A question about poo!

[littlebetty]

My dog Betty seems somewhat sensitive to what she eats. I have been feeding her on purina puppy sensitive for a few months now because of this and it seemed to have settled her bowel movements down to a more consistent firm stool. I also feed her things like scrambled egg once or twice a week, natural yoghurt and fish and chicken. For training I use ham and cheese or kibble. Even though her poos seemed to have settled , she still seems to be having problems and will have a maximum of 3 days where she toilets in an acceptable ,healthy way. Am I feeding her too much fats from the cheese ? Or too much rich food. Do I need to reduce anything to allow her stools to become consistently firm again? Or is she just nibbling funny things on our walks? Was hoping all you bc loving folks could help me out on this smelly topic :)Thanks in advance

[Alchemist]

Have you taken a stool sample to the vet? It's not uncommon for pups to pick up parasites of one sort or another (they do seem to put EVERYTHING in their mouths, don't they?), and that can easily lead to digestive upsets. I'd want to rule that out first.

[Sue R]

Have you taken a stool sample to the vet? It's not uncommon for pups to pick up parasites of one sort or another (they do seem to put EVERYTHING in their mouths, don't they?), and that can easily lead to digestive upsets. I'd want to rule that out first.

I agree. Plus a dog may have an infestation of something (like giardia) that is pretty "dormant" until there is some form of stress, and then the "unwanted guest" can multiply and cause symptoms, and maybe also hidden damage.

 

Also, bloodwork *might* be in order, just to rule out other possibilities. It is often a good indicator of certain potential problems that can be dealt with before damage is done.

 

Best wishes!

[Debbie Meier]

So long as the pup is active and not showing any signs of being sick, the first thing I would do is cut out on all the extra stuff and just give the pup kibble, measure out how much the pup should get each day and split it in 1/2. One 1/2 for treats the other 1/2 as a daily feeding. Start there to see if that helps with the stools, especially the odor. If you don't see a change with in a day or so definitely a stool sample taken to the vets is in order.

 

After cutting all the extra stuff out, if she firms up you can add something back in, wait a while to see if the stool stays good, you will be able to figure out what is bothering her. Might be the cheese and ham can be really rich and cause problems too

[OurBoys]

I'm not suggesting not taking your pup to the vet but I have a dog that can't eat pork. Dogs are also lactose intolerant (once they're weaned) so cutting out the ham and cheese might help.

[Maralynn]

I'd second the vet check for parasites and also hold back on everything but her kibble and see if that makes a difference. When my youngest dog was about a year old she went through about 6 months where she needed to have a super consistent diet or her digestive tract would protest - she'd get diarrhea at the drop of a hat. She went through a couple rounds of metronizadole for suspected giardia but after that was cleared up it took her digestive tract a while to fully heal. Now she's 5 and is able to have add ins and a variety of treats with no issues.

[GentleLake]

^^ Just what I was thinking (except without the personal experience ).

[Gideon's girl]

Definitely cut out the ham and only use mozzerella cheese. I would try baked chicken breast for treats for a while.

 

Have the vet send the stool out to the lab for analysis. They are more likely to pick up on things that the vet might miss.

[Journey]

Stool check and I'd get her off the puppy food.

[littlebetty]

Thanks all I will start with cutting all but the kibble out of her diet and take it from there. I will have a vet check her in a couple of days if there is no change.

[littlebetty]

Stool check and I'd get her off the puppy food.

then what would you suggest if I took her off puppy food? She is only a pup after all

[Alchemist]

Most people here don't use puppy kibble. I started one pup on adult food at four months, which I now think is later than I should have; the other I had on adult kibble from the day I brought him home at eight weeks.

 

Ham is very high in salt and nitrites, in addition to being high in fat.

 

I tend to use plain lowfat or nonfat yogurt as a kibble topper; canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) if a pup or dog has loose stools; and I give my pups a probiotic each day. The vet tech at my practice told me that clinical studies showed if you give a pup probiotics for its first year, that it'll have a stronger immune system as an adult. I'm not convinced that probiotics make it through the intestinal system, but all the studies coming out these days of the human gut microbiome just underscore the importance of a healthy microflora in your (or, by inference, a dog's) intestinal system, and I figure that probiotics definitely can't hurt.

 

When was the last time you had a stool check done? I don't think I've ever had a puppy that didn't manage to pick up some sort of parasite (Coccidia, Giardia) after having previously had a "clean" stool analysis.

[Debbie Meier]

Our adult food is our puppy food.

[littlebetty]

Excellent that's really good to know. I will change the kibble . Low fat pro biotic is what I give here but will start using it more as a top up. I understand about the processed meats as they aren't really all that great for people either.for me they just Make an easy sandwich filler for work, its the only reason I even have it in the fridge. She hasn't yet had a stool sample done, I will see that I get that sorted after Easter break. And thanks again this forum is proving to be a great source of information

[littlebetty]

Does anybody feed any fresh raw veg to their dogs? Is this something I should be giving to her also . I know kibble is supposed to have everything a dog needs but surely it has to loose some of its nutritional value when it's probably been sat on a shelf months before it reaches our home?

[Sue R]

I tend to have a knee-jerk "go to the vet, have a stool sample checked, and do bloodwork" reaction because of personal experience. We had one youngster with recurring soft stools and also appetite issues. He not only had both giardia and hookworm issues that predated my getting him but also turned out to have a genetic issue (which may have been compounded by intestinal damage done by the giardia when he was little) that was revealed by bloodwork.

 

So, while my case was certainly *not* the norm, but rather a combination of a pretty normal problem (two types of parasites) and an uncommon problem (Vitamin B12 malabsorption), if I had checked out his problems more assertively when he was young, he might still be with us.

 

I don't mean to be an alarmist but my experience may make me over-reaction to digestive issues. Very best wishes!

[littlebetty]

Thanks for your advice and it's good to know. I appreciate you letting me know about what you have learn through experience, as I have very little regarding these issues. I'm relatively new to all this, like a spring green! Very helpful indeed.

[Maralynn]

I like feeding a dog a variety of foods BUT if you're dealing with a bit of GI upset then keeping the diet simple for now is best. Once you have that issue sorted out and she's consistently having normal poop for several weeks then look into adding some variety in her diet.

[Gideon's girl]

I feed All Life Stages foods, which are puppy foods, for life. There is nothing in puppy food that an adult dog can't have, much less a puppy, but they do tend to be higher in protein and fat so you need to feed less. I feed a variety of different foods, including kibble, canned, dehydrated, freeze dried, fresh, and raw. This helps to keep their gut used to variety and helps to prevent stomach upset, as well as supporting a wider variety of probiotic strains. However, as Mara said, look into adding variety after you get the issues worked out.

[GentleLake]

Does anybody feed any fresh raw veg to their dogs? Is this something I should be giving to her also .

 

Dogs are carnivores. They don't need vegetables. And while they've evolved to be able to digest carbohydrates, they probably don't break cellulose down efficiently in their guts.

 

So, if you choose to add some veggies, they should be cooked, preferably steamed, or if raw pureed in a blender or food processor to break down the cellulose.

[Gloria Atwater]

Does anybody feed any fresh raw veg to their dogs? Is this something I should be giving to her also . I know kibble is supposed to have everything a dog needs but surely it has to loose some of its nutritional value when it's probably been sat on a shelf months before it reaches our home?

 

 

Vegetables aren't a necessary part of a dog's diet as they are not omnivores like bears or hogs. Plus their gut may not break down vegetable matter well enough to be of any use but filler. Some folks DO use green beans as filler for dogs who need to eat less and lose weight.

 

A good, quality kibble will in most average cases suit a dog quite well. Many working dogs get nothing but for their entire lives and work hard every day. If a dog is working regularly and needs to replenish and recover from exertion, one may of course supplement him with fats and meats, such as sled dog drivers do. But I've never seen where kibble has degraded enough between the plant and the store shelf to be of any real nutritional concern.

 

If, later when your puppy's GI problems are settled, you are still concerned about her nutrition, you might research adding raw feeding to her diet - but again, research. Don't just randomly feed her chunks of meat or that could create new stomach upsets.

 

Good luck!

 

~ Gloria

[Sue R]

My dogs do love some fiber in their diet - beans, asparagus, sweet potato, greens, pumpkin, winter squash, carrots, etc., all cooked. And they are great grazers when there is grass to eat. I don't see anything wrong with fiber in the form of veggies but I'd cook it first to make it more digestible and any nutrients more readily available.

 

I think that while dogs are carnivores, millennia of living with humans and eating opportunistically has given them the "taste" for eating a lot of things that are not conventional carnivore food and that might also provide some nutrition or other benefits.

[Gideon's girl]

Dogs that get constipated get some very good benefits from raw veggies, but that is the only time I recommend raw veggies and that is strictly as a fiber source.

[Tommy Coyote]

Just a mreminder. If you change kible be sure and do it slowly. Don't change over all at once.

[littlebetty]

Thanks all I have taken it all on board. I have had her on a bland diet for the last few days and reduced meals to little and often. She is showing signs of improvement. On Saturday out in the woods she went to toilet and I noticed mucus and some blood in her stool. I rang the vet immediately and he gave me advice on what to do whilst she can't make it for an examination, as he didn't think it needed urgent attention( I really can't afford the out of hours vet at the moment) I will be taking her Tuesday with a 3 day sample to send off to the lab. By signs of improvement I mean that her stools are now firming up again and there is no sign of blood and mucus since. It does clearly suggest that she has some sort of irritation/ inflammation going on tho. She is however seeming as happy and full of energy as always which I am happy about.