(i am putting this in here b/c i feel like it will get the most views, if the mods don't mind leaving it here thanks..)

ok, my dog has the runs...

short run down....

about 5 weeks ago transitioned to full raw. diet consists of ground meat (mostly beef and turkey at this time), chicken necks, gizzards and livers.....with an occasional egg and shell and some plain natural yogurt....

yesterday morning we awoke to a large spot of diarrhea on the floor....took him out and stool was soft again...runny and dark brown....

fed him, thinking it was teh random soft poo that we had seen in the past..

last nite, fed him again...did not poop before bed...woke up again today, same story, large spot of the poo with some smaller drops...

the only thing that has changed in his diet is that i added more necks for the bone content 3 days ago. as per other leerburg user's opinions....and i doubt that this is the issue.

charlie is as energetic as ever, plays, chews toys, and fetches outside as if there is nothing wrong.....

i don't think that the food is compromised, as in spoiled. i am a chef, so, i do know how to handle food..and, aside from that, i have heard on here that a dog's stomach should be able to handle a little sourness...but again, the food is fine...

my only thought is that he is having a reaction to the turkey maybe? i know that there is more ground beef packs made up, and i think that he does fine with that..

i know about the boiled rice and chicken that some have fed in the past for this....so i will feed that tonite.

i am not giving breakfast this morning....just lookin to see if there is anything else that i can do or look for...no worms in stool, no blood, not really watery, just a very loose dark brown thick liquid...

thanks...

Louis, at first look, it seemed there wasn't enough bone but you later said you added more bone. So my first guess would be the ground beef. Do you grind it yourself out of lean cuts? If not, there may be too much fat in it which could cause the problem.

Also, just curious on how much more bone you added and in what form?

ok, the bone content is in the forms of chicken necks...i was feeding 2 necks (~4oz.) with about ~6oz of ground meat and 4-5 pieces of gizzards and livers (mix)...

i added in 3 more neckbones to each meal now...

i just didnt think that the neck bones would cause the runs...the meal is identical with the exception of the added bone....i started that on tuesday...and on thursday nite the poo started...

he took a long time to poop on wed nite throught thursday morning..and didn't go until around 10am on thursday...the stool was fine, except that he had a piece of a sock or something he had in there....

edit: the beef is 80/20 and tue turkey is plain ground turkey that i source at the restaurant....

No, I don't think the extra neck bones would cause the runs. It would actually be helpful in solidifying the aftermath.

The sock may have helped to mask the runs, absorbing a lot of it, and probably is what caused the trouble pooping in the first place.

(Boy, do I know about a fabric loving dog - I have one. I just don't know WHY he loves to eat fabric pieces! Pieces he manages to rip off his bath towels, my poor chaise lounge in the backyard, even paper towels if he can get hold of them, as well as toilet paper off the rack. BIG SIGH here.)

This is what I would do, continue with the poultry and skip the beef with fat in it for 3 days or so, see if it helps. I personally think 20% fat in hamb meat is too much. When I feed my dog hamb meat, it's 93% lean. Fat tends to grease everything up, if you know what I mean.

thanks sandy...i am just miffed....he was fine and all of a sudden BAM!!..the POO...

i thought that maybe b/c we left a marrow bone out for him for over a day that maybe it got a little bacteria on it...and upset his bowels....but i have been told (actually read on here) that is will not affect him...hence the dog burying a bone and getting it a week later thing...

i thawed all of his food in a very quick manner, portioned it, and re-froze it in the meal packets....i know thawing and freezing is not the best method, but again, i know how to handle food and avoid 'time & temperature' abuse....

any more thoughts on what could be causing it...i will cut out the beef/turkey, but agian, i didn't think that would be it...he has been eating this same diet for 5 weeks with no issues...

Louis, if he's been eating the same diet for 5 weeks, then I would be inclined to take in a stool sample to the vet, tell them you want a full check on it, for worms, giardia, whatever. That particular test has a certain name and is more thorough than the regular worm test, and I can't remember the name of it. Sarah Morris and others would know what it's called.

It's possible he picked up something like giardia in some standing or dirty water, or maybe he has worms.

i can do that...i will collect someof the poo and take it to the vet....

i guess i will wait until monday...my vet is not open on sunday, and closes @ noon on sat. i am also going to visit a new vet (hollistic) since i have not found a 'raw friendly' vet yet here in town....

i read about giardia and the only thing i can think of how he got it would have been from sniffing or eating something while on a walk and or if he ate a piece of poop out of the cat litter box...but i don't let him near it at all and keep it secluded....but my cat is not sick...

i would also like to add, i think that this is probably not a diet related issue b/c the times when he has had too rich of a meal, his stool was SOFT like pudding..not WATERY...like it is now....although he seems fine, i will still get him checked out...

louis

Watery would definitely be a concern. Ed has an article explaining the difference, I believe. I have to run (Lear's training day) or I'd try and track it down for you.

 Quote: Louis LaRose

he took a long time to poop on wed nite throught thursday morning..and didn't go until around 10am on thursday...the stool was fine, except that he had a piece of a sock or something he had in there....

Where is the rest of the sock?

A piece of sock coming out, and then liquid diarrhea, would suggest to me that the rest of the sock was maybe causing an obstruction that only liquid can squeeze past.

I'd probably call the vet before they close today.

he only eats a little bit here and there...from tugging...the sock(s) in question are still in place...and he does not have them unsupervised...and i ONLY let him play with them b/c he LOVES them more than ANY OTHER TOY....

one note....

he does not seem to break his necks up to well when chewing them....he does not chew up a piece here and there...he appears to pulverise them and then swallow the whole damn thing...i would cut them up, but that kind of ruins the chewing on bones part about keeping his teeth beautiful and white....he never "chokes" them down, or appears to have any difficulty with them before or after eating them...