Flatulence - aka "Honey, What's that SMELL!" part deux

Flatulence.

Children and grown men around the world find it endlessly amusing.

Basically flatulence is the passage of gas from the anus. That gas can be something swallowed or something made by the individual. If you swallow enough air, some of that will make its way through the gut. It will pick up certain odors along the way and ultimately pass through the tail pipe.

The bacteria in the gut (especially in the colon) can ferment all kinds of energy sources and can produce plenty of gas as a by-product. The worst smelling of these can be the sulfur compounds. Sulfur has the classic "rotten egg" smell. In fact, eating lots of eggs can be an excellent way to have some seriously foul gas. The cruciferous veggies are pretty bad about it too.

So how do you manage it? Watch what you eat. Your body will tell you when something isn't being digested properly. Certain foods will cause guaranteed problems in some individuals. You can also take a pro-biotic. There are lots of yogurts out there that help get your digestive system on-track. There are also oral supplements intended to accomplish the same thing.

In the case of your dog - the same applies. Some dog foods will cause problems in some dogs. For example - my dog Kate. I really wanted to feed Kate a particular food that I thought I would like. The ingredients were the kind I liked, the formula was a good one for her. BUT, within 24hrs of feeding it to her it because immediately apparent that the side effects were not worth it. She had solid stools and felt fine, but the gas was peeling the paint off the walls and waking us out of a sound sleep. So that food was not for her. Switch her back - gas goes away.

And there are some breeds that are worse than others. I am going to pick on Boxers and Bostons (lesser degree Bulldogs and Labs). If you own a boxer dog or a boston, you must simply accept the fact that you will be constantly serenaded by your dog playing the booty trumpet.

Yes, you can give your dog plain yogurt. That can help. You can also experiment with foods by gradually changing to a different diet (look for a diet with different primary protein and carbohydrate sources). Or you can just deal with it and laugh when your dog goes up under the dinner table and cuts loose with something perfectly horrid during Thanksgiving Dinner. Just blame it on old Aunt Alice.

AMH