Comments

1. 

   Christina Chambreau

   Could you tell me what you are feeding, what supplements you give and how long the gas has been going on?  How are his/her stools – firm, soft?  When does the gas occur – anytime, or only after meals? If the stools are soft it would be good to have the stool checked for parasites by your local veterinarian.

   The quick and easy answer is to begin using probiotics. My favorite is Mitomax, a super probiotic. I have had many animals’ smelly gas clear up while using
   this, though sometimes they need to stay on it. Unlike other probiotics, it is
   very stable and is ok at the low stomach pH.There is an icon on my home page for it (www.MyHealthyAnimals.com). You could also get other pet probiotics if near a pet health store. (by the way, if you put in your city, we can be more specific in our answers)

   The longer answer is to generally improve health. There are 7 keys that can help you do this, with a link on my home page. 

   Please let me know a little more and if you have questions about the holistic approach (7 keys to health). 

    
   

2. 

   Elizabeth Kinser

   Thank you both for your answers. Answering your questions – we have two Bernese Mountain Dog puppies (8 months) and they have had recurrent stomach problems. After treating for parasites and changing foodwhen they were younger, they seemed to have settled down. They are eating Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Chicken and Sweet Potato. Once they switched to that, the diarrhea and soft stools stopped, however, the gas continued but sporadically. I was also giving them VetriScience Probiotic chews, but stopped that when we were trying to figure out what was causing the stomach issues. They ate nothing but dog food. As I stated earlier, when they switched to the Natural Balance, that helped quite a bit, but the gas continued. In the last week, the gas got really bad and was occurring throughout the day. I started them back on the probiotics with no change. Last night, after they ate, one had soft stool and the other had diarrhea. I took samples in to JVC because there were what appeared to be little worms in the soft stool.

   Any suggestions/recommendations for food would be great. Things we have tried – Purina Puppy (what the breeder fed them), Iams Premium Protection Puppy (seemed to be ok, but I couldn’t find it in anything but a 12 lb. bag and with two large puppies it was not practical), Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Lamb and Rice (gave them diarrhea, thought it might be the lamb), Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Chicken and Sweet Potato (best so far, but still gassy).

   Thanks for all your advice – I appreciate it.

3. 

   Christina Chambreau

   the small worms you saw were probably tapeworms, whose eggs may not show up on a fecal, so be sure the vet staff saw the worms that you saw. they could also just be fly larvae and not from inside the dogs. 

   Tthere are a number of holistic approaches that could stop the gas and even firm up the stools (raw meat diet, other diets, marshmallow root, aloe vera, charcoal, slippery elm, Reiki, flower essences to name a few) and conventional drugs. 

   Since this has been a chronic issue, the very best approach will be to address the underlying energetic imbalance (Qi/Vital Force/Pranna) causing them to have a sensitive digestive tract. This is best done by an integrative veterinarian (links at my site – http://www.MyHealthyAnimals.com) who has many options to cure the underlying issues so you will not be dealing with digestive issues for life. 

   Health is a journey, and there is not one right approach, so you may need to try different modalities or different practitioners on the path to deep healing. 

   In terms of food, I would seriously explore feeding a fresh meat diet. What
   are the best diets for people or animals — the most processed or the freshest,
   most organic? The best ingredients should be the most
   consciously raised – local, organic vegetables, free ranging protein sources.
   Dogs and cats have ripping and tearing teeth, bone crunching teeth, no
   digestive juices in the mouth, jaws that do not chew, a stomach full of acid
   where the food sits for 4-12 hours and a very short transit time in the
   intestines. Dogs and cats do not pull out a knife to de-bone their prey and do
   not pull out matches to light a fire to cook their meat and vegetables.
   Therefore the best diet for dogs and cats is raw meat including raw bones,
   pureed raw and cooked vegetables and a few supplements (Calcium if no bones are
   eaten is critical). There are many good books to guide you along with integrative veterinarians. Some TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) practitioners will suggest cooking meats or using specific foods as part of their food therapy. 

   For processed foods, the Whole Dog Journal publishes a yearly review of the different brands. You want ones using organic sources, even to the point of organic grains being fed to the chicken and the beef not being finished with grains. The GMO and concomitant pesticides/fertilizers are causing a lot of intestinal distress in sensitive dogs. 

    
   

4. 

   Elizabeth Kinser

   Thanks, Krista. They tested positive for giardia. How long do you recommend between the three fecals? I’ll be bringing the first sample in for re-testing in about 2 weeks. Three tests every 2 weeks or longer in between? They are feeling and smelling better 🙂
   Elizabeth