I thought dogs fed raw produced less poo

[carol pearson]

Ozzy has been on raw (NI) for about 4 months and everything seemed fine, he enjoys it and seems to have more energy.
He did get slightly constipated but I give him cooked fish every fourth teatime and that sorted him.
But I have one concern, I thought that raw fed dogs have less and smaller poo, or would this just apply to dogs on complete raw with bone.   
Ozzy has always gone twice per day but he now goes 3 times and they are larger than normal.

I am not sure why this is, could it be because it is not really suiting him.

I would appreciate any thoughts on this. 

[Abbi]

My dog has been on raw NI too but her poos are definitely smaller than on kibble. She still goes Twice a day mostly but they are smaller and firmer now. Does Ozzy have any treats that could be causing bigger poos?

Sorry not much help xx

[elaine.e]

Mine have NI about half the time and other raw food the rest of the time. They both definitely poo less frequently and usually less quantity than when they were kibble fed. William is a real scrounger (always has been, when kibble fed and still like it now when raw fed) and likes to supplement his raw diet with horse poo, rabbit poo, guinea pig poo and anything else that takes his fancy so he sometimes produces more poo than Louis. They both also have a couple of bedtime biscuits.

If Ozzy is thriving on his new diet then I wouldn't worry. Maybe he's a secret scrounger like William

[carol pearson]

Ozzy has a small handfull of Wainrights kibble for treats through the day and a couple of fish twists.
He used to eat horse poo when he was a pup but not any longer.

I am just concerned he is not retaining all the goodness of the raw food.
Although his poos are nice and firm mostly except the last one of the day which is usually a bit soft.

I have also noticed that for the last couple of days he has started to eat grass which usually a sign that his tummy is a upset.

I think I might try a change of diet for a while,  probably Wainrights wet, and see how he goes.

[ollie nathan's mum]

Ollie usually poohs once or twice a day, I would think that the kimble you are feeding is causing the problem (although a lot of dogs go 3 times a day)
I wouldn't change to a wet dog food, I think you might just cause problems.

[carol pearson]

Hi, Ozzy used to have problems with a sensitive stomach, with very soft poo covered in slimmy clear mucous . On vets advice I fed him pasta and scrambled egg for a while and that seemed to sort him out. I then tried Wainwrights salmon and potato am and cooked white fish pm, he was on this for months, poos were absolutely fine and twice per day but I thought raw would be better for him.

As I said he was ok to begin with with but then started pooing 3 times per day and we have just come back from a walk and there was some greeny/yellow mucous, so something is not right.

I am not sure what to do, I might even have to go back to Wainwrights and cooked fish. Although I am not a great fan of dried food.

[elaine.e]

Could you try limiting him to 1 source of protein for a while? If you stuck to just one type of NI for a couple of weeks, perhaps working turkey as turkey seems to be tolerated by many dogs, to see if that makes any difference. If you think that might make him constipated try buying some tinned unsweetened pureed pumpkin and add about a tablespoon to each meal.

It's going to be very difficult to discover what's causing the problem without eliminating foods for a period of time. At the moment Ozzy is having mainly raw food, but is also having some kibble and fish twists every day and cooked fish every 4th day, which is a mix of things, so perhaps it's a combination of two or more of the various foods that's the problem? Please don't think that's a criticism from me, as my two have a bit of a mix as well, 2 meals of raw per day plus a cow ear or bull pizzle as a treat and a couple of biscuits before bedtime.

Hope you can find a solution soon

[carol pearson]

thanks elaine, I always appreciate your comments.

Because Ozzy needs to loose weight he has been on NI Special Diet and although I have not weighed him he looks to have lost a bit, which I am really pleased about.

He was on fish and Wainrights for months so I know they suit him. I think I will put him back on this for a while and then as you suggest introduce NI turkey.

[Chillis]

it's funny you say he's on special diet one, it also makes peppers poos weird & massive! though none of the others do- infact I'm trying to sell my tubs of special diet!
I'd try a different one 'flavour'

[carol pearson]

That is very interesting Chillis, thank you. I will try the turkey suggested by Elaine.

Could I ask what other flavours do you feed?

[Anita D]

I didn't know that NI did a special diet, just found it online and had a look at the ingredients. 50% tripe! Mine would have diawotsits on that, not sure why but they can't do that much offal in a meal.  . Think it would definitely be worth trying one with 10% or less offal or just mixing in a small amount of offal to a meal a couple of times a week. Liver in particular is supposed to be very nutritionally beneficial for them.

Good luck with whatever you decide. 

[elaine.e]

I usually buy working chicken, working turkey and working chicken and tripe. I think the chicken and tripe is their favourite. They like the duck and lamb varieties but I don't buy them often as they're quite a lot higher in fat. I add lamb or chicken livers twice a week, feeding 50% NI + 50% liver for that one meal. Liver is the one thing they're not keen on but happily eat it when it's mixed with something else. They have lamb heart once a week. I buy a pack of 2 frozen lamb hearts in Waitrose and each heart is about the right size for a Cocker meal. I don't chop them up but use a knife to do a bit of surgery and open them out so that they're a bit flatter, then feed them like that. Heart is quite rubbery and it gives them something to chew on that lasts a bit longer than a meal of mince.

Louis has chicken wings or chicken back or neck as a meal once or twice a week. William doesn't as he bolts bony meals down without chewing thoroughly and then gets constipated. But some of the NI and other minces that I use have bone in them, so I'm sure he gets enough bone in his food.

[Chillis]

We do chicken & tripe, turkey & tripe, beef & salmon are our main ones but give all of them & bones ect yum yum

[carol pearson]

thanks everyone for your advice