What does it mean when you can hear your dog’s stomach making noises? Here’s What to Do Next

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Why Is My Dog’s Stomach Making Noises? Common Causes

Similar to what you may have experienced, a dogs tummy may regularly make noise. Some rumblings are expected as gas plays a normal part in the dogs gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Your dogs normal belly rumbles are typically caused by one of two things:

While dogs dont drink carbonated beverages like humans do, they still consume their share of air. Have a quick eater? Generally speaking, the faster a dog eats, the more air they swallow in the process. This air has to go somewhere, and if its not belched up, it makes its way along the gastrointestinal tract and announces its presence in the form of a rumbling tummy. This isnt a medical concern as the intestines are built for some gas to travel through them as part of the normal processing of food.

As a dogs stomach empties and prepares for its next meal, intestinal juices are often released in preparation. The release of these digestive juices and movement within the intestinal tract causes the tummy growling we associate with hunger. An empty belly often may make slightly louder noises than a full one, simply because theres no food in the intestines to absorb or block some of the volume.

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Gurgle, gurgle. Rumble, rumble. Youve surely heard the sound coming from your pup before. Turns out, theres a word for that talking tummy: Borborygmus (pronounced bore-bore-IG-mus), or borborygmi, is a fancy word for stomach noises. This rumbling noise is created as gas moves through the intestines. While these can often be normal stomach sounds, its important to understand why your dogs stomach makes this loud noise and when it may indicate a problem. If youre wondering, “Why is my dogs stomach making noises?” and “What should I do if my dogs stomach is gurgling?” youve come to the right place.

Other causes of dog stomach growling

  • Diarrhea: When a dog has diarrhea, food and water move through their digestive tract more quickly than usual. Such fast movement can making stomach growls louder.
  • Dietary indiscretion: Dogs are not exactly picky eaters. If they find something in the trash that looks particularly delectable, they’ll chow down. However, that food may be hard to digest, causing loud growling noises.
  • Foreign body: Sometimes, dogs eat things that get stuck in the digestive tract. Peristalsis goes into overdrive to try to push that foreign body through. All of that extra work leads to louder growling noises.
  • Extra intestinal gas: When dogs eat quickly, they tend to swallow lots of air. This excess air puts more gas into the intestines, creating loud noise. Extra gas can also be caused by the breakdown of carbohydrates and panting.
  • Intestinal parasites: Intestinal parasites, such as coccidia, are notorious for wreaking havoc on a dog’s digestive tract. They can disrupt proper nutrient absorption, leading to diarrhea and, ultimately, louder gut noises.
  • Intestinal disease: Diseases such as inflammatory bowel syndrome can disrupt normal digestion and lead to louder gut noises.
  • Toxins: Some toxins, such as chocolate, can seriously upset a dog’s tummy and lead to loud stomach growls.

    • WHY is your DOG’S STOMACH making NOISES? Urgent

    As pet parents, we know that dogs are like us in so many ways. Even though dogs walk on four legs instead of two, their bodies work similarly to human bodies.

    If you’ve ever heard your dog’s stomach growling, you might be wondering why their stomach is making so much noise. We know that our stomachs growl, especially when we’re hungry, but we may not have given much thought to our dog’s stomach growls.

    Stomach growls in dogs are often normal and indicate hunger or digestion. But they can also point toward a more serious health problem that needs veterinary attention.

    Let’s talk about your dog’s growling tummy so that you know why it happens and what you can do if the growling becomes a concern.

    The technical term for stomach growling is borborygmi, a fancy word to describe the sounds made by the movement of food and water through the digestive tract. This movement is called peristalsis, during which smooth muscles in the digestive tract squeeze and relax in a rhythmic pattern to push water and food through bit by bit.

    Borborygmi is typically quiet. But you may be able to hear it if you put your ear up to your dog’s stomach, especially after a meal; it’s pretty cool! During physical exams, veterinarians listen to a pet’s gut sounds with a stethoscope as a way to check on a pet’s digestive health.