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Does Your Pug Have An Upset Stomach?

September 23, 2022 by emilyreviews 1 Comment

No pug owner ever wants their dog to feel unwell…but the reality of owning a dog is they are likely to have an upset stomach at some time or another. Most of the time an upset stomach is something you can manage at home and won’t last too long.

Signs That Your Pug May Have An Upset Stomach

  • Hard or loose stools. Especially if this is outside of their normal experience.
  • Vomiting.
  • Asking to go outside frequently and trying to go #2.
  • Pooping more or less often than usual.
  • Strange noises (gurgling or bubbling sounds) coming from their belly.
  • Stomach growling sounds even if they have eaten relatively recently.
  • Excessive flatulence.
  • Really strong flatulence.
  • Eating grass.
  • Excess saliva.

Does your pug have an upset stomach? Learn the common causes of upset stomach in pugs, as well as signs, symptoms and tips for how to help!

Causes Of Upset Stomach In Pugs

There are many potential causes of upset stomachs in pugs and other dogs. Here are some of the more common ones though.

Changing diet too rapidly. When dogs get used to a specific food, it can be a shock to their system if you completely change foods on them overnight. To avoid this, change foods very gradually. For example, use 75% of the old food, and 25% of a new food for a while, then a 50/50 mix, then a 25/75 mix, etc.

Table scraps. Dogs bellies can be thrown off if they get access to human foods that they don’t usually have. Many human foods are not suitable for dogs (too spicy, too greasy, etc) and may upset their stomachs.

Allergies or intolerances. In my opinion, too many people assume allergies for their dogs. A banfield pet study showed that just .2% of dogs have food allergies. Yet, if you go to any pet themed group and reference food allergies, you’ll find that lots of pet owners believe their dogs have allergies. Meaning in most cases when people think their dog has a food allergy, they probably don’t. However, some do have food allergies and this can cause them an upset stomach if they eat something they have an allergy to.

Lack of fiber. Fiber helps keeps dogs regular, so if they are lacking fiber it can cause digestive trouble that can cause an upset stomach.

Some viruses. 

Stress or anxiety. 

Medication side effects. If your dog is on any medications, google the prescription name to see if nausea or other digestive symptoms are side effect.

Ingesting something harmful. Household cleaners, pest control substances, and many other substances can cause stomach upset in dogs if consumed.

Swallowing a non-food item. If your dog has swallowed part of a dog toy, an animal bone, rawhide, etc it can cause a partial (or full) blockage which can upset their stomach. If the item is too large his can be an emergency.

Motion sickness from traveling in a vehicle or similar.

Trapped gas. If your dog needs to burp or fart, that trapped gas in their tummy can cause upset until it finds a way out.

Senior pugs wearing sweaters

How To Help Your Pug With An Upset Stomach

Have them fast for at least 6 hours. This is recommended if your dog has vomitted or had diarrhea. It essentially resets their digestive system by letting it empty before adding anything new in.

Try feeding plain chicken and rice as their first meal after the fast. This is the dog version of having butter-toast after having a stomach bug. Chicken and rice are bland foods that are easy on the stomach for most dogs. Another option would be turkey and pure pumpkin, as those are also easy on the stomach.

If the bland diet goes well, feed that for a couple of meals, then slowly reintroduce their regular dog food. Go slowly, such as a 75% bland, 25% kibble mix, for a meal or two, then 50/50, then 25/75, before finally having them go back to just their dog food.

Try a dog probiotic if your dog regularly has tummy trouble. Sometimes dogs struggle to keep the right amount of healthy bacteria in their digestive system on their own, and probiotics can help.

When An Upset Stomach Needs Vet Care

  • If your pug is losing weight due to their stomach problems
  • If your dog has chronic diarrhea or constipation
  • Blood in their stool
  • Blood in their vomit
  • If they’ve consumed something harmful
  • If they’ve swallowed a non-food item.
  • If they’re panting, whining/crying or otherwise showing signs of pain.

Pug Farts | Why Your Pug’s Gas Smells So Bad

April 2, 2022 by emilyreviews Leave a Comment

Do all pugs have bad farts?

All pugs (well, all dogs!) pass gas or have flatulence or fart – however you prefer to word it. Not all pugs fart excessively or have super stinky farts. 

Do pugs have audible farts?

Pugs do have audible farts! I was quite shocked by this the first time I heard our pugs fart. They are often quite loud, much like when a human passes gas. 

This can be rather surprising if your pug passes gas when a guest is visiting. We’ve shared laughs with our friends ad family members when they first heard our pugs fart. For many, they’ve never heard a dog fart out loud so they aren’t sure if they should believe you when you tell them it was the dog.

Thankfully, my friends and family members have all just laughed along. We aren’t very serious people in general. However, if you were to host a business event or something that needs to stay very professional and classy, it may be worth considering if you should keep your pug away in case they pass gas that others can hear.

Pug farts - why your pug has bad farts and how to fix it.

What Causes Flatulence In Pugs?

Like with people, flatulence in dogs is caused by swallowed air getting into our digestive tract that needs to get out, or by air being produced by certain gasses that digest our food. 

Some of the reasons why dogs get gas include:

Eating too quickly. Air can be gulped down with the food, which then has to be released. Pugs have wide mouths due to their flat faces, so they can eat super quickly! Using a slow feeder bowl or a kibble dispensing toy may help.

Eating large portions. If you’re used to giving your pug just 1 meal a day, doing two meals a day that are half the size may help so they have less to digest at once.

Human Food. Table scraps (aka human food) can cause gas in dogs. Pugs are prone to obesity so it’s often best to avoid giving them human food anyway.

Their dog food. If they only eat dog food but still have bad gas, it may still be the specific food that they are on. Dog foods that are high in corn may cause worse gas in pugs. In many cases, cheap dog foods will have more corn so buying a higher-end dog food will often help. I’ll share my personal experience with this further down in this post.

Meats or other dog-specific sensitivities. Some dogs have their own sensitivities to different meats or other ingredients. You may have to experiment with different dog foods to find out what is the culprit for your dog. For example, if your dog has a lot of gas on chicken-based dog food, you may try switching to a lamb-based food instead.

Liver treats. My pugs absolutely loved liver treats! However, many people say that they cause bad gas in dogs.

Broccoli is one of the ‘human foods’ that are healthy for dogs. However, they often cause gas for dogs.

An imbalance in their belly. Like us, the cultures in your pug’s digestive system has to be kept at the right balance or it can wreak havoc. Your pug may benefit from probiotics if this is the issue. They make probiotic supplements specifically for dogs.

Tips To Reduce Gas In Your Pug

Exercise. Taking them for a walk after their meal can help stimulate their digestion to keep things moving which can reduce trapped gas. Sometimes gas worsens if a dog eats and then lays down after their meal, as the food doesn’t get a chance to move around. If your dog moves around after eating, it’ll aid their digestive process which may reduce gas.

Healthy diet. Try to make sure they have a well-balanced diet and don’t eat too quickly.

Fiber. A spoonful of 100% pumpkin per day can add fiber to your dog’s diet and may reduce their gas. It can also help with their stools!

If you aren’t able to get your dog’s flatulence under control through these basic measures, or if your pug’s gas seems to be causing them pain or discomfort, it’s time to see the vet.

Pug sleeping with laptop

How I Helped My Pugs With Stinky Farts

When I got my pugs, their former owner told me they were on Ol’ Roy dog food which is Walmart’s store brand. For the sake of consistency, I kept them on this food when I brought them to my house. Their farts were extremely stinky.

Before getting my pugs, I had read that cheap dog foods are usually lower quality, so I knew that I didn’t want to keep them o Ol’ Roy Dog food for health reasons. So we switched to a higher quality dog food after a couple of months when I felt like they had settled into our family and could tolerate some change. I had hoped that this would just be healthier for them, was all.

The biggest improvement we saw was in their gas! Those “peel the walls, make you gag” smelling farts completely stopped. They did still fart (we could hear it) but most of the time we couldn’t smell it a all. If we did, it was a more mild smell, not a “toxic poison” one! While this wasn’t my intention when changing their food, it did reassure me that the food we had switched to was healthier for them because their body wasn’t reacting to it as poorly.

Since then, I have noticed that when I’ve been visiting others and their dogs have one of those ‘toxic dog farts’, that it has always been someone who feeds their dog really cheap dog food. So, I’ve really come to feel like the extremely stinky farts that dogs sometimes have are usually caused by cheap dog foods in most cases.

Sources: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-to-stop-dog-farts/

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Welcome to Two Pug Tails! This is a blog all about pugs! I am Emily, I just adore the pug breed. My goal here is to share helpful information about pugs, while also sharing some of my experiences with my pugs Frank and Beans. You can learn more about me and my pugs on my about page if you wish.



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