Trouble with digestive system.

[doggie1]

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Since adopting my dog, he's never really had firm stools, first one of the day maybe, but then they went a bit sloppy. Took him to the vet over a week ago, of course he suggested very expensive dog food. I changed his diet from the first food we were giving him as that was clearly not right for him. The vet gave him worming pills which I gave him last Tuesday and we awoke to a mound of poo on Thursday last week. We'd given him rice and boiled egg for two days after the vet visit as he'd been sick a few times, some when we had left him for a couple of hours.
Roll on one week, his poos were still sloppy despite giving him rice and egg again to settle him. I moved him gradually to a complete dog biscuit and awoke this morning to another mound of poo all sloppy, the last one very sloppy. I just don't know what to feed him, at his best he was on Butcher's tripe. the first poo was always solid, the second not so much and the colour of the biscuits I'd mixed the with.

Question, what do you all feed your dogs? I know it's a mixed bag of reactions!

Needless to say, I am taking him back to the vet and I've have scooped up a sample for them to peruse.

 

[JudyN]

Butcher's Tripe isn't the best food - it's mostly 'animal derivatives', which could come from any animal, and any part of the animal, and it scores 2.8/5 on the All About Dogfood website: Butcher's Tripe Mix rated 2.8 out of 5! All About Dog Food

My dog produced piles of sloppy poos on whatever kibble I gave him, and had terrible wind. Switching him to raw cured the problem overnight. He still tends to do a firm poo in the morning and a softer one in the afternoon, but I've come to the conclusion that's just him.

 

[doggie1]

Butcher's Tripe isn't the best food - it's mostly 'animal derivatives', which could come from any animal, and any part of the animal, and it scores 2.8/5 on the All About Dogfood website: Butcher's Tripe Mix rated 2.8 out of 5! All About Dog Food

My dog produced piles of sloppy poos on whatever kibble I gave him, and had terrible wind. Switching him to raw cured the problem overnight. He still tends to do a firm poo in the morning and a softer one in the afternoon, but I've come to the conclusion that's just him.

I know the Tripe isn't that good, which is why I switched him,but he seemed better on it. What exactly do you feed him and how much? I'll do anything to help him. He's very quiet this morning.

 

[JoanneF]

Raw is excellent. Almost all dogs do well on it, and it does result in smaller firmer poos. If for any reason it isn't for you then I suggest a grain free food. Grains are added as fillers and have poor nutritional value so they get passed out, and you get bigger and more frequent poos. Also beware of over feeding, most guides are 'over'.

The website @JudyN mentions is very good, www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

It is an independent dog food comparison website which scores foods on a scale of 0 to 5. You can set filters for your dog's weight, age etc, you can filter out ingredients like grain, and choose to view only the foods scoring, say, 4 and above. Then you can show them listed according to daily feeding cost so you can see what gives you best value for money.

However do be careful about chopping and changing his diet. That itself can cause upsets. I would suggest adding a little low fat, natural live yoghurt to his diet to rebalance his gut flora. I don't know what size he is but I suggest a teaspoon for a small dog, dessert spoon for medium and table spoon for large.

 

[doggie1]

Raw is excellent. Almost all dogs do well on it, and it does result in smaller firmer poos. If for any reason it isn't for you then I suggest a grain free food. Grains are added as fillers and have poor nutritional value so they get passed out, and you get bigger and more frequent poos.

The website @JudyN mentions is very good, www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

It is an independent dog food comparison website which scores foods on a scale of 0 to 5. You can set filters for your dog's weight, age etc, you can filter out ingredients like grain, and choose to view only the foods scoring, say, 4 and above. Then you can show them listed according to daily feeding cost so you can see what gives you best value for money.

However do be careful about chopping and changing his diet. That itself can cause upsets. I would suggest adding a little low fat, natural live yoghurt to his diet to rebalance his gut flora. I don't know what size he is but I suggest a teaspoon for a small dog, dessert spoon for medium and table spoon for large.

We've only changed his food as his needs have forced it. We don't eat meat so it will be difficult but if it helps my dog then maybe we'll have to go down that route. I've looked at the foo site the best foods that come up seem to be the most expensive.

 

[JoanneF]

We've only changed his food as his needs have forced it. We don't eat meat so it will be difficult but if it helps my dog then maybe we'll have to go down that route. I've looked at the foo site the best foods that come up seem to be the most expensive.

Sometimes they look expensive but you feed less of them. What kind of dog is yours, and what is his age and weight?

 

[JudyN]

The first thing you need to do before making any changes, of course, is to make sure that there's nothing actually wrong with him - as you're planning to do with the latest poo sample.

Jasper gets about 600g of mince a day, plus one chicken carcass (what's left of the chicken after head, legs, breast & wings have been removed). The mince can be any of a number of varieties, including (mostly) chicken, lamb, oily fish, offal, heart and so on. He also gets some pureed veg (raw feeders disagree on whether this is beneficial or not) and also - not because he's posh but because hen's eggs upset his tummy - a quail egg. He's a big dog (34kg) and not a good doer, so you'll need to feed a lot less!

The general guideline is to feed between 2 & 3% of the dog's weight per day. Start off with one protein source of mince, like chicken,then introduce other protein sources, bones and offal (especially liver) gradually. The mince should contain bone, as the dog will then develop stronger stomach acid to digest whole bones. The ideal balance is 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other offal, but 'a lot of meat, some bone and a bit of offal including liver' works fine for us

 

[Josie]

From a non raw feeder's point of view, I feed Den James Wellbeloved and he's great on it. I did try switching him to a grain free diet but that upset his stomach and he was doing 3+ poo's a day and they were HUGE!

It's hard I guess because all dogs are so different.

 

[doggie1]

The first thing you need to do before making any changes, of course, is to make sure that there's nothing actually wrong with him - as you're planning to do with the latest poo sample.

Jasper gets about 600g of mince a day, plus one chicken carcass (what's left of the chicken after head, legs, breast & wings have been removed). The mince can be any of a number of varieties, including (mostly) chicken, lamb, oily fish, offal, heart and so on. He also gets some pureed veg (raw feeders disagree on whether this is beneficial or not) and also - not because he's posh but because hen's eggs upset his tummy - a quail egg. He's a big dog (34kg) and not a good doer, so you'll need to feed a lot less!

The general guideline is to feed between 2 & 3% of the dog's weight per day. Start off with one protein source of mince, like chicken,then introduce other protein sources, bones and offal (especially liver) gradually. The mince should contain bone, as the dog will then develop stronger stomach acid to digest whole bones. The ideal balance is 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other offal, but 'a lot of meat, some bone and a bit of offal including liver' works fine for us

Thanks. Do you buy all of the food yourself?

Sometimes they look expensive but you feed less of them. What kind of dog is yours, and what is his age and weight?

He's about 2, a Patterdale and 8.5 kg

 

[doggie1]

Thanks for all of your replies.

From a non raw feeder's point of view, I feed Den James Wellbeloved and he's great on it. I did try switching him to a grain free diet but that upset his stomach and he was doing 3+ poo's a day and they were HUGE!

It's hard I guess because all dogs are so different.

I've heard of a few people using that. It only has a 3.5 ish rating on the site though.

 

[JoanneF]

Well, my search indicates £1.08 A day on Butchers. This search result based on your dog, grain free (dry, wet or raw) and scores of only above 4 might give you some ideas, many of them are well below the cost you are currently paying so a better food isn't necessarily expensive. A lot of these smaller companies don't have marketing costs.

The Dog Food Directory - now listing 1753 dog foods!

At the end of the day the food that suits your dog and suits your budget is by definition the best one for your dog. I feed Gentle, a cold pressed food and it works well for me and also @arealhuman. If you contact them they will send samples, but I don't know if you would get enough to let your dog settle into it.

Raw doesn't have to be messy, you can get frozen free-flowing raw.

But after ruling out anything medical, I still suggest yoghurt, cutting down a little and grain free.

 

[JudyN]

Thanks. Do you buy all of the food yourself?

He's about 2, a Patterdale and 8.5 kg

I get it all from a local company: Nurturing By Nature BARF Diet Raw Natural Dog Cat Pet Food There's lots of other companies around, though. I just dollop out the meat, as you would any wet dog food, and take the carcass out of its wrapper, so it's very easy and non-messy. You can also get raw complete, like Nutriment, or frozen complete nuggests, though of course it means it's harder to balance if your dog doesn't do well on the 'ideal' rations.

At 8.5kg, your dog would need up to 250g a day, which with my supplier would probably work out around £1-£1.50 a day depending on the type of mince. You'd also probably be better off with chicken wings than carcasses, otherwise one carcass would do him for a day, and might be a bit high in bone.

 

[doggie1]

I get it all from a local company: Nurturing By Nature BARF Diet Raw Natural Dog Cat Pet Food There's lots of other companies around, though. I just dollop out the meat, as you would any wet dog food, and take the carcass out of its wrapper, so it's very easy and non-messy. You can also get raw complete, like Nutriment, or frozen complete nuggests, though of course it means it's harder to balance if your dog doesn't do well on the 'ideal' rations.

At 8.5kg, your dog would need up to 250g a day, which with my supplier would probably work out around £1-£1.50 a day depending on the type of mince. You'd also probably be better off with chicken wings than carcasses, otherwise one carcass would do him for a day, and might be a bit high in bone.

Thanks.

 

[doggie1]

Well, my search indicates £1.08 A day on Butchers. This search result based on your dog, grain free (dry, wet or raw) and scores of only above 4 might give you some ideas, many of them are well below the cost you are currently paying so a better food isn't necessarily expensive. A lot of these smaller companies don't have marketing costs.

The Dog Food Directory - now listing 1753 dog foods!

At the end of the day the food that suits your dog and suits your budget is by definition the best one for your dog. I feed Gentle, a cold pressed food and it works well for me and also @arealhuman. If you contact them they will send samples, but I don't know if you would get enough to let your dog settle into it.

Raw doesn't have to be messy, you can get frozen free-flowing raw.

But after ruling out anything medical, I still suggest yoghurt, cutting down a little and grain free.

It's cheaper than that where I get it from, but ultimately we want the dog to be fit and healthy so we might have to pay more.

 

[doggie1]

My dog had a fit this morning. Of course,I've been to the vet with him.

 

[JudyN]

Sorry to hear that, doggie1. What did the vet say?

 

[doggie1]

Sorry to hear that, doggie1. What did the vet say?

He said it could be a one off, but we have to monitor him. Outlined what could have caused and what he'll do if he has another one or cluster before 3 months. I also discussed his diet and he was happy with what I've started feeding him and how to start it gradually with the rice and egg I've been giving him. If he's still having sloppy poos at the end of three weeks to phone up for a prescription diet. I also mentioned his anal glands and he expelled the excess fliid.

I didn't take him for a walk this morning as the fit started just as I had put on his harness. I thought he was dying! I put my coat on half an hour ago and he wasn't interested so I'm letting him sleep, he may have a headache or something. I'll try him later, he can always just go out in the garden if he wants to. He can choose today.

 

[JoanneF]

Sorry to hear about this. Going back to your first post, when you said you had wormed him, had he been regularly wormed before? Did your vet speak about a tapeworm burden being a *possible* cause of seizures?

 

[doggie1]

Sorry to hear about this. Going back to your first post, when you said you had wormed him, had he been regularly wormed before? Did your vet speak about a tapeworm burden being a *possible* cause of seizures?

I don't know about worming prior to us getting him. The vet didn't mention anything about worms,I told him the dog's history.

 

[JoanneF]

Have you only just got him?