Flatulence (also known as farting, passing wind, passing gas), refers to the passing of intestinal gas through the anus. Dogs tend to have very smelly gas. It is normal for dogs to pass gas in small quantities.

An excessive amount of gas is abnormal and your dog should be examined by his veterinarian.

Flatulence more commonly affects dogs that are inactive and spend long periods indoors.

Excessive flatulence usually results from intolerance to ingredients in your dog's diet. What happens is the ingredients pass through the intestinal tract without being absorbed and end up in the large intestine (colon and rectum), where bacteria ferment them to produce gas.

Another cause of gas can occur when your dog eats excessive quantities of food, overwhelming the ability of his gastrointestinal tract to digest the food.

In addition, some dogs are born without the ability to digest certain ingredients in their diets, such as lactose (milk sugar). Other dogs have trouble digesting some legumes such as soy.

Greedy eating results in the ingestion of large quantities of air. Once ingested, air has to be removed from the gastrointestinal tract either by burping or by flatulence. Also when a dog bends over to eat his food, he'll gulp air as he snatches the food into his mouth.

Although flatulence is usually normal, on occasion it can signify more serious gastrointestinal disease of the small bowel or pancreas. Seek veterinary advice if gaseousness appears to be causing your dog abdominal discomfort, or if the flatulence is associated with vomiting or diarrhea. All of these signs suggest more serious gastrointestinal disease.

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