11.5 week old GSD pup...she's been here with us 2 weeks, and I've never seen her with solid nugget poops. I was told by her breeder that she did have nice poops before coming here. So...

My questions include, how soon after a trip and transition to a new home, etc, should I be expecting her system to calm down? She has been eating raw chicken leg quarters, with very little skin, for a week or so, after feeding her boiled chicken and rice for a few days. Her poops had gotten nicer, but not entirely solid, before I started her on the raw. Did I transition her too fast? Should I go back to the boiled chicken and rice? She's LOVING the raw chicken, and wasn't real enthusiastic about the boiled chicken and rice the first time around, which is partly why I started the raw before seeing solid poops. She just wasn't eating the boiled stuff well at all. I worried she wasn't getting enough food in her little body.

As for the veterinary side of things, I had her in for fecal testing, and giardia, and she was cleared of everything. We figured at that point her poops were less than solid because of transitions in her little life. However, a week later, she's still not solid, and I have an appointment Monday. Possibly a re-test for giardia, but either way, I feel a push for a prescription kibble will be coming into my life Monday, and I need to know BEFORE then, if possible, that what I am doing for her is the best thing I can be doing...and hopefully, we'll get her solid BEFORE Monday comes, and that won't even be an issue.

Any suggestions, or plans of action to get her solid, would be most appreciated. Thanks!

I'm not so sure about the leg quarters at 11.5 weeks Laurie. I started with softer, non weight bearing bones. Wings, necks, backs. Usually bone firms up poop, but she may be having a problem with the size of them in her digestive track.

Ok, that was actually a thought I had...I was going to get some wings today, but the store was out, and I didn't have enough time to go elsewhere. However, I do have some whole chickens I can thaw out, and cut them up a bit so I can use the wings and backs for her now.

Are you seeing undigested bone in the poop?

Yes, sometimes.

11.5 week old GSD pup...she's been here with us 2 weeks, and I've never seen her with solid nugget poops. I was told by her breeder that she did have nice poops before coming here. So...

What was the breeder feeding?

My questions include, how soon after a trip and transition to a new home, etc, should I be expecting her system to calm down? She has been eating raw chicken leg quarters, with very little skin, for a week or so, after feeding her boiled chicken and rice for a few days. Her poops had gotten nicer, but not entirely solid, before I started her on the raw. Did I transition her too fast? Should I go back to the boiled chicken and rice?

Here's the thing: you have never seen her have good poops, right? (By the way, logs, not nuggets, are the goal. Nuggets could be a step away from too-dry.)

You want to know that she can have perfect logs before you start raw because so much is gauged by the poop. But at this age, the unbalanced nature of a diarrhea diet makes it inappropriate for anything longer than a fairly quick fix.

So ... info needed. How close to perfect logs did she get, and how long did that take, on rice-chicken?

Was she having pudding or water or formed-but-soft when she arrived? What were they like when you switched to raw?

She's LOVING the raw chicken, and wasn't real enthusiastic about the boiled chicken and rice the first time around, which is partly why I started the raw before seeing solid poops. She just wasn't eating the boiled stuff well at all. I worried she wasn't getting enough food in her little body.

As for the veterinary side of things, I had her in for fecal testing, and giardia, and she was cleared of everything. We figured at that point her poops were less than solid because of transitions in her little life. However, a week later, she's still not solid, and I have an appointment Monday. Possibly a re-test for giardia, but either way, I feel a push for a prescription kibble will be coming into my life Monday, and I need to know BEFORE then, if possible, that what I am doing for her is the best thing I can be doing...and hopefully, we'll get her solid BEFORE Monday comes, and that won't even be an issue.

What are the poops like now? Formed/soft, or pudding, or what?

It sounds like you may know how tricky it is to diagnose and how unreliable the usual fecal is for ruling out giardiasis. Do you?

How is her weight? Has she gained any in the two weeks?

Your next step, today/tomorrow, IMO, depends in many ways on what the poops are like now. So .... are they formed-but-soft, or pudding? Are they ever brown water? Are they unusually smelly?

She's not digesting them well and there may be a certain amount in her, not passing. Don't feed her rice, but maybe just a day or two of boiled chicked. Give her a chance to clean out.

 Quote: steve strom

Are you seeing undigested bone in the poop?

 Quote: Laurie Hill

Yes, sometimes.

Also, like Steve, I'm not a big fan of leg quarters as beginner-RMBs at 11 weeks. Can you get chicken backs?

 Quote: steve strom

She's not digesting them well and there may be a certain amount in her, not passing ..... maybe just a day or two of boiled chicked. Give her a chance to clean out.

Something like this would be my recommendation, too (with calcium carefully and appropriately added, which I/we can help you with). But more details about the current state of the poops first.

Just for the ease of it Laurie, I fed the Nature's Variety patties to my Shepherd to get him started, then added things later. Its not too expensive when they're small.