the link is eye-opening. if he were mine, i'd insist on treatment and not wait for symptoms, unless the vet can give me a darn good reason not to.

he's your dog. you're in charge of his care. if the vet won't take your directives, get another opinion.

And now, back from the big tangent to raw feeding.......... and IBS and maybe Pacific salmon poisoning in canids ........

Yes. The message here is please, please NEVER FEED YOUR DOG RAW FISH!!!

well, actually, raw saltwater fish is fine, and fish from the east coast is fine. i got my boy some cheap frozen tilapia that he will not eat, however. so we eat it. it's good!

canned chum salmon and canned mackerel are good ways to diversify the diet.

Hi Connie,
I started the raw diet this past monday and i think i went way to fast with it.I gave my dog aproxx 4lbs of meat over 3-meals cosisting of leg quarters and chicken thighs boneless/skinless. He now has had totally watery stool for the last 2-day. What should i do now, because im a little worried. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

 Quote:

Hi Connie,
I started the raw diet this past monday and i think i went way to fast with it.I gave my dog aproxx 4lbs of meat over 3-meals cosisting of leg quarters and chicken thighs boneless/skinless. He now has had totally watery stool for the last 2-day. What should i do now, because im a little worried. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

fast him. no food for 24 hours, but plenty of fresh clean water available. then start him back slowly on rice boiled in chicken or beef broth. gradually add boiled chicken or boiled beef with all the fat removed into the rice, until you are feeding half rice, half boiled, defatted meat.

you can make up big batches of rice and boiled meat all at once, then put them in the fridge to have on hand.

you can also start adding some canned, unsweetened pumpkin to this mix after a couple of days.

when his stools are solid again, start introducing skinless and defatted raw chicken necks, and only feed those, in small quantities, until you see that the dog is digesting them well. THEN you can start gradually adding in more cuts.

chicken legs are not a good place to start. the bones are harder to digest than non-weight bearing bones. feed necks and backs instead. but no skin or fat until the dog is handling it well.

if the loose stools persist, it could be a detoxification reaction. in that case, i would keep an eye on the dog and make sure he has energy and doesn't appear to feel sick.

also, it is normal for dogs to get skinny looking at the beginning of the switch. don't let this worry you.

Ditto!

<img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I answered almost the same question in a PM before I looked at the forum, and could've copied and pasted your answer, Alice, and saved myself some typing!

Steven, please go way back to the first post you made on this thread and the answers you received......... no one mentioned starting with legs. I don't start any dog with weight-bearing bones, and your dog in particular will be way better off with much softer bones, I think, to start. Slow down! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I'd stick those legs into the freezer and follow Alice's suggestions for starting over.

Not even a dog without IBS will do best on a fast start with all that food and those heavy bones on the first day.

It'll be OK......... Alice is right about starting with overcooked white rice and boiled meat after a fast, to get those stools normal, and then a gradual and slow start with the softest and leanest of the poultry parts. Heck, I'd probably go several days on the gruel until he was 100% good with good stools, and then go a few more days with ground-up turkey breast, and THEN start the skinned, de-fatted backs and backs.

And those days on a gentle overcooked diet are not going to be a nutritional disaster; don't worry.

The slower and gentler, the better. IBS does best with gradual and gentle changes.

Please post back, OK?

BTW, when he was diagnosed with IBD (or IBS), were Giardia and whipworm definitely ruled out?

Irritable bowel syndrome (or disease) or colitis are sometimes umbrella terms used to cover mysterious bowel inflammation.

If infestations were absolutely ruled out and a colonoscopy was done, have you considered consulting with a holistic vet? A vet who can address a real-food diet tailored to him while monitoring his IBS might be a real benefit to you and the dog.

JMO. I'm not a health practitioner.

And by "holistic vet," I mean a DVM who has knowledge of natural nutrition and understands treating the whole animal as opposed to just the disease.
http://www.petcaretips.net/holistic_pet_medicine.html

FWIW, I had a cat w/IBD and THK Prowl absolutely "cured" it, or at least, he's had NO issues since his second meal! A friend had a dog w/it too, and she tried EVO, and it worked as well. Seems that grains are a no-go for some IBD sufferers.