The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

My cocker Samson is 5 years old. He has been eating Science Diet Sensitive Stomach since he was a pup. Lately he has been having some terrible gas. My guess is it has to be the dog food since he doesn't eat people food at all. Should we switch his food or is the gas something that is normal? All I've ever known is Science Diet brand, so if there is something that is easier on his tummy please tell me. He's not in pain or anything (at least we can't tell), but it seems strange that he would have gas when he eats the same thing every day.

Well, I don't think gas is really normal - especially since it's new for him. Look at the list of ingredients on the Science Diet food. The top five offenders for allergies and tummy issues are corn, wheat, soy, chicken and beef. You might want to try a grain free food to see if that helps.

Is the dog gulping down his food. I have noticed with Molly that some of her gas problems was from eating too fast. I purchased a "slow down bowl that I got at Pet Supply plus or Pet smart(martha stewart) that really slows down her eating and I changed her food to a fish and sweet potato with no rice as I read here that chicken and rice can also be a culprit. She still has some gas but I just changed her food about 3 days and I am sure that it will take a while before noticing it. Also paypa enzyme seemed to work which I read here but she started getting diarrhea and I am not sure if it was the chicken/rice or the paypa but it did seem to help. I started this around the same time I was given her an apple so I was not sure if really that was what causing the diarrhea. I am just feeding fish/sweet potato and nothing else and will start introducing more food to see if any of those were causing the diarrhea. It is all trial and error.

Okay. Ever since we switched Samson's food, he's been having accidents in the house.

He's been housebroken good for 3 years now,never an accident..... so I know it's because of the new food. So before we overreact and switch him back to the bad product (Science Diet) full of corn, soy, and wheat (where he never had these problems before. Can someone tell me if this type of thing is to be expected when you switch foods? This is horrible.

We switched him to Wellness Core Grain-free. He seems to like it, but we noticed it's high in fiber. He's on a schedule to go outside, morning and afternoon. The first time it was waiting for us when we got home. The 2nd time he just squatted right while we were standing there. He didn't even bark to go outside. Help!! Please!!!

When did the vet last see him? My feeling is since he has been exhibiting obvious digestive issues he needs to be seen.

He's been on the treatment for the ear infection and he goes in Saturday for teeth cleaning. The vet is going to look in his ears again as they were getting better since the first dose of medicine. I'm afraid she's going to tell me to put him on the prescription food by Royal Canin. I didn't see too many happy comments about that food so I told her we would try the Wellness instead. Other than his ears, he was fine before we switched the foods. I don't know what to do.

Did you switch his food gradually or all at once? If all at once, it isn't surprising that he is having accidents - his tummy is too sensitive for that. If you did it gradually (slowly mixing in his new food over the course of a couple of weeks), I agree he probably needs to be seen. It could be something as easy as giving him a Pepcid, but I would rather have him seen first before changing anything else in his diet.

We switched him over a week. Was that too soon? I thought it best to switch him fast because he had been on the bad food for so long, I didn't want his allergies to be worse.

Not all dogs can handle grain free, mine cannot. I feed Wellness lamb, barley, and salmon and have for years with no allergy issues even from my little grand dog who is usually a rash magnet.

My Samson has a sensitive stomach. Do you know if there any Wellness foods for sensitive stomach issues?

If his tummy is sensitive to start with, it might have been too quick. A gradual change might work better for him - even over the course of a month. And you're still feeding him "better" because you're gradually decreasing the amount of the first food.

Parasite alert!! Rumbling stomach,does he seem to dreaming more?accidents in the house,go get a stool sample.

Parasites should be controlled/ruled out by a vet. I would think rumbling stomach is sensitive/pancreatitis, etc. Feeding twice a day instead of once and keeping the tummy a bit full always helps too.