For those of you who feed greentripe or know about feeding greentripe, do you feed it alone or should it be mixed with some other meat in the same meal? Am wondering about the nutritional value of serving greentripe alone. I don't feed it often, am still working on the 5 lbs I bought 2 months ago.

Also, it seems my pup has a sensitivity to beef, seems to give him pudding stools, sometimes diarrhea, so I give him mostly chicken and turkey, some rabbit. He gets bones in form of chicken wings and turkey necks and have found a source close-by for chicken backs so that will be added. He gets supplements everyday. Anyone know of dogs that have problems with beef? I guess the fat in beef could be the problem, so I try to give him the lean ground beef or Omaspride beef mix, but still notice a problem. Have had 3 stool samples analysed, 2 flotation, 1 comprehensive to check for giardia, all clear. Still the diarrhea comes and goes, days of normal stool, then suddenly a short bout with it again, lasting a day. It seems linked to beef, but not sure. Would like to give him the beef protein, but maybe the chicken and turkey is good enough protein long term?
Thanks for your help.

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He gets supplements everyday.

What supplements are you giving.. Might be giving too much vitmain C??? <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Try the elimination diet. If you think it's the beef, try feeding only chicken for a while. Then add in a small amount of beef and see what happens. If you notice a change, you'll narrow down the culprit. I, personally, think hamburger, even lean-ground, is more tummy sensitive than say, beef heart. Pork even more so, in my opinion. I know some people here who don't feed beef at all, so I'm sure they can give you some good alternatives, if that's what you find to be the problem.

My dog is on an elimination diet now for allergies. It seems that I may have found the allergen - beef. He had itchy paws for about a year. No matter what I did in terms of elimination and medication, it did not stop until I eliminated the beef. And, I think it was the beef that gave him liquidy type stools. He always had that type of stool and I finally stopped it by giving him only chicken and some venison once or twice a week.

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He gets supplements everyday.

What supplements are you giving.. Might be giving too much vitmain C??? <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Too much C can indeed cause the runs as the body eliminates the excess. That's easy to check by stopping any C supplements for a few days and watching the results.

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Try the elimination diet. If you think it's the beef, try feeding only chicken for a while. Then add in a small amount of beef and see what happens. If you notice a change, you'll narrow down the culprit. I, personally, think hamburger, even lean-ground, is more tummy sensitive than say, beef heart. Pork even more so, in my opinion. I know some people here who don't feed beef at all, so I'm sure they can give you some good alternatives, if that's what you find to be the problem.

I don't feed beef regularly, or pork.

Chicken, turkey, lamb, rabbit, fish, and other meats are excellent protein sources, IMO. In fact, it's hard to picture a bunch of wild dogs taking down steer as a regular dinner. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> (OK, I don't see them catching many fish, either......... I just mean I'm pretty sure they can go for a looooong time with no beef.)

John, supplements are kelp, alfalfa, salmon oil, vit E (200 units), vit C (the one sold here at Leerburg). Dose for vit C says 1/2 tsp daily for small animals, which I serve half of that in AM, half in PM. I have wondered about the C, whether it's too much cause bottle says 1/2 tsp contains 2000 mg Calcium Ascorbate (as 1700 mg of Ascorbic Acid & 300 mg of Calcium Bicarbonate), which to me seems quite a bit since I myself take only 500 mg of Calcium Ascorbate (Ester C) daily. Although even on this constant dose, he is regular about 60% of the time. I still suspect the large dose however.

Jan and Judy, I will eliminate beef entirely for say 3 weeks (?), see if that works. I didn't realize beef could be tummy sensitive and that some don't even feed it. The pattern does seem that when fed beef, the pup develops a problem the next day, which makes it hard to trace to the beef, since I would expect the problem to show up the same day. But I do suspect the beef as well as the vit C. Personally, I'd have a hard time feeding raw pork and haven't done it. Thanks for the heads up on beef.

So, should I cut the vit C dose in half as well as eliminate the beef at the same time? Or just do one at a time?

Also, any thoughts on the greentripe question?

I'm guessing from your answers that chicken and turkey protein is enough for long term maintenance since some don't even feed beef?

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Too much C can indeed cause the runs as the body eliminates the excess. That's easy to check by stopping any C supplements for a few days and watching the results.

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I don't feed beef regularly, or pork.

Chicken, turkey, lamb, rabbit, fish, and other meats are excellent protein sources, IMO. In fact, it's hard to picture a bunch of wild dogs taking down steer as a regular dinner. (OK, I don't see them catching many fish, either......... I just mean I'm pretty sure they can go for a looooong time with no beef.)

Thanks Connie; should I eliminate the C entirely, or halve the dose?
I laughed when you mentioned wild dogs taking down a steer, cause I had the same thought....I just couldn't see them doing it, so wondered why they would need beef at all <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Same thing with the fish. That would be some dog, catching a fish. Thanks for the alternative sources of protein - I keep forgetting about fish and lamb, since I only sometimes eat fish, and never eat lamb. It's good to hear they can go a long time with no beef.

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..........Thanks Connie; should I eliminate the C entirely, or halve the dose?...... I laughed when you mentioned wild dogs taking down a steer, cause I had the same thought....I just couldn't see them doing it, so wondered why they would need beef at all <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Same thing with the fish. That would be some dog, catching a fish. Thanks for the alternative sources of protein - I keep forgetting about fish and lamb, since I only sometimes eat fish, and never eat lamb. It's good to hear they can go a long time with no beef.

I'd eliminate it and see what happens. It won't take long. Then add it back slowly, in small increments.

Since beef is a less "efficient" protein than poultry and fish, I've never considered it to be essential for dogs. JMO.

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I'd eliminate it and see what happens. It won't take long. Then add it back slowly, in small increments.

Since beef is a less "efficient" protein than poultry and fish, I've never considered it to be essential for dogs. JMO.

I like learning this stuff, and didn't know beef protein was less efficient. Since this is the first time I've fed RAW to a dog, I have a lot to learn. Hope he doesn't suffer along the way. Oh, and I'll eliminate the C for now and add it back in slowly. Is a week enough time to eliminate it?

Another question, how do I know he's getting enough calcium for his growing bones? That's a concern I forgot to mention.