Dear Georgia - My dog is an Advanced Certified C.A.T. Dog and participates in the Pack Reader Program. Last week during a class, my dog passed gas and oh my, you know what that means! The boys in the class completely lost focus and the rest of the session was wasted with the boys laughing and giggling. How should I handle this if it happens again? -
All Gassed Up Dear Stinky - We all do it, people and dogs alike, yet still in our society,
flatulence, passing gas, or plain old farting as it is commonly called,
is a normal function of life. Everyone does it
whether they are awake, or asleep and they even fart upon death.
Generally speaking people fart between 10 and 15 times a day even up to
40 times is normal.
The problem is that passing gas
is a social "faux pas." For humans, this can be very embarrassing. For the dog, he really doesn't understand why everyone is laughing and pointing at him or her. But let's face it, especially to a group of kids, "farting is funny".
Next time this happens, why not make it a science lesson? Explain why this happens and what happens in the body to produce it. Here is a short and scaled down version of the cause:
The wind that is produced in the process occurs in the small
intestines when bacteria and enzymes break down the carbohydrates and
proteins, which are found in various foods.
Our body
absorbs most of the oxygen we breathe in, before it ever reaches the
large intestine. It is mostly nitrogen, which then reacts with stomach
and intestinal fluid to produce carbon dioxide that is expelled. The air we produce in this manner can also be methane and
hydrogen. It all depends on the how much air we swallowed, the types of
bacteria in our stomach and intestines, the food we eat and yes how
long we have held that gas in.
Doing a quick Google search, I found numerous sources explaining what causes flatulence...more than I ever wanted to know. I found a book on Amazon.com called, "
The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts". This might be a great book to keep in your bag and have the kids read next time this event takes place. Not only will you be able to get the reading back into your program, but they get a science lesson as well. You never know, this could be the start for a future Gastroenterologist right in your Pack Readers class!
Just a side note: There's another book out there for the adults called "
Blame It On The Dog: A Modern History of the Fart"
. Who knew it was such a fascinating subject?
- GeorgiaBack to Top
