Boxer 26, which works really well for him. If nothing else works, you might want to try the Royal Canin food brand.

[SuperWanda]

IMO, Royal Canine isn't the best food to switch to.

The Innova you are feeding right now is a really high quality food.

Could it be the cottage cheese in the food? Some dogs have trouble digesting dairy products. One of my dogs can't handle yogurt.

I know Innova is a great food though so if you change I would try something like Canidae or Orijen.

I would also still suggest the probiotics and digestive enzymes - that might also help aid in the digestion process.