German Shepherd pup gastrointestinal upset and diarrhea

[ForestAnimal]

I have a German Shepherd pup who is about 9 or 10 months old. I adopted him when he was around 7 months old. He has been dewormed, given all of his shots, on preventative, etc. I feed him foods like Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy and Innova Large Breed Puppy. He was still quite skinny when I got him, and I was told to give him puppy food for extra nutrients because apparently he was emaciated when they found him. I refuse to give him bad food (no corn, wheat, soy, by-products, unidentifiable meat, preservatives, etc.). I give him 2 cups of dry food twice a day mixed with a little bit of water to bring out the smell (otherwise he doesn't want it) - once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and he is the correct weight.

He burps a lot, which is funny to me... but some nights it's overboard. In the evening on random nights, he starts burping up what smells like a spicy fart... and it's VERY strong! One burp and the entire room smells! Sometimes he farts the exact same smell, and once he starts, he doesn't stop until the entire downstairs of the house is extremely stinky. Even though the exact same smell is the result, I've been close enough to tell whether it was a burp or fart, and he does both with identical smells. He does not eat his feces, though it would make you think twice. It also doesn't seem to matter whether or not I've switched his food brand. I always stay to the same quality, but slowly integrate the new brand anyway. Again, I'm feeding Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy and right now he's on a bag of Innova Large Breed Puppy. My mother's Miniature Schnauzer is eating a completely grain free diet of Blue Wilderness, Innova Evo, Orijen, etc. I was hoping to switch my pup to this kind of food soon (more digestible!), but I'm worried about his stomach. Also, when he starts emitting these noxious smells, he has diarrhea. He soiled himself in his crate today when I was only gone for an hour. The smell was just like what he burps/farts only magnified 100x! Poor guy had his nose out the vent hole and was crying until I got it all off of him. The whole house was putrid smelling and all of the windows and doors had to be open with fans running for 2 hours before it was even tolerable. He got a good bath... but I've never smelled fecal matter so strongly! This is no normal diarrhea/gas. What could be wrong with him? He seems to be in excellent health minus this one problem. Thanks.

[Cindypupscotland]

Try going back to the vet it could just be I'd diet the dry food may not agree with his tummy one of my dogs was just like that the vet gave him some meds to settle his tummy and I started him on rind meat and that was 10 years ago his stomach is hypersensitive to fresh meat and he can't prices dry kibble so worth goi g to the vet

[ForestAnimal]

I just wanted to update everyone. He's been to the vet and tested negative for giardia and had a fecal flotation with no worms. The vet told me to add yogurt and pro-biotic supplements to his diet for a while to see if he just needed some good bacteria in his gut. He seems to have improved but not completely and is due back for a check-up soon. The other things on the suspect list are a.) stomach worm and b.) exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (epi). I'll know for certain soon! I was also happy to discover that he gained 10 pounds and now weighs 73lbs lean. He's also growing. Thanks for your suggestions.

[chevyfreese]

I do not know if you still follow this.  I just adopted an 18-month-old german shepherd.  He was 40lbs.   We have him up to 60!!  He burps and farts and it clears the house.  Same smell both ends.  More burps then fart.  Yes once it starts it just keeps going all day.  I give Pepto to try to help settle his tummy.. man...  I went to the store earlier and got him some yogurt.  I raw feed.  I feed satan balls to put on weight fast and then keep them as a treat added in bonus until he gets to his normal weight.   It has been a long time.  I was wondering what the end case was.  Did you still have problems?  where their future problems that occurred since your boy was really thin also.
thank you!

[ginger899]

chevyfreese, you may not get an answer from the above person, as their post was 2009. Many don't come back after such a long time.

I answered your other post with a couple of ideas, but after reading this one too, yes probiotics are another thing you could try.
But yogurt might not be the best probiotic supplement for a dog. One reason is it contains lactose.
Dogs basically cannot handle lactose. Some tolerate it better than others but they haven't the digestive enzymes to process it basically.
Another point is a dog's digestion is different to a human's, and the "good" bacteria they need might not be contained in yogurt.

But a good probiotic is worth a shot. And Pepcid is worth trying of course, if it helps.

One more idea I got from this thread is the possibility that something he's eaten might not be going through quite right, and his digestion is "backing up" a bit (?) Burps really shouldn't smell like poop.

My advice would be -get him checked with the vet as well.

[chevyfreese]

Hello, My dog's burp don't smell like poop, they smell like rotten eggs.  It is really really bad.  Very similar to this guys story.    I just hope for the best :) I hope this guy turns out well, thanks for the info on yogurt I will read other posts now!  

[Jaybay]

Something is really wrong when a dog burps and it smells of feces.  I've had that experience with my own body, and it means my intestines are blocked.  Since your puppy appears to have had a rough start in life, there may be something going on that was undiagnosed and unnoticed earlier.  It may be something from a simple case of worms, to giardia, or a more mechanical problem with his digestion.  It's time to have your vet take a look at the problem since it's getting worse.

[peekawho]

He needs to be seen by a vet about the diarrhea, if this has gone on more than a day or two or is exceptionally frequent, if there is blood at all, or mucusy.  At the same time, they can give you some advice about the burping/farting issue.

The burping/farting sure sound food related.  I also prefer to feed my dogs high quality food too, but lately had to switch to a slightly lesser quality (Nutro Sensitive Stomach).   Surprisingly,  Jake (our chronic vomiter) is doing 90% better with the puking.

Go figure.