Gut Health

How to Stop Room-Clearing Dog Farts

You love everything about your dog… Well… almost everything.

Truth be told, you could do without the foul-smelling farts that can kill a mood and clear the room.

Of course, just like people, dogs pass gas. Sometimes loudly, sometimes silent but deadly. And lots of things can cause stinky dog farts, like new food, speed eating, or chewing on your old pair of running shoes. 

While it’s quite normal for your dog to fart occasionally, excessive smelly gas can be a sign of a larger concern – One that requires your attention and intervention.

Why Does My Dog Fart So Much?

If you had to guess, what’s the most common cause of dog farts?

  • Gluttony or compulsive eating
  • Eating shortly after exercise
  • Diets high in non-organic or gmo ingredients

The answer?

Many dog owners are surprised to find that the #1 culprit is CHANGING what their dog eats. 

So if you switch brands or flavors of dog food, or add something new that they don’t normally eat, the gas will flow... 

NOTE: Food changes also include anything your dog gets into – from trash to deer poop to table scraps.

Building on that, ongoing and/or chronic farting tends to be caused by hard-to-digest ingredients, which include:

  • Dairy products like milk and cheese
  • Soy products
  • Corn
  • Peas
  • Beans
  • High-fat foods (like cat food or bacon)

Interestingly, right behind dietary change is another leading cause of dog farts: speed eating. 

When your dog wolfs down their meals, they introduce a lot of air into the digestive tract. That trapped air needs to get out somehow… and farting is the easiest pathway out. 

As common as both of these issues are, food changes and speed eating can really do a number on your puppy's intestines. More specifically, it can really mess up the balance of good and bad bacteria in your dog’s gut microbiome. And that can make your dog (and you) very uncomfortable.

dogs, gut health

Is It More Than Just Gas?

If your dog farts almost constantly, or if the farts smell excessively bad, it could be a sign that your dog is dealing with more than just gas. So you’ll want to keep your nose peeled and your vet on speed dial. Here’s why...

An overly gassy dog could be dealing with:

  • Food allergies or intolerances
  • Inflammatory bowel disease IBD)