Hello Everyone,

I hope someone here can give me some advice or ease my mind. I am transfering my puppy to a raw diet. We started on chicken leg quarters (I know a lot of people say to start on backs but the order the butcher placed did not come in so we started on quraters).

Just letting him get used to chicken for now. I want to make sure we have no food allergies and try not to overload the GI. He is also on 1 Proviable probiotic a day Rx from the vet to help with the transition.

Day 1
We started off with what I call normal kibble poops. I feel the poops were still what was left from the last kibble dinner coming through the night before.
Breakfast was served at 9am. 0.4 pounds chicken leg quarter.
When he pooped next at 3pm it was almost like a water dump of olive green/light brown poop. It sounded like a small cup of water dumped the ground. Smelled horrible. He acted fine though. Still wagging the tail and being sweet and playful. No signs he felt bad.
Now from what I have read that means it passed through his system to quickly. The green tint can be bile and digestive stuff. (dont know if thats right?)

For that same night at dinner I gave him his normal kibble (Orijen Large Breed Puppy). I didn’t want to make his GI super inflamed by continuing the chicken. I read that giving the kibble was okay as long at it was a good length of time in-between the meals so the kibble wouldn’t cause blockage with the bone since they have different digestive rates etc.

The next day we had good “kibble poops” again. That was a relief. So then at breakfast I mixed a small handful of JUST MEAT with kibble. Maybe 0.10 pounds. I did that for his lunch a littel more meat less kibble and dinner the same as lunch. Good poops.

The next day I still saw good poops int he morning so I went back to all chicken. Gave more bone than meat this timw so he could hopefully get firmer stool. Stools looked okay. Tiny little logs like I have seen photos of from other raw feeders.
Continued to feed the same way for lunch and dinner.

Poop this morning at 645am was even better I thought and had seen yet. More like a raw diet poop from what I have seen from others journals and stuff. Less in amount and smell and good firm but not consitpation firm logs.

However, today my boyfriend called and told me he wouldn’t eat his lunch. He was just staring at it. My dog LOVES his chicken. He gets so excited when I start to make it he runs to his crate and whimpers in excitement. So this was ODD to hear. We had no problems with breakfast this morning. He ate it and was excited as usual. Also my bf sent me a picture of his poop. It was back to like it was day one. Liquid runny olive green tint at 11am. He was fed at 650am. So he has had no lunch.

Also one night (the first night maybe?) I heard him either dry heave of he did throw up but ate it before i could get the light on to see. But poops were good and firm the next 2 days I know for sure I was not concerned. Last night he acted ALMOST like he was going to start that gaging to throw up but never did. He has been sleeping ALOT more than normal in my opinion too. But he is a puppy and a growth spurt can do that too. So Im not sure but I feel instinct something is not quite right. Maybe this isnt for him. Maybe he just be a kibble dog.
Today is 5 of the diet. Maybe chicken just doesn’t agree with him. Maybe this is not a good time to be trying out raw since it’s not going to well. I want to make sure he is not being deprived of essential nutrients since he is a growing puppy. How much longer should I try this out? I dont want to move onto another protein source because we havent even got this one okay with his GI yet.

His estimated adult weight is 100 pounds. So 2% is 2 pounds. I have only been feeding anywhere from 1 – 1.25 pounds per day divided into 3 meals.
I also did not want to give pumpkin since he is on probitotic.

Can anyone help me?

Here is the breakdown

12/29 - DAY ONE

Ate breakfast at 9am – Chicken Leg quarter
Poop @ 3pm

Fed Kibble dinner @ 7pm


12/30 Day TWO
9am poop

9am breakfast
2 cups Orijen (his normal breakfast)
1 handfull of cut up chicken leg quarter meat - NO BONE
1 probiotic

1130 poop

1pm
1 littel bigger handfull of cut up chicken leg quarter meat - NO BONE
1/2 cup Orijen

4pm poop

5pm 2 cups Orijen Kibble Only

12/31 - DAY THREE
10am poop


1015 Breakfast
.40 pounds of chicken leg quarters. Mostly bones.
Hoping to see a firmer stool and not green liquid this time.
1 Proviable Probiotic cap in a small small ponch of cheese. Just enough to trick him to take it.



230 Lunch
I eye balled the meat to be just a little less than the breakfast. Not as much bone as breakfast but still mostly bone.
240 Poop

615 Dinner
2 cups Orijen


1am Poop


01/01 – day 4
The only thing I was concerned about last night was he either dry heaved or threw up and then ate it last night after the 1am poop. I was afraid that ment a blockage but his poop was good this monring and he seems fine.
10am poop

1015 Breakfast
0.64 Chicken Leg Quarter - Took the drum bone out and that section of the meat. Cut most of the meat off and then gave it too hi so it had more bone then meat.


245 Lunch
0.5 Pounds chicken Leg Quarter

3pm Poop

6 Dinner
0.5 Chicken Leg quarter


01/02 - Day five
645am poop 01/02


650 Breakfast
0.54 pound Chicken Leg Quarter
Proviable Probiotic
11am 01/02

I don't see anything alarming about the poop Kellie. Different digestion of raw and kibble, but I would go with one or the other, not feed both. The heavy bones in legs are tough to digest. I would wait for backs and necks. For peace of mind, Honest kitchen is a good starter for switching to raw.

 Quote: steve strom

I don't see anything alarming about the poop Kellie. Different digestion of raw and kibble, but I would go with one or the other, not feed both. The heavy bones in legs are tough to digest. I would wait for backs and necks. For peace of mind, Honest kitchen is a good starter for switching to raw.

Ditto on all points.


Weight-bearing bones, as Steve says, aren't the best puppy-starter bones. I'd pack 'em up and freeze 'em and wait for backs to be your starter bones.


But anyway ....

How old is he? How much does he weigh?

What have you read about raw? I ask this because a growing puppy requires much more care in ratios that an adult dog, so while I would absolutely start with one RMB as you did, the eventual full-on diet will need to be well-planned. I don't usually get enthusiastic over learning raw with a growing puppy.

OTOH, it certainly can be done. If you want a simple way, Steve has offered it: THK with RMBs.

I don't like kibble and raw mixed. Not at all. I'd discontinue that. If you want detailed explanations about why, I can link you to threads discussing it.

Bottom line, those poops aren't alarming me either, for transition poops. Other bottom line: you want some softer digestible bones for starters, IMO, and you want to stop mixing raw meat with kibble.

Don't worry. We can talk you through any raw diet dilemma.

What are the chances of putting it on hold until you have the backs you ordered? (Post, because we will explain about peeling them for a couple of meals, small meals to start, fish oil and E, and when to add the next ingredient.)





BTW, pumpkin has no non-affinity for probiotics. They are not a problem combo. Probiotics are simply good GI bugs.

Thanks Steve. I am not concerned about the poops in the middle of all those pictures. Just the first one which is why I decided to do a slower transition, and then todays 11am poop.

He has been on just chicken now and his poop went back to liquid green tint. Thats the part I am concerned about.

Also him sleeping noticably WAY more, and the not wanting to eat his lunch today. Something feels "off" about it. Why would he have good poops and then go back to a bad poop after being on just chicken? Is it normal for them to be more tired on a raw diet? I read that they normally have more enegry.

Just not sure if i should continue because I dont want to tear his GI up ya know. I have read journals from others who their dogs have a hard time adjusting and sometimes they have to go back to square one and approach it slower because their GI is so upset and needs time to settle. The only reason I even care about that is not for time on my end but I dont want to mess up his nutrition since he is a young pup.

What about if his poops dont firm up after being on chicken backs and I keep seeing the liquid mess?

Thanks Connie.

I have been reading on here, on dogaware.com and all the sites she lists to research, and reading through and asking questions to a local breeder as well as some others on the forum I participate on that have brought puppies up with raw.

I may feel better just doing kibble until he becomes an adult? I dont want to take away any nutrition from him while he grows during trial and error on my part. It is stressful for me because I worry I am not doing good for him with the raw. I wasent a fan per say of mixing the raw with kibble but I was too afraid to let him have such liquid dumps on the chicken. I thought a slower approach was better when that happens?

EDIT: Forgot to add he weighs 43 pounds right now. He is 18 weeks old today. Male Doberman. He was on Fish Oil but I have not been giving him the fish oil during the inital chicken transition but planned to resume once I saw the GI settle. He has a sesitive stomach with fish oil so I give half the recommended dose for his size and over 2 meals. He was having runny poops on the oil with the original instructions from the vet. So pre-raw start he got 1/4 of a 1000mg Fish Oil cap breakfast and 1/4 a fish oil cap on dinner. Any more than that was a GI upset.

By the time I fed raw to my first pup, I had already been feeding my adult dogs raw for about 4ish years. I was still nervous to feed a growing puppy raw and make sure I had it all balanced.

It was the best decision I've ever made and he is now 2.5 in wonderful health. Only problem was he wouldn't stop growing lol...He's the darker dog in my pic below.

Have you considered starting with a balanced raw product, like Bravo! Balance? I am really fortunate that I have many options in my area. We started with a ground chicken mix (bone in) and added chicken breast.

I figured the day would come where there was a thread with pics of poo rather than just text based descriptions of each stool lol

Well sometimes its better to just see for yourself lol.

Anywho I got home today and got report that at 230 he threw up liquid and some mush. My bf said it smelled and looked like poop. He also said he would not eat or drink anything all day. He loves ice cubes so when I got hom I tried to give him an ice cube. He wouldnt have it. So i gave him 1/2 cup of his kibble soaked in water. He ate that and drank the water in the bowl after. He seems a little sluggish but not lethargic. Gums pink and not tacky or anything alarming. I palpated his tummy and no signs of pain or discomfort. Nothing abnormal felt. Im making him eat a little at a time so he dosent throw up or anything.

I think this was it for me. I cant watch him be sick like this. I would love to feed raw but im too afraid after today.

And I dont have a lot of places here that sell stuff like Bravo! and the ones that do sell PRIME and they are SO expensive. Break the bank expensive. So I didnt want to go that route. Im not sure why all of a sudden he is so sick over eating only chicken.

:-(

" .... his poop went back to liquid green tint. Thats the part I am concerned about.

Also him sleeping noticably WAY more, and the not wanting to eat his lunch today.


Anywho I got home today and got report that at 230 he threw up liquid and some mush. My bf said it smelled and looked like poop. He also said he would not eat or drink anything all day.

He seems a little sluggish but not lethargic.

I'm not sure why all of a sudden he is so sick over eating only chicken."



"I'm not sure why all of a sudden he is so sick over eating only chicken."

Neither am I. But he sounds sick to me.

How long has it been since he vomited?

Have you made some baited water to keep him hydrated? If not, I'd make some now and cool it to body temp.

When was his last poop, and was it formed?

How is he acting now?




ETA If you use anything with fat to make the baited water, cool it so you can skim off the fat.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (01/02/2013 05:24 PM)
Edit reason: ETA