Soft stools with Raw?

[Mpup]

Hi.

Molly has been on raw for almost two months now. I have noticed that her poops are still quite soft. She started out on the chicken with bone & Veg and we have also tried some lamb and more recently beef. She seems to prefer the lamb and beef, but they both definitely produce softer stools?

Is this normal? Any suggestions?

[imogene]

Which brand are you feeding her?

The vet I found is a retailer of Urban Carnivore and took the time to cater a menu specifically for Belzie. Which is great as we are new to raw feeding. We seem to have the opposite problem with Belzie, her BMs are too firm, and I have been working with our vet's office to figure out the perfect ratio of Meat/veg she needs.

I am a huge fan of Urban Carnivore now, because they have meat patties and veg patties so I can reduce/ or increase the amount of veg as needed. It also give me the option of making her veg puree myself.

Our Vet is not fond of Chicken mixes - typically they have more bone, and she doesn't agree that small breeds need as much bone as larger breeds, but more bone may be why Molly's BM are firmer on the chicken mix. Fat content is also a consideration with soft stool. I have noticed that some of the fat levels on some Pre-made Raw brands is a bit high, so I would check the fat content, and omit any supplemental oils.

In your position I would probably try her with 1 red meat source only (say beef -for a week). If you're worried about feeding her only meat, then add raw green tripe in a 65:35 meat/tripe ratio. for a couple of days and see what happens. I am learning that not every dog is the same. You have to find out what works for your dog. I appreciate that Raw feeding allows you do do this. I would caution you about introducing too many proteins at once until you know she is OK with them. If she has a sensitivity to beef or lamb it may not show right away - so I would stick with 1 protein for a week or 2 before introducing something new. Belzie is OK with Beef, Chicken, Venison, Buffalo, but she is allergic to salmon. We are going to try Duck in a week or so.

You could also try adding a tbs of canned pumpkin to her food. 1 tbs is great for firming and 3 tbs seems to be magic for easing constipation

[Mpup]

Ahhh. I have been adding a Salmon Oil Supplement as I sometimes see flakes in her black fur - so I thought her skin was dry.

I will try without to see if it helps. I am letting her have one protein for about 2 weeks or more then trying another. The Beef is Calli's Cuisine (75% meat, 20% percent veg, 5% bone dust) I think these are the ratios I recall from the packaging. The lamb and chicken are Natural Instinct. I will experiment with your suggestions and see if it helps. Thanks!

[Roland]

5% bone is not enough bone. The premade raw food that I feed is about 20% bone, which I think tends to be standard.

[gmacleod]

LOL - I would consider even 20% to be on the low side ;)

[Mpup]

Hi,

That is interesting.

What can I add to the food to make up for the low amount of bone? I tried to supplement the food with some raw meaty bones but she won't eat them - only licks at them a few times and walks away.

[gmacleod]

Well, at a pinch you could add some bone meal to the food - at the rate of approx 1 tsp per 500 grams (1 lb). Ground fresh raw bone would be better though, if she really just won't eat any whole ones.

If buying a pre-made food with more bone content isn't an option, you could always consider buying a grinder :) Those will cope with chicken bones without a problem.

[Roland]

Actually, what I feed is 50% muscle meat, 20% bone, 5% offal, and 25% veggies. But I do not feed a veggies mix every meal and supplement with offal sometimes. Is this correct?

[gmacleod]

Actually, what I feed is 50% muscle meat, 20% bone, 5% offal, and 25% veggies. But I do not feed a veggies mix every meal and supplement with offal sometimes. Is this correct?
Correct is always a matter of opinion ;) Within the boundaries of common sense, if it works for your dog, then it's correct.

25% veggies would be on the very high end of the veggie-feeding spectrum. But if you're not feeding veggies every meal, then it's not so high at all. The extra offal is great - I prefer to feed 10-20% offal, so the 5% that comes in that mix would be low IMO. But every single meal doesn't have to be the same, and if it happens to suit you better, you can feed entire meals that are vegetables and the next few with none. That's one of the great things about raw feeding - it is nothing if not flexible.

In short, I think what you're feeding sounds just fine.