Hi, Jen!
The straining when your dog poops may just still be your dog adjusting
to raw. Or, it may well be that *for *her, the amount of bone you were
feeding was too much. Stool that is hard, but not chalky or crumbly,
ime, is pretty OK. I back off of bonier meals if it gets crumbly or
chalky, but lack of daily poops is no indication of constipation. Bone
pieces in the poop just means that she is getting more bone than her
digestive system can handle, right now. There is just very much less
indigestible material that has to be eliminated in a raw diet. Think
of it this way; if you've ever seen a breast fed baby's poo - there is
very little of it, and the smell is not unpleasant. This is because
breast milk is an appropriate food, almost completely digestible. The
stool is runny because it reflects what is going in, a liquid with a
little solid matter. So a dog's stool will be harder with more bone,
less hard with more meat, and the volume and frequency will be very
decreased from when kibble fed due to the high percentage of
digestibility and appropriateness. Poop frequency varies on a raw diet
- it depends on the individual dog. Wait for her new pooping habits to
emerge. : )
I would have added a bit of chicken liver, maybe a quarter to a half,
and a heart and gizzard at each meal for a few days to effect softer,
more easily eliminated stools. Not egg, beef liver & pork all at once
to a newbie dog's diet. We humans do like to see quick results! But
maybe not, after we find out what the results are!; )
So, the throwing up may be reflective of all the new stuff that you've
fed her recently. She may just not have been ready for it all. NPs,
just back off, and feed more bone in chicken breasts for a few days.
When she horks up, what does it look like? ewwww. : ) No, really. A
lot of chunky meat and bones? NP, it just wasn't sitting well, let her
eat it again, if she will. It should sit better the second, or third
time down. If she doesn't eat it again, she may just be concerned that
you are upset with her or have been in the past when this happened.
Stay in the room, but pretend not to see her, until she either eats it
or 10-15 minutes has passed. If there are bone chunks but not much
else in the vomitus, then she's just getting rid of bone that isn't
digesting completely yet.
When does she hork up? Right after a meal, hours later, before the
next meal? right after a meal may mean that she has eaten more than
her stomach is used to, or that it isn't sitting well. Let her eat it
again. Hours later with yellow bile and bone chunks just means that
her stomach is tossing out what it can't digest right then. If she
brings up yellow bile and and nothing else before the next meal, she's
ridding herself of stomach acids that were produced too soon before a
meal happened. This is often the result of a rigid feeding schedule,
and maybe that the dog is used to kibble sitting in its stomach for
hours. All are pretty usual happenings that disappear with time and
experience eating raw. Varying a dog's 'schedule' of feeding can help
with the yellow bile vomit. Removing visible fat or skin temporarily
from the meals and gradually leaving more and more on as time goes on
can help a dog acclimate to raw more easily, also.
If you are concerned after a vomiting episode, as in; the dog is
vomiting repeatedly or is acting uncomfortable or there are other
symptoms of illness or things just don't seem right - call the vet.
But, that said, if the dog doesn't seem uncomfortable, you can fast
for a meal or a day, offer plenty of water, observe the dog and
rethink what you have been feeding.
I don't think any breed of dog is more prone to constipation than
another. If the diet is not optimal, or the dog's anal sacs are
expressed manually by a groomer or handler frequently, that can cause
constipation, imo.
Itching can be caused in some dogs if the chicken you are feeding has
been enhanced or injected with salt solutions, seasonings or
flavorings. Read the labels before you buy. Or, it can caused by
inhalant allergies due to the season. The throwing up could also have
been precipitated by the enhancements in the chicken, if there were
any. Or, sometimes, dogs can be sensitized to chicken and not react
well to it. If you suspect it is that reason that is causing your
dog's itching, switch to another protein; maybe turkey or pork or
rabbit - for at least a week. You can reintroduce the chicken question
a few months down the road, she may be totally fine with it then.
We were all beginners once!
People do mix meats in a meal, but ime, this should be done with only
dogs and pups experienced in eating raw. Please stay with one protein
source for at least a week, with no kibble, additives or supplements,
before adding another protein source. You should be feeding mostly
meat and a little bone at this point. Not every meal should have bone
in it, and not all the bone offered needs to be eaten at every meal.
You don't need worry about feeding organs right away - you can feed
through the introductory and adjustment process with several proteins
before starting to add organs. You will have the rest of your dog's
lifetime to balance her diet - remember, with raw, balance can happen
in weeks or months, not every day. Or, you can add a bit of organ of
the same protein when you feed, after a week. By a bit, I mean maybe a
teaspoon, increasing gradually. Organ can be loosening, but some
experienced dogs can handle an all organ meal. I feed heart to my dog
as a meatymeat meal, but know there is going to be softer stools from it .
Any time I introduce a protein that is new to my dog, even when they
are experienced in eating raw, I feed it exclusively for a week. I'm
cautious, and like to know if it is going to cause any trouble.
I introduce egg separately, as a different protein, in a succeeding
week of feeding chicken. (if they are chicken eggs) Eggs are a good
source of protein, but some dogs, especially newbies, need some time
to acclimate. I don't feed them regularly, or as complete meals, but
some people can and do. The shells are fine to feed, if your dog will
eat them.
Liver is the easier organ to get, but should only make up about 2-5%
of the total of about 10% in the diet. Heart is a great muscle meat,
and gizzards are fed as muscle, too. Kidneys and sweet breads are good
organs to feed.
Well, Jen, I HTH. Post if you got questions!
Giselle
with Bea in New Jersey
> hi all,
> jolene (lab mix, 50#) has been eating mostly chicken leg quarters,
thighs and breasts.
<snip>
> anyhoo, if there are any suggestions, i'd love to know. also, this
may be a silly question
> but i am a beginner: do people mix meats at meals?
>
> *thanks*
> jen & jolene
>
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