2nd try at raw a strange problem....

hi Buddy was 5 months when I tried raw before and it did not go well..He began messing his crate and not being able to hold his poop.. it was not runny as such (not watery) just loose and lots of it.. he would eat his mince and within half an hour be pooping he would go at least 6 times a day often with only half hours apart it was as if he wasn't digesting it at all - I put him back on a good grade kibble and we have two poops a day but he isn't eating enough of it to sustain his weight ..so my question is....

what do I start him on 2nd time around to avoid so many poops and a messy crate ?

I started him on Basils and then moved to Nutriment before so will steer away from them, as people have said Basils with veg and nutriment can /has upset dogs tummies

so I was thinking natural instinct but instead of chicken - trying turkey but do I add extra bone because of his pooping and if so what can I add if I want to stay away from Chicken in case it was a reaction to that ..

or do I start with chicken mince complete and no additional bone and see how we go this time round ,?

I really want to get it right this time but am scared where to begin as I was getting up two or three times a night to clean his crate and during the day and cant be doing that again ..

I have read about what to do if very runny or constipated but not if it is ok but too often???

help.......thank you

Did you do it straight off before, Carol, or did you introduce it gradually? I know there is a theory that you don't mix the two but it seems that's a bit of a myth.

I would try adding just a little chicken mince to his current food, literally just a spoonful, for a couple of days, then building it up to get his stomach used to it.

What kibble is he on, by the way?

yes, i think you either started too quickly, didn't include enough bone or fed too much.

also, it depends what meat you fed. a lot of people don't realise that dogs can be intolerant of certain meats, the most common of which is poultry.

Buddy is on Millies wolfheart gamekeeper or salmon I alternate the two - I tried him on natural instincts chicken mince this weekend -he still pooped more than I would have expected with raw but..he didnt mess his crate and his poop was normal -but... he didn't like the mince texture it got stuck to the roof of his mouth and after one mouthful he wouldn't go near it unless I hand fed him but I noticed he was just swallowing it not actually eating it then he had hic cups after it .he kept going back to his kibble box and asking for some .. , so I think he is ok on chicken no allergic reaction but not a fan of mince , not sure I could do full DIY at this early stage so any suggestions could I give kibble in the morning and a raw treat such as a chicken quarter or Lamb rib in the evening to build his diet up or is mixing the two a no no they would be fed about 8 hours apart ?

it used to be said that you shouldn't feed commercial & raw, but i think now they say that you can as long as it's separate meals.

if you go that way, don't forget that you'll have to reduce the amount of kibble you normally feed.

feeding raw is quite easy once you get the hang of it - 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% offal (and half the offal should be liver). the amounts don't have to be exact, especially with the bone - too much bone & his poo will be hard & whitish, too little and he'll have soft, dark poos.

thanks I think I might start with a little kibble in the morning and then pieces of a night to get him used to eating pieces of meat with bone as he is not sure what to do with them - should I stick to just chicken pieces or have a mixture ? the 80 10 10 rule is that every meal every day or over the total amount to be fed in a week ? I get so confused when reading up about it ....I have been looking at NDD this morning they do bone packs maybe that's a place to start maybe he will prefer chunks to mince...

the 80 10 10 is an average - over a week, or even a month.

I don't much like the ready mixed minces as you can't 'tweak' the amounts, and many dogs don't like the texture.

plus, of course, one of the pluses of raw feeding is clean teeth, which are due to the dog ripping & tearing raw meat. the texture if raw meat pulls the dirt off the teeth, whereas mince doesn't.

ok thanks I will have a think about what to do I think it is just a bit daunting and with his previous poop issues I am wary of what to give him .Should I start with the 80 10 10 to include offal from day one or stick to just chicken meat and wings/quarters for the first week or month before adding the offal as I have heard some dogs have a dodgy tum on it and buddy does not need help in that dept

Oh you poor thing, there's nothing worse than having to clear up all that mess all the time.

Just a quick tip, my breeder told me to get some Pro-Kolin for upset tummies to firm them up. You just add to their dinner and can get it from Tesco online, quite reasonable. My Frenchie had terrible tummy and this really helped.

Also some dogs just can't get on with some food, so just go for what works. My dog can't digest kibble and throws it straight back up so whatever works stick with it.

thanks I will look for that in case - we are three weeks in now and he is not doing too bad he is still probably going to poop more than expected on raw but they are not loose and he is staying clean in his crate ... we have had one day of sickness and one day of runny poops but I think that was just new proteins, he is on DAF mince at the minute but may move him to Paelo Ridge as he really liked the one of theirs I tried- cant get him to crunch a bone yet or eat a chunk of meat he just throws it around but we are getting there I think , eating much better than when he was on kibble... fingers crossed I haven't just jinxed it LOL