Soft-Serve Stool

[elbrant]

@scagnetti said in Soft-Serve Stool:

The top allergies that dogs have are to proteins.

Is there some kind of legit study that proves that dogs are allergic to protein? I get that dogs will eat veggies, but you are suggesting the elimination of protein, grains, potatoes, and rice? Aren't canines carnivores, i.e.; protein eaters, and not vegetarians?

I will agree that too much of anything can be harmful. I'm just not sure about jumping on the "dogs are allergic to meat" bandwagon....

[Roux]

@scagnetti As @tanza and I were discussing earlier, the goal is to be able to switch around basically for every meal between many different brands. That way they get used to eating different foods and there's not a problem running out of their brand and formula. The T28 and Orijen were simply the first foods we purchased and began mixing in different kibbles at about 14 weeks. To answer your question: I was looking for T25, but the shop was out and comparing the ingredients list and analysis (which are absolutely identical) I saw no harm in temporarily feeding the "small/toy" food.
Honestly the yak cheese stick looks very nearly the same today as it did when I first put it in there, meaning she's only been able to gnaw a minute amount of it off, as does the beef rib and the dental stick. She's apparently not a huge chewer! No treats with carbs at all, and only kitchen scraps of veggies and fruit.
She has also been on probiotics since 17 weeks and as said in the above convo, seen a vet who doesn't think it's allergies though he can recommend a specialist if nothing else works.
I did see her poop at the breeder when she was on one sole protein source and it was soft-serve. I'm just so frustrated that not much changed when I moved her off of RC.

Anyway, update! I've started feeding raw chicken wings plus veggies and fruit for one of her two meals, and even though it's been only a few days, HALLELUJAH SOLID POOP!! I was nervous to do this considering the soft-serve problem, but figured one meal wouldn't do a terrible amount of damage. First day, perfect poop! Did this again for the second day, and today is the end of the third day! The wonder of non-processed raw diet!

[Scagnetti]

@elbrant said in Soft-Serve Stool:

@scagnetti said in Soft-Serve Stool:

The top allergies that dogs have are to proteins.

Is there some kind of legit study that proves that dogs are allergic to protein? I get that dogs will eat veggies, but you are suggesting the elimination of protein, grains, potatoes, and rice? Aren't canines carnivores, i.e.; protein eaters, and not vegetarians?

I will agree that too much of anything can be harmful. I'm just not sure about jumping on the "dogs are allergic to meat" bandwagon....

I wasn't suggesting the elimination of protein, I was suggesting the reduction of it. I was however suggesting the elimination of carbohydrates.

Dogs are scavengers. They'll eat whatever they have to in order to survive.

Also, I didn't say that dogs were allergic to meat, I said that proteins are the top allergies that dogs suffer from. This is why there are so many different kind of proteins available i.e. ostrich, kangaroo, rabbit, lamb, alligator, bison, duck, etc.

As for studies, I'm sure you can find some on Google. I wouldn't be surprised if you found studies that report conflicting results.

All the best.

[tanza]

@roux - Now that you tried the chicken raw and veggies/fruits for one of her meals, is she eating her regular food for the other meal and still solid poops? Can you get Natural Balance limited ingredients where you live? I mix up with this in their food.. you can get many of their brands with different food source. But there is nothing wrong with the raw chicken wings and veggies/fruits, however you might need to add supplements for things they might be missing... Do you have a Holistic Vet in your area? They can help with raw feeding... might be worth checking into...

[Roux]

@tanza She's eating raw lunch and kibble dinner. The corresponding poops are very small and firm and slightly looser more Twinkie like. It seems she may be sensitive to how rich the kibbles are. We do indeed have Natural Balance limited ingredient formulas and I'll give that a try for the next bag.
Currently there isn't a holistic vet here but I know one from when I lived in Boston that I can talk to, so we're golden!
I'll keep y'all updated as Roux continues onward on her poop journey :squinting_face_with_tongue: :pile_of_poo:

[tanza]

@roux - Perfect, sounds like a plan!

[tanza]

@roux - Also I have just started to use Purina Pro Plan Small Breed Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach Formula Dry Dog Food, no corn and my adults have really do well with the first bag... it was recommended by another breeder here in No California... if you can get it you might want to try that along with the raw. I also give mine a heaping teaspoon of plain yogurt every day... They think it is a great treat.

[Roux]

@tanza Oh Roux does anything you want for her daily spoon of yogurt hahaha thanks for the tips!

[Roux]

UPDATE! So it's been two weeks after switching over to raw lunch and kibble dinner, and all this time Roux's poop has been completely normal!

The pellets she makes from raw food is surprisingly compact and low odor. She's had chicken wings, beef, pork, mackerel, tilapia, and salmon, plus side dishes of egg, veggies and fruit, with a sprinkling of BARF supplement powder.
I did wind up taking her off of Orijen Puppy, which seemed to be causing more soft-serve than Nutram, and now she's on Wellness Core and Nutram T25 with pinches of Castor & Pollux, Spring Naturals, Merrick, and other grain-free formulas (I get sample packs free from the shop :smiling_face: ). The kibble poop is a little softer than the raw poop, but completely normal and easy to pick up.
For treats she gets dried meats, a small amount of cat food kibble for training, and human goodies like yogurt or kitchen scraps like zucchini ends. For chews she has a dental stick once a week and every day I'll give her a hunk of frozen raw lamb or pork femur to alleviate the teething pain. And that old yak cheese stick is still there, even though she works on it in her crate sometimes. That thing is shortening very, very slowly.

I'm just happy we've finally got control on the number 2 situation... I was worried she was uncomfortable or at least wasn't absorbing properly. Perhaps it was just too much rich kibble? Not sure what the reason is here, but thanks for the help and support everyone!

[Zande]

@scagnetti said in Soft-Serve Stool:

I wouldn't be surprised if you found studies that report conflicting results.

That is almost always the case, isn't it ? One man's meat is indeed another man's poison - - -