Our Rottweiler has terrible gas. It's so bad that you MUST leave the room. She loudly passes gas every few minutes. It is worse in the evenings.

She has lupus and started Prednisone towards the end of September. She is still on the 'loading dose' of 100 mg because there is some stubborn swelling in her lymph nodes as well as occasional swelling in her joints. Bloodwork taken two weeks ago shows an elevated liver enzyme which the vet says is to be expected with the medication.

Three weeks ago we tried a week of Sucralfate to help with the gas and her tummy but there was no change so the vet said there was no point in refilling the prescription. Last week we started her on Gastri-Calm to see if that might help prevent the gas and to protect her stomach from ulcers. I believe there as been a SLIGHT improvement, but not enough of an improvement to ease my concern.

Yesterday she had a large amount of very soft diarrhea (not liquid). I called the vet and was told to withhold all food for 24 hours and then, today, feed small amounts of boiled hamburger and rice. The Prednisone causes her to be hungry constantly and she wouldn't settle down until she had some food so I did give her four cups of boiled rice (in four feedings) just to calm her down. Her stools were firmer this morning but she's still passing gas.

What else can I do? Is this problem occuring because of the Prednisone? Would gas to this extreme possibly be caused by ulcers (another potential side effect of the Prednisone)?

Did the gas coincide with the start of the Pred? (Some dogs don't tolerate it well, and I have read that the flatulence is often dose-sensitive.)

Just a refinement on the rice: I'd boil it to death, so that it's gruel-like. You want it very overcooked and soft.

How old is the dog?

Does the gas seem to be accompanied by cramping?

I can look up saved Lupus stuff later on tonight.

Hello, thanks for your reply.

I am not 100% if the gas started with the start of the Prednisone but definitely not before. I think we've endured it for at least three weeks, maybe a bit more so the Pred being the cause is a possibility for sure. I hope we don't have to stop this med because she's doing very well otherwise.

Cena is four years old. (Since March she's had a tumour removed from her shoulder, two rounds of antibiotics, two days of Rimadyl and several months of Metacam. Then we found out she had lupus and she was started on the Pred.)

No obvious cramping. She'll be lying there, fast asleep, and it will happen. She would probably wake if there was alot of pain associated with it, right? When she's awake and it happens she doesn't seem to tense up or anything either.

Thanks for the advice regarding the rice too, I am cooking up a batch right now...I won't watch it and I am sure it will be exactly as it should be, ha ha.

 Quote: Carrie R. Voeltz

.... Thanks for the advice regarding the rice too, I am cooking up a batch right now...

Good. Use extra water if necessary to enable you to cook it to the point where you can barely discern grains.

Even rice water has a firming quality, and the more it's cooked the easier it is to digest.

 Quote: Carrie R. Voeltz

.... No obvious cramping. She'll be lying there, fast asleep, and it will happen. She would probably wake if there was alot of pain associated with it, right?

Yes. Having seen both types of gas, I agree with that.

Last night her stools firmed up a bit but were still soft. I didn't have any ground beef in the freezer and we're too far from town to make a special trip so I just fed the mushy rice. She ate very happily. Since there seemed to be an improvement last night I did give her some kibble this morning (half of her normal amount) but when I went out to clean up the yard I found her stool from this morning was liquid. Whoops! I watch her urinate and her urine was very pale, almost clear. Even though she has been drinking alot more water since starting the Pred her urine has stayed quite yellow, until today. Called the vet and asked if I could give Kaopectate until we could get to town for Diharsenal (sp?) and some ground beef. Was told yes, the regular adult dose. And to put her back on just the rice for another day. She's passing less gas, probably a quarter less, but it's still toxic.

 Quote: carrie r. voeltz

I just fed the mushy rice. She ate very happily. Since there seemed to be an improvement last night I did give her some kibble this morning (half of her normal amount) but when I went out to clean up the yard I found her stool from this morning was liquid. ....

This post (almost word for word) is made here all the time. "Since there seemed to be an improvement last night I did give her some kibble."

When giving a bland firming diet for bad diarrhea, you want to continue it until there's several days of firm poop, and even then I re-introduce regular food very very gradually, slowly switching the soothing diet out with a little of the regular food over time.

Soothing a inflamed gut trumps dietary balance in the short run.

JMO.

I know, I know, ha ha ha ha. I'm an idiot. I knew that too, having read about fifty articles online about diarrhea, but she was so darned hungry. I feel really stupid about it too, because I knew better. And she won't starve to death in a few days! I will have ground beef tomorrow but won't give it until Sunday, tomorrow is just rice. Then a mixture and continue that for a few days, then when her poop is firm for a few days I'll gradually add her kibble back in.

Do you think that her kibble could be the cause of the gas? The company just re-vamped their formula and there is now salmon in it and I'm almost positive there wasn't before. We're talking about a VERY sensitive stomach dog here.