[magicre]

it's now been three weeks of stripping skin and excess fat off of whatever both of them are eating...

every time i try to add a little more meat, they get mucus....forgive me, but it looks like a condom is holding the soft soft stool together...and sometimes, it's like clear jelly....

forgive the graphics....but to know it is to understand and may be help...

they get chicken backs and drumsticks and drummettes and now turkey necks....

they are getting way too much bone but that's what keeps their stools looking like stools...and keeps bubba from having urgency....

also, bubba's stools have undigested bone fragments...is that because the little brat barely gnaws or mashes?

 

[DaneMama]

Every dog is different which means that some dogs will need more bone than others, especially in the first few months. Your dogs are still very new to raw feeding so soft stool and bone fragments are normal. The better dogs chew and mash the bones the less you will see bone fragments but they are certainly not something to panic about. We very occasionally will see a fragment or two with our dogs who are very experienced raw eaters. You can try and continue to give a bit more meat than bone for 4-5 days in a row (not increasing that amount) and see if they normalize and get used to it.

 

[Spaz]

I'm not sure how you guys feel about canned pumpkin (not the filling!) here but it works great for my pup. Have you tried giving your dogs pumpkin to see if it helps? It works both ways meaning if your dog is constipated it will help get things moving too.

 

[jdatwood]

We don't like masking the problem with things like pumpkin. Typically with PMR you can make some simple adjustments and resolve the issue altogether.

 

[magicre]

i used to give them pumpkin..i don't anymore...they are off the antibiotics for giardia and have been now for well over a month.

if i were to give them a piece of chicken....just plain chicken, like a bite, in addition to the backs they get....over time they would get used to it? does that sound like a plan?

it's not that they don't get any flesh at all....but everything they get is more bone than anything substantial....even though they aren't losing a lot of weight, they are losing weight.

and their stools are one extreme to another....as i described and won't go into that detail again LOL....

but the one good piece of news is they are no longer liquid....which is an improvement.

who would have thought two dogs....would have the same problem...i hoped that one would transition smoothly....but noooooooooooooooooooo

 

[magicre]

Every dog is different which means that some dogs will need more bone than others, especially in the first few months. Your dogs are still very new to raw feeding so soft stool and bone fragments are normal. The better dogs chew and mash the bones the less you will see bone fragments but they are certainly not something to panic about. We very occasionally will see a fragment or two with our dogs who are very experienced raw eaters. You can try and continue to give a bit more meat than bone for 4-5 days in a row (not increasing that amount) and see if they normalize and get used to it.

with bubba, that's kind of his deal...he's so food driven....and even though it's comical that he tries to swallow everything whole and barely does any masticating....i sometimes wonder if constant regurgitation won't harm his throat and esophagus over time, kind of like a bulemic....

now that i think about it though...something must be happening in there, because he is a one chomp and swallow and the fragments are just that...so maybe that's the good news on him...

 

[harrkim120]

\i sometimes wonder if constant regurgitation won't harm his throat and esophagus over time, kind of like a bulemic....

Haha...Brady does the exact same thing. He will regurgitate his food pretty much at least once every meal, if not two or more times.

He's been doing that for about 3 or 4 months now, and his throat is still holding up.....:biggrin:

 

[magicre]

Haha...Brady does the exact same thing. He will regurgitate his food pretty much at least once every meal, if not two or more times.

He's been doing that for about 3 or 4 months now, and his throat is still holding up.....:biggrin:

they become one with the food, don't they LOL

 

[DaneMama]

I think repeated regurgitation is common among brachycehpalic dogs, which is the case for both of your dogs. I don't think you should worry about this harming his throat over time.

 

[harrkim120]

they become one with the food, don't they LOL

Not as much as yours. He doesn't want to touch it with his paws. He thinks he's too good for that.

I think repeated regurgitation is common among brachycehpalic dogs, which is the case for both of your dogs. I don't think you should worry about this harming his throat over time.

Oh, I'm not worried about it. I just think it's funny. :biggrin:

 

[magicre]

well, dancing with food is very funny....he twirls and does use his feet....by the time he's done, he needs a bath....it really is a riot...

glad to hear the regurgitation is 'nuthin but a thang'.....i have enough to worry about...

what i am doing as of today...

4 a.m. is when they get up...yes, it's a tragedy, but honey has a long commute...so we all get up at the same time...

when they get back from their first walk, they get an alaskan salmon oil gelcap, which they eat like candy.

today i gave them two bite size pieces of chicken breast...no bone and just two pieces.

they will go out again around 7 a.m. for their 1/2 mile walk...and then eat breakfast.
malia: chicken back
bubba: chicken back

excess fat and skin removed, since that was a problem before

then at 4 p.m.
malia: drumstick + turkey neck piece
bubba: drummettes (2) + turkey neck piece.

all in all, malia gets approximately 10 oz of food per day....36 pounds
and bubba gets approximately 6 oz of food per day ......18 pounds

how does that sound?

 

[harrkim120]

Sounds pretty good to me. :biggrin:

I'm jealous though...Brady only weighs 25 pounds, but he needs one pound a day to stay the correct weight. Friggin' active doggie. LOL

 

[magicre]

i am purposely underfeeding at the moment.....i'm sure my dogs aren't as active as yours is.....but, on advice, too much raw in the beginning can have some real devastating effects....so unless they appear to be starving and losing too much weight...they'll just be a little hungry for a few months...

 

[harrkim120]

i am purposely underfeeding at the moment.....i'm sure my dogs aren't as active as yours is.....but, on advice, too much raw in the beginning can have some real devastating effects....so unless they appear to be starving and losing too much weight...they'll just be a little hungry for a few months...

Yeah...nothing wrong with that. Brady took to raw like a fish to water. I was and still am amazed at how accepting his body has been to all this. :smile:

 

[magicre]

well, they ARE doing a whole lot better than they did the first time around.

i think there is a correllation between fearful anxious dogs and how well they adapt to change....

stress is key to humans and their intestines...i don't see why it wouldn't affect dogs, too.