I understand. I must tell you, however, that the best way to avoid diarrhea AND to give especially a growing pup a CA:Ph balanced diet (so critical to a young dog developing teeth and bones and organs) is to begin with a simple "beginner" RMB with the fat/skin stripped off for a day or two. Chicken backs, for example (peeled) are cartilage-y, easy for a beginner to chew (if he chews), and even cheap. (BTW, a no-bone diet doesn't constipate; it's the opposite.)

There is really one big nightmare of every raw-feeding advocate, and it's quite possibly a big part of the reason for so few vets advocating raw, and that is a no-bone raw diet.

Also, the dog in question has been the "star" here of several GI-problem threads with lots of diarrhea and would be the last dog in the world to give a boneless-meat diet to.

I do understand you were saying what you have done and still do. I just want to be clear that "the rice is no good or necessary. i would put him on a straight raw diet for a couple days. start out with 90/10 hamburger and chicken breast" was inappropriate, including the rice part (without asking if the rice had been for binding/bland purposes for a sick dog, which it was).

You can see how a casual reader seeing that post could use it to start on a raw diet that is a nutritional disaster. A raw diet is based on RMBs, and although we know that, we must remember that the reading public often has no idea that the digestible bones are crucial.

Thanks.

 Quote: michael arghnian

Blue bufflao wilderness chicken

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=295409&Searchpage=1&Main=27477&Words=blue+Connie+Sutherland&topic=0&Search=true#Post295409

" ... veterinarians have revealed cases of hypercalcemia secondary to vitamin D toxicosis occurring in dogs that eat a single brand of dry pet food: Blue Buffalo Wilderness Diet, chicken flavor. In each of the cases, veterinarians report that dogs’ conditions have improved after switching brands."

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=10&Number=299089&Searchpage=1&Main=27757&Words=buffalo&topic=0&Search=true#Post299089

well im going to switch him to the orijen today he has only been eating the bb for a few days now anyway.

cant go wrong with that stuff.. best there is. have you seen the video on their website about their ingredients? heres a link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONnTH-flAhs

I would only suggest that you NOT get the Orijen Large Breed Puppy formula. In the past, I always fed my dog Orijen, and when I got my new pup, I started him on the LB pup. He had poop problems, which may have been unrelated, but in my research I found that a lot of people had trouble with that particular formula causing soft stools. I would go with their adult food instead.

Phaedra - I too had the same problems with the Large Breed formula.

I first switched onto raw, but now that my ONLY supplier (man I hate being so isolated) can only get the meat I need "Sometimes", I have had to put her back onto kibble. I initially went to the adult Orijen, and while her poop was good, I really wasn't pleased by the copious amounts and extreme smelly-ness. So I switched to Taste of the Wild. For my dog, this seems to be the closest to a raw diet for her. Her poops are small (almost exactly the same as on raw) and don't smell even half as much as before. Her coat even got shinier than when she was on Orijen.

The only downside is the $$$ - a lot higher than Orijen by about $20/bag, making it $75+ Tax per 30lbs!

 Quote: niomi smith

Phaedra - I too had the same problems with the Large Breed formula.

I first switched onto raw, but now that my ONLY supplier (man I hate being so isolated) can only get the meat I need "Sometimes", I have had to put her back onto kibble. I initially went to the adult Orijen, and while her poop was good, I really wasn't pleased by the copious amounts and extreme smelly-ness. So I switched to Taste of the Wild. For my dog, this seems to be the closest to a raw diet for her. Her poops are small (almost exactly the same as on raw) and don't smell even half as much as before. Her coat even got shinier than when she was on Orijen.

The only downside is the $$$ - a lot higher than Orijen by about $20/bag, making it $75+ Tax per 30lbs!

I also found that TOTW is the best food for Faroh, but I only feed him the Sierra (lamb) formula. I think the fish one would be alright too, since the formula is very similar. The other 2 are richer, and both have multiple proteins I believe (I know the bison one actually primarily has chicken meal, lamb meal & fish meal, but also bison, venison and egg).
A week after I started him on it, his poops were perfect, and his coat (which was growing in coarse) got so much softer.
What makes me so mad is the price in Canada! In the States it's only between $39 - $42 for 30lbs, which is basically what we pay for 15lbs!

 Quote: michael arghnian

well im going to switch him to the orijen today he has only been eating the bb for a few days now anyway.

Please start with very small Orijen meals. In fact, a snack, and then watch the poop, and then two snacks, and watch the poop, and so on.This is a dog who needs any food switch (and especially this one) to be slow. Remember that you still have the bland binding diet to fall back on for a couple of days for part of his calories as you add very small meals on the Orijen. I know that you know how much easier it is to avoid than to fix diarrhea.

 Quote: phaedra rieff

I would only suggest that you NOT get the Orijen Large Breed Puppy formula. In the past, I always fed my dog Orijen, and when I got my new pup, I started him on the LB pup. He had poop problems, which may have been unrelated, but in my research I found that a lot of people had trouble with that particular formula causing soft stools. I would go with their adult food instead.

OK, this explains a lot. Phew...

Yea he did have diarrah when he ate the orijen so back to bland diet for a few days,than ill started adding the orijen to that . I also still have the fortaflora to add to it so might help