Ask A Vet: Gas Problems!

Hi Gillian, believe it or not there are a few things you can try for your pets pongy problem!! The odour coming from his bottom, or more correctly Gastrointestinal tract is influenced by a number of factors........the food he is fed, the bacteria found within the gut that break down food, the transit time of food through the digestive tract (how quickly food passes through him), how often he passes poo!! There may be a number of reasons given that he knibbles his feet but if we go back to the gas first. James Wellbeloved tends to be a hypoallergenic food?? which is less likely to cause any dietry intolerances but i would try a few things. 1)you could initially try changing his diet, this could be by putting him onto an exclusion diet which would comprise of 1 source of protein (pork) and one of carbohydrate (potato) - he has to get NOTHING else and it's important to make everyone in the house aware of this so he gets no tit-bits..... Or alternatively put him onto a fairly bland dog food such as Chappie.  As long as he does not develop any signs of an upset tummy you could 'monitor' any changes to the odour in the room!! If this doesn't change 2)try adding 'natural' yoghurt to his diet. Although this may be 'controversial' as many people would suggest that the numbers of bacterial found in natural yoghurt are destroyed by gastric acid and therefore not of any benefit, the yoghurt changes the digestion of food and you may find he is not as smelly!! 3)ensure he gets a good walk if possible a few times daily to allow him to poop and remove waste from the intestinal tract. So I would try this for his aroma!! However you also mentioned that he has been chewing at his feet, Staffies are a breed of dog that is over-represented in suffering from a condition called Atopy which manifests as itchy skin. Most commonly seen in young dogs over the age of 1 year it causes then to knibble at their skin and may also cause redness. So there is every possibility that the odour and his knibbling are connected. If you dont notice any difference after a change in diet I would pop down to your vet to have Ronny examined just to rule out any other causes of skin complaints and discuss diet.