Have you ever heard your dog’s stomach gurgle from time to time? It might appear to be a cute sound, but it’s actually best to check on it.
Save from being super hungry there might be some other reason as to why your dog’s stomach is gurgling.
This article will be all about that: we’ll delve deep into the reasons why your dog’s stomach is gurgling a lot and making loud noises, and we’ll give you some tried and tested tips on how to calm a dog’s gurgling stomach.
Read on ahead to know more!
Reasons Why Your Dog’s Stomach Makes a Gurgling Sound
The gurgling sounds that you hear your dog’s stomach makes is because of the gas that is moving around its intestines.
Like humans, it is pretty normal for dogs to have activity in their intestines – but it is supposed to be on the quiet side.
A dog with a loud gurgling stomach might be experiencing a condition called borborygmi, which can either be a normal occurrence or it is an indication of an undetected health issue.
Here are some reasons your dog has a tummy that gurgles very loudly:
1. Your dog is hungry.
A very common reason for your dog’s stomach to be gurgling loudly during the day or even at night is because they are hungry – which is also what happens to us humans!
When the stomach is empty, it can cause loud rumbling noises that are heard outside the stomach. This is a great sign to tell us that he needs to be eating soon.
2. Your dog is experiencing digestive issues.
When your dog’s stomach gurgles, it may be because they have digestive issues. Some of these include gas, indigestion, or an upset stomach.
There is something in your dog’s intestines or stomach that is not agreeing with it, and it is causing the digestive function to work erratically – resulting in loud, gurgling sounds in the tummy.
3. Your dog may be eating too fast.
Observe how your dog eats when you notice that its tummy is gurgling like crazy. Does it seem to gobble up its food faster than other dogs?
If yes, chances are it is also swallowing large amounts of air along with its food, which will also go down to its stomach. That air will go with the gas that is already there, and will then emit loud stomach noises.
4. Your dog has had some recent changes to its diet.
If you have made changes to your dog’s diet and introduced new food items, the gurgling sounds coming from its stomach may indicate how its body is adjusting to the new food.
Just like human tummies, dog tummies will sometimes need to take some time to adjust to new food before it stabilizes and processes it properly.
Along with the gurgling can be some mild diarrhea in the morning for your puppy, when the stomach is still in the adjustment stage of identifying how best to fully and properly digest the new food it is introduced to.
Give it some time, but also be on the lookout if it is throwing up or vomiting along with the gurgling – because this might mean you have to remove that new food completely from its diet.
5. Your dog is experiencing some stress or anxiety.
Dogs that feel stressed or anxious may also experience loud stomach noises, which can be the result of increased digestive activity. Anxiety can trigger changes in the dog’s digestive system, much like it does with humans.
6. Your dog has an underlying health issue.
When your dog is making some loud stomach noises even while it is sleeping on the grass, for example, you might want to bring it to the vet to have it checked out for any health issues that have not come to light yet.
Some examples include pancreatitis, the presence of parasites, and inflammatory bowel disease, among others. It is always best to have your dog checked to rule these out.
How To Fix a Dog’s Gurgling Tummy
The first thing you need to do when your dog’s stomach is gurgling is to first identify the underlying cause.
If the reason is your dog is hungry or is eating too quickly, there are some easy fixes for that with the strategies and tips that will be shared below.
But if it turns out that the reason is graver, such as a health condition that requires medical attention, then your next step is to turn to your vet for proper treatment.
If your dog is hungry and eats too quickly and makes loud, gurgling noises as a result, however, you might want to try the following suggestions:
1. Make its feeding schedule more consistent.
Ensure that you always feed your dog at the right time every time. With this is making sure that you give it the appropriate amount of food for their size as well as their activity level. This will do a lot in addressing the gurgling tummy issue.
2. Buy a slow feeder bowl.
You might also want to get a slow feeder bowl, which will force your dog to eat more slowly since it dispenses food in very small amounts.
Eating slowly will reduce the amount of air that they tend to swallow while eating, which will then lead to quieter gurgling sounds due to less gas in the tummy.
3. Consider if you have to make some dietary changes.
If your dog’s tummy is gurgling because of any changes to the food that you give it, you might want to take a step back and be slower in introducing the new food.
Decrease the portion of the new food and add more days in between feeding that particular food. This will help give their digestive system more time to adjust until it doesn’t always build up on gas.
4. Give your dog some probiotics.
Giving your dog probiotic supplements is a good way to promote healthy digestion in dogs. Probiotics works wonders in alleviating digestive issues that may be the culprit.
Make sure you consult with your veterinarian when it comes to giving your dog the right amount and type of probiotic supplements!
5. Employ stress management techniques to help your dog calm down.
If your dog’s gurgling tummy is because it is experiencing stress and anxiety, you might want to work with your veterinarian or even a professional dog trainer to come up with a stress management plan.
This plan may include some behavior modification techniques or adding some calming supplements to its diet.
Does stomach gurgling end up being a dangerous thing?
If you and your veterinarian or dog trainer deem that the stomach gurgling is not because your dog is hungry, eats too much too fast, or is experiencing stress or anxiety, then yes – there might be a possibility that the stomach gurgling is a sign that your dog has an underlying medical condition that can progress into something dangerous if not treated right away.
The key is to bring your dog to the veterinarian as soon as possible for diagnosis, and if anything is found then your vet will be able to prescribe the right medication and treatment to either completely eliminate the medical condition or to manage it at the very least.
Because time is of the essence, it is imperative that you eliminate the non-life-threatening reasons as to why your dog might have a gurgling tummy before bringing it to the vet.
What are some possible serious reasons for a dog’s stomach gurgling?
While only a veterinarian can properly diagnose a condition that results in a gurgling tummy in dogs, you need to make sure that you get your dog to the vet if you notice the stomach gurgling is accompanied by other symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, or even loss of appetite.
These are all warning signals of a medical situation, which hopefully does not turn out to be a medical emergency.
Some serious reasons for a dog’s gurgling stomach may be that your dog has inflammatory bowel disease, parasites (which can be life-threatening to a dog in some cases), and pancreatitis, among others.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is there something I can give my dog for its gurgling stomach?
You might want to give your dog probiotics and fresh water if it has a gurgling stomach – both are okay to give without a veterinarian’s consultation.
However, it is still best to first make the serving size of its food smaller and make it hard for him to take larger bites or gulps of its food.
2. How come my dog’s stomach is gurgling loudly, and yet he won’t eat?
At this point, you already know that when a dog’s stomach is gurgling loudly there is a big chance that they are hungry and need to eat.
But when he doesn’t eat even when the food is presented to it, there may be a serious medical concern occurring internally.
You will probably want to bring him to the veterinarian as soon as possible, as a loss of appetite is something concerning and might require immediate emergency attention to save its life.
3. Is a dog’s stomach gurgling something that one should be worried about?
A dog’s loud gurgling stomach is always a cause for concern – but this concern should range from mild to immediate.
When we say mild, we mean that your dog probably just has some extra gas in its tummy if it eats too much and if it eats too fast.
This is very easy to address at home with the tips and tricks listed in the previous section of this article.
However, just because this is fairly mild doesn’t mean you should delay addressing it. Gas that builds up may also cause discomfort to develop in a dog, and when there is too much gas in its tummy it might end up being in pain.
It might even throw up as a result. So, don’t delay and do everything you can to address the condition.
If the gurgling is identified to be a symptom of an underlying medical condition, then yes – it is indeed something that you should be worried about.
However, your worries can be eased a lot when you finally get to bring your dog to the veterinarian’s clinic for a much-needed checkup.
Only your veterinarian and his standard routines for testing will be able to properly diagnose any medical condition that is causing the stomach gurgling.
Your vet can prescribe the right medicine or therapy (if ever) to address the condition, or to provide you with additional strategies apart from those already mentioned previously in order to address the condition.
His prescriptions and tips may be to completely eliminate the gurgling, or to just temper it down a bit at best.
Conclusion
If you’ve reached this far into the article, you now know the reasons why a dog’s stomach is gurgling.
It is a lot easier now to determine if the gurgling is only because your dog is eating too fast, or if there is something else that a medical professional should be addressing.
If it’s the former, then you have some really solid tips that will help eliminate or lessen that existing gas in its tummy by making changes in how it eats and what it eats.
And if there is the possibility of the latter, you know that the first and only thing you should do is to bundle up your dog and take them to the vet.
Even if you feel worried about its condition now and in the future, at the very least you have a veterinarian who will make the proper diagnosis and the necessary treatment to help your dog heal from what is making it sick.
Have you ever heard your dog’s stomach gurgle? Was it just because it was eating too fast, or did it turn out to be a more serious matter? Share your stories in the comments section!
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