Can Yogurt Help My Dog's Gas? Yogurt For Dog Gas

The odor of a dog’s gas can be a problem for pet owners, and it can also embarrass you when visitors notice it.  Additionally, dog farts aren’t pleasant for any home. If you’re worried about a dog’s gas and want to get rid of it, this article is for you. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of yogurt for dog gas. We’ll also try to identify whether yogurt is safe for your dogs or not? 

Can Dogs Eat Yogurt?

Before going into the details of the benefits of yogurt for dog gas, it’s essential to answer this question. Yogurt is safe for dogs, and they can eat it. Yogurt is non-toxic because it contains lactose. Meanwhile, some dogs find it difficult to digest yogurt, so be careful about it. 

Yogurt provides calcium and protein. Furthermore, it acts as probiotics that can be good for the digestive system of your dog. If you want to feed yogurt to your dog, ensure that it’s free from flavors and preservatives. Don’t add sugar and artificial flavors in yogurt because they’re not healthy for your dog. 

Greek-style and plain yogurt is better for your dogs because they have lower lactose levels than regular yogurt. Overall, yogurt is the best solution for dog gas, but it can cause some issues that we’ll discuss in a later section. 

Greek Style Yogurt vs. Regular Yogurt

Surprisingly, both these yogurt types are made from the same ingredients, but their nutrition value makes them different. Both of them are packed with high-quality ingredients and offer plenty of health benefits to humans and animals. The main ingredients are the same in both these types, such as milk, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus as starter cultures. 

In regular yogurt, fruits are added, but it’s not the case with Greek-style yogurt. Regular yogurt can be slightly sour due to its acidic nature, but it’s generally sweeter than its counterpart. 

Greek yogurt is made by eliminating liquids and whey from regular yogurt. Due to the removal of excess liquid, Greek Style yogurt is much thicker than regular yogurt. It contains more milk, and it’s more expensive than regular yogurt. 

In Greek yogurt, with the removal of whey, lactose quantity is also reduced, and as a result, it contains less sugar and carb than regular yogurt. Therefore, it’s the most preferred choice for dog’s gas. Moreover, it’s suitable for dogs with digestive issues.

If you want to avoid the hassle of mixing within the dog food, you can also buy ready-to-eat Fruitables Greek Vanilla Yogurt Flavor Dog Treats. 

Causes For Dog Gas

Before using any remedy for a dog’s gas, it’s essential to determine the causes of a gassy dog. The biggest reason for a dog’s gas is the digestive system. When the digestive system of your dog doesn’t work well, it results in a gassy dog. Some gas is normal, but excessive and smelling gas isn’t acceptable, and it’s an indication that you should take your dog to the vet. 

5 primary reasons for your dog’s gas are given-below:

1. Swallowed Air

When pets eat quickly, they swallow lots of air. This air gets stored in the intestine and becomes a fart. Air swallowed by pets isn’t smelly, but it gets smelly when stored in the intestine. 

Ask your dog to eat slowly, and you can buy Kong Classic Dog Toy specifically designed to reduce the speed of eating and fun. It will help you to get rid of this issue. 

Never allow your dog to finish the dog in a few seconds. Instead, serve food in smaller proportions. It will keep your dog healthy and save your dog from digestive problems. 

2. Low-Quality Foods

Low-quality food contains ingredients made of fermentable fiber that causes dog’s gas. This food is difficult to digest, and when it interacts with air in the intestine, it produces gas as a byproduct. Cutting the number of bacteria can significantly reduce gas production. Read the label carefully and ensure that food is made of high-quality and natural ingredients. 

Serve your dog with high-quality and nutritional food. These foods are easy to digest and don’t cause any health problems. Ensure that food doesn’t contain any artificial flavors or sweeteners.

3. Sensitive Stomach

Like humans, pets can’t handle lots of changes in their diet. Some ingredients in the diet are hard to digest, and they result in an upset stomach. A sensitive stomach causes intermittent gas production. This gas gets increased when your pet eats something new or other than usual. 

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4. Lactose Intolerance

At a young age, dogs produce lots of lactase, and they use it for breaking down lactose. When they get older, they lose lactase, and when they lose too much, they become lactose intolerant. In such a condition, when a pet eats food containing lots of lactose, the sugar isn’t absorbed and travels to the intestine. It breaks down bacteria and produces stinky gas. 

The best solution is to provide Greek yogurt or ready-to-eat Fruitables Greek Vanilla Yogurt Flavor Dog Treats to your dog. As mentioned earlier, Greek-style yogurt contains less lactose than regular yogurt, which can be useful for lactose intolerant dogs. You can make it part of your dog’s diet plan. 

5. Disease

If this dog’s gas becomes more annoying, it’s an indicator that your dog is ill. Some diseases associated with excess gas production are:

• Pancreatitis
• Gastrointestinal infections
• Food intolerance
• Intestinal parasitism
• Inflammatory bowel disease

Most of these diseases cause conditions like vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and lack of appetite. In such cases, consult your vet.

Symptoms of Gas in Dogs

Excessive flatulence shows that there is something wrong with your dog’s diet or digestive system. Excessive flatulence can affect any dog breed, but it’s more common in sedentary and overweight dogs. In case of excessive gas release, don’t hesitate and immediately make an appointment with the vet. 

Some common symptoms of dog’s gas are:

• Offensive odor
• Abdominal discomfort
• Release of gas from mouth or anus
• Swelling of the stomach due to gas buildup in intestines
• Mild stomach bloating
• Clinical signs like vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss

If you’re witnessing all or any of these symptoms, it’s time to visit a vet. 

Does Yogurt Relieve Dog Gas?

Yes, it helps in relieving the dog’s gas. If your dog isn’t diagnosed as lactose intolerant, you can feed yogurt to your dog daily. The presence of probiotics in yogurt improves gut health. Try to find yogurt from reputable brands. 

Natural digestive aids like yogurt, peppermint oil, and ginger can help improve the natural digestion system.  It has been observed that these ingredients significantly reduce dog flatulence. These homemade remedies are perfect for dog’s gas. 

Benefits of Yogurt for Dog Gas

Unfortunately, many dog foods available in the market don’t contain yogurt. Some yummy dairy products can provide nutritional benefits. 

• Non-fat and plain yogurt provides probiotic benefits, and they’re excellent sources of calcium and protein. Adding a small amount of yogurt in mealtime can help your dog stay full longer and provide digestive benefits. 
• Yogurt is suitable for dogs with upset tummies. Probiotics in yogurt consume the harmful bacteria in the gut and improve the digestion system. As a result, dogs can absorb nutrients well.
• It’s beneficial for boosting the immunity system, and it also limits the growth of yeast. 
• The presence of live and active bacterial cultures contributes to a healthy gut microbiome. 
• Yogurt helps to maintain and improve the gastrointestinal health of your dog.
• Feeding yogurt daily can provide long-lasting probiotic benefits. 

What to Look for When Selecting Yogurt for Your Gassy Dog?

We have mentioned some benefits of yogurt for dog gas above, but the question is what kinds of yogurt are suitable for dogs? 

As a pet owner, you need to choose zero or low-fat, plain, yogurt. Regular and Greek yogurt both are fine for healthy dogs. When you want to make it a part of your dog’s diet, choose the yogurt brand carefully. 

Some types of yogurts contain ingredients that can be harmful to pets. 

• Carefully read the ingredients label if you have decided to feed yogurt to your dog. Don’t feed with flavored yogurt that contains xylitol and artificial sweetener. These ingredients are toxic to dogs. 
• You need to avoid chocolate-flavored yogurt as well because it can be poisonous to your dogs. 
• Avoid feeding full-fat yogurt.

How to Feed Yogurt to a Gassy Dog and What to Expect?

It is clear that yogurt for dog gas is beneficial, but now the question is how to feed yogurt to your dog? 

You can supplement your dog’s diet with yogurt in many ways. You can either make it part of their daily diet or serve as an extra special treat. You can serve yogurt by mixing in fruits or pieces of meat. 

Yogurt is good for dogs but doesn’t give in excess. Otherwise, it can result in weight gain. Consider feeding yogurt as a treat, and don’t overfeed it. Read the label and ensure that you feed yogurt according to your dog’s weight. Before making yogurt part of your dog’s diet, consult a vet about yogurt's proportions in the dog’s food. 

You can mix yogurt into a dog’s meal with a spoon. Some pets enjoy the taste, and others hesitate to try new food. Stir yogurt into food and make it part of the regular food. You’ll see a gas reduction after few days. 

Dog’s gas reduction won’t happen overnight. Most probably, you’ll see results after a week. If you’re unable to control your dog’s gas with yogurt, take your dog immediately to a local veterinarian. Excess dog gas is a sign of a medical issue. 

What Problems of Excessive Feeding Yogurt to Dog?

Undoubtedly, yogurt is beneficial for dogs, but meanwhile, it can cause some issues as well. Yogurt contains lactose, and sometimes it can be difficult for some dogs to digest it. Some common symptoms of yogurt reaction can be:

• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Lack of appetite
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain and discomfort
• Poor body condition
• Itchiness and excessive scratching
• Flatulence 

If you suspect any issue due to lactose, immediately stop feeding it. The best option is to provide Greek-style yogurt because it has less lactose and it doesn’t disturb the stomach much. 

What’s the Alternative to Yogurt for dog’s Gas?

Yogurt works for most dogs, but if it doesn’t work, what would you do? You can give your dog a canine probiotic. You can consult your vet, and they mostly recommend a canine probiotic or a food rich in probiotics. These probiotics are beneficial for balancing bacteria in the digestive tract of your dog. As a result, it reduces gas. You have to follow the vet’s recommendations about dosing of the probiotics. 

Another solution for dog’s gas is digestive enzymes. Again you have to consult your vet before adding it to your dog’s food. These enzymes are strong enough to break down the food, and as a result, they reduce gas. Charcoal tablets can quickly relieve gas. Moreover, you can use a slurry of charcoal tablets to make it easier for the dogs to take. 

Take your dog to the vet for a basic veterinary exam. If your dog shows signs of discomfort or excessive gas, take him for a medical checkup. The vet will check for medical issues. Keep track of gas history and signs of discomfort and tell them to vet so that they can suggest treatment accordingly. 

If the gastrointestinal problems are causing excessive gas, the vet will suggest x-rays or ultrasounds. It will ensure that there isn’t anything blocking the stomach. Finally, the vet may ask for a feces test. Feces testing can help check whether an infection is causing the excess gas or there is any other reason. This test identifies fecal parasites and allows the vet to create a treatment plan. Follow the vet’s instructions regarding the feces sample collection to get accurate results. 

Conclusion

Can yogurt help my dog’s gas? Yes, it helps if your dog isn’t diagnosed as lactose intolerant. Yogurt for dog gas is the most effective home remedy. Dogs show signs of discomfort when they are facing the issue of excessive gas. We’ve covered different options in detail to treat dog’s gas. One of them is yogurt. 

You can tell us about your dog’s gas. If you have already tried yogurt for dog gas, please share your experience. Your experience can be valuable for other pet owners. If your dog is facing this issue, please give yogurt a try, but ensure that you feed him after consulting with the vet. Don’t forget to share your thoughts after feeding yogurt to your dog.