As much as I LOVE feeding raw, I think there are a few items in Oscar's diet that cause pretty serious flatulence. Through processes of elimination, I think the main culprit is ground beef (which usually makes up only about a 1/4 cup of any given meal) and sometimes lamb (though this is a *special*, read "expensive", item that maybe is fed once every month or two). Some of the veggies we occassionaly feed may also be a cause, though we don't always feed veggies, and they aren't as critical to the diet as varried meat sources.

So the question: Do I continue feeding him things that will guarantee an evening of tear enducing bouts of gas? He is completely unfazed by this and will sleep like a baby as we clear the room.

I want him to have a good variety of meat sources, and I wouldn't stop eating anything personally, just because I knew it would give me gas (though I might be a bit more modest about it than he is...). Is there a natural ingedient that would lessen the gas? Pooch Beano perhaps? Do I change anything, or do nothing at all?

~Natalya

Well, from a male's perspective, having a dog with gas isn't a downside, as I have someone readily available to blame *my* gas on.........


That's probably not much help to you, sorry.

 Quote: will rambeau

Well, from a male's perspective, having a dog with gas isn't a downside, as I have someone readily available to blame *my* gas on.........

I COMPLETELY see your argument - though maybe now I have to find myself a new "male" to live with, because boyfriend always looks at ME first when the air turns green!

~Natalya

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

Some of the veggies we occassionaly feed may also be a cause...

If my Corgi eats so much as single broccoli bud, you can't get near him without some serious breath-holding. The GSD could eat a whole bunch with no problems.

Natalya,

I removed the gas producing veggies from my "glop" recipe and since turkey is the culprit for me, I just do not feed it as often nor as much.

With the veggies, since it is less important than other things, it was no biggie to remove it. I just add more of the other favorites in.

My Dutch will get into the kibble containers once in a while when I am out feeding the "kibble" dogs and he can clear the whole house after that ( and he just gets a bite or two)
Of course, hubby looks at me first too

 Quote: carol boche

I removed the gas producing veggies from my "glop" recipe and since turkey is the culprit for me, I just do not feed it as often nor as much.

So should I just lower the frequency of beef portions, maybe limiting to one meal once or twice a week, instead of almost daily? For MY sanity, that is? I think the amount is pretty small as is (he's 95lbs and I'm only giving about 1/4 of a cup per meal... and I want to keep a little hooved mammal in the diet overall...

In regards to veggies, what have you all found to be the worst offenders? And what do you feed instead?

Thanks,
~Natalya

 Quote: natalya zahn

 Quote: carol boche

I removed the gas producing veggies from my "glop" recipe and since turkey is the culprit for me, I just do not feed it as often nor as much.

So should I just lower the frequency of beef portions, maybe limiting to one meal once or twice a week, instead of almost daily? For MY sanity, that is? I think the amount is pretty small as is (he's 95lbs and I'm only giving about 1/4 of a cup per meal... and I want to keep a little hooved mammal in the diet overall...

In regards to veggies, what have you all found to be the worst offenders? And what do you feed instead?

Thanks,
~Natalya

I think I'd try lowering the amount of the offending item rather than the number of occasions, based on the bean thing with people. (A theory with beans is that if you eat them OFTEN, the digestion starts to accommodate the oligosaccharides with an enzyme that we don't normally produce much of.)

As for produce, I've found the whole cruciferous family (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower) can be triggers.

I like to feed tender green low-sugar vegetables without stiff cell walls, because that's what I think dogs are better equipped to digest.

At this time of year, grated zucchini (which I steam in big batches, but many people feed raw) is a cheap and ubiquitous choice.

P.S. Blueberries are abundant right now, too, and they are natural to canids, as well as being low in sugar and loaded with antioxidants.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

(A theory with beans is that if you eat them OFTEN, the digestion starts to accommodate the oligosaccharides with an enzyme that we don't normally produce much of.)

Oligosaccharides??!! Now THAT'S the kind of explanation I was looking for - I knew you'd pull through for me Connie

If dog's guts are like people's guts, that sounds like pretty good reasoning for just cutting down the portion size further (he'll only be getting about a marble sized ball of ground beef, but maybe it'll make a difference).

Thanks for the veggie tips too - I have in fact been feeding blueberries - we have friends with a berry farm and they let us pick about 10 gallons a season! So our freezer is always full of them. Oscar came to pick with us one year and made himself COMPLETELY SICK eating all the drops... he poo'd blue for days!!

~Natalya

 Quote: natalya zahn

...we have friends with a berry farm and they let us pick about 10 gallons a season! So our freezer is always full of them. Oscar came to pick with us one year and made himself COMPLETELY SICK eating all the drops... he poo'd blue for days!!

~Natalya

That sounds very interesting.

You are fortunate indeed! Free food..... how can you beat that?

One very cool thing about freezing the glut of produce for later use in dog meals is that freezing without blanching breaks down cell walls very nicely. We humans would hate the resulting texture of many vegetables and fruits frozen "as is," but I like the fact that many thaw all "processed."

Berries freeze great.

If I go near the closing time of the farmers' market, when they have some of whatever left that they don't want to pack back up, I can get some steals.