Hello everyone,

My sister has been feeding raw for about 1 1/2 years now to 2 of her dogs. She has a 3rd dog that is a Yorkie that she claims cannot handle raw because he gets diarrhea. I've tried to convince her to figure out what is causing it but to no avail. So today my niece breaks out a can of white chunk chicken to feed him and I asked her what else they feed him and she said her mom gives him liver sometimes.

So, will the experts please tell me what the diet is lacking (I'm not smart enough to figure it out but I think calcium is one thing). I'm worried.

Thanks in advance for your help.

The dog needs protein, organs, calcium, roughage, and oils at the very least.

micro sized dogs can be a bit of a challenge to do raw with. It's harder to balance because very simply with such a small meal you need higher protein while at the same time need the calcium to hold that crap together. * lol *

If we're talking a true micro yorkie I would highly suggest grinding everything together to start with until you get portions that the dog is comfortable with. I have one dog that will handle double what the other dogs do, and I have another that can only handle 1/4 of a cup at a time, so even on raw he eats at least 3 times a day. It's just one of the consiquences of taking something that should be 60lbs and reducing it into a 4lb frame.

When you grind you are getting a balance so the dog isn't just cleaning off the muscle and leaving all that calcium behind. Yes you can lose the teeth cleaning aspects but you won't have drippy butts and usually this is a temporary measure.

This is a super unbalanced diet they've got this little dog on. Just due to size he's already naturally more apt to break a bone, they don't need to assist. Suggest what you can. The people factor is always the hardest.

Please don't let this go. This doesn't sound good at all.

ALL he gets is canned chunk chicken and liver sometimes?

If this isn't right, please correct me if I misunderstood.

We need a lot more to go on. Like what has been tried so far and things like that. How was she switched? What foods? How old is the dog? How much does she weigh?

What does she feed the other dogs, out of curiousity?

Any way your sister would join the forum, or at least post under your account for this particular problem?

Might make this get fixed quicker.

 Quote: cathi kemp

Hello everyone,

My sister has been feeding raw for about 1 1/2 years now to 2 of her dogs. She has a 3rd dog that is a Yorkie that she claims cannot handle raw because he gets diarrhea. I've tried to convince her to figure out what is causing it but to no avail. So today my niece breaks out a can of white chunk chicken to feed him and I asked her what else they feed him and she said her mom gives him liver sometimes.

So, will the experts please tell me what the diet is lacking (I'm not smart enough to figure it out but I think calcium is one thing). I'm worried.

Thanks in advance for your help.

This is a disaster. I cannot say any more strongly how bad this is. Melissa nailed it with "super unbalanced."

Yes, you are correct: calcium is a HUGE thing. Canned dog food would be five million times better than this terrible diet.

Good for you that you are helping this dog. I'm sure the owner is simply uninformed, and thank goodness you are speaking up.

I am fervently hoping that this dog is not a puppy. It's bad enough for an adult, but for a puppy whose body is trying to make teeth and lay down bone --

Thanks for replying. I won't let it go this time and I don't think my sister will either. Please hang with me as there are so many bits and pieces to this.

I spoke to my sister last night and she did inform me that they've been finding bones that he's been stealing from the big dogs in my nieces bedroom so he may be getting some calcium. She also told me that when he goes with my niece to her grandmother's house he's eating kibble (I don't know what kind).

Michael: You did not misunderstand me. My niece said he gets only the canned chicken and some liver.

My sister just purchased some bone dust and will be trying that.

She just left for a week vacation this morning so I won't be able to get answers to other questions. I now realize I should have waited until I had all of the information to even open this post. I don't want to waste everyone's time so when she gets back I will find out exactly what she has tried and the answers to Michael's questions and re-open the post.

I do know the other dogs are getting a well balance diet but will get the specifics.

Thanks again. Stay tuned and I'll be back in about a week.

 Quote: cathi kemp

... My sister just purchased some bone dust and will be trying that.

Please do not let her do this. For one thing, the supplementing of calcium is far more picky than supplying it the way it "comes" in RMBs (with a far narrower margin of error than when you feed bones), and for another, bone dust is also phosphorous-containing. That is, the phosphorous in it has to be figured in when the calcium-phosphorous (bone-meat) ratio is determined.

Also, canned chicken is loaded with salt. And even if she bought low-sodium, it's missing many other macro- and micronutrients the dog needs.

There are ways to feed a cooked balanced diet. This is not one of them. (If cooked is what she wants to do, she can PM me for the calcium amounts needed as well as some recipes.)

But at the very least, please try to get her to switch immediately to a canned dog food in the interim. There are some quite good ones (and they are all better than plain canned salty chicken).

Okay, I will pass that info on the bone dust to her.

I did tell her last night that if she can't figure it out that she will probably be better off to put him on a commercial food diet to ensure he gets the proper vitamins and nutrients. I know she will do whatever is needed as long as she understands.

I know you all will help us get him straightened out. Thank you again.

For when you get to ask, we need to know:

How old?

Weight?

How the diet was started? Started with chicken RMB's? Fat/excess skin removed?

How much food daily? How many meals a day?

What did they try feeding?

How long has this been going on? When did they start the diet?

Watery diarrhea? Pudding diarrhea? Mucousy? Was there EVER good stool?

If I think of anything else, I'll add it ASAP.

Get as much detail from her as you can.