Raw Food + Loose Stool (Question)

[laylaluna]

My dogs free-feed high quality dry food, and every 2-3 days I take the dry food away and feed completely raw (not mixing raw and dry in the same day per the helpful repliers of Dog Forums)

On the raw days my Great Dane has loose stool (sometimes), but my Golden is fine.

The raw food is a hodge-podge that I got free from a local butcher: steaks, ground, chops mostly + ribs every once in a while. (It's free because although it has all been flash frozen, it is a little older so he can't sell it to people because it would taste a little freezer burned)

My guess is the loose stool comes from not getting enough bone, but I take what he gives me.

My Question: What can I put in with the meat on the raw days to help with the loose stool. I saw in another post someone suggested pumpkin?

Thanks so much!

[briteday]

Pumpkin is the general "cure all" for stool issues. It can add enough bulk to firm up the runny kind, and has enough fiber content (again, bulk) to help the constipated ones get moving. My little dogs get 1 teaspoon for two meals in a row if they are having issues. And remember to buy only plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.

However, I think you may be doing a disservice to your dogs with your feeding habits. Different digestive enzymes are required for raw vs. commercially produced food. Some dogs do fine with it and others can become a mess. It sounds like your golden has a cast iron gut and has no problems with the rotation. But it doesn't surprise me that your dane has issues. My experience at our local shelter is that danes tend to be a bit sensitive in the tummy. Even changing there kibble can throw them off for weeks. I'm not sure I'd be messing with the dane's diet.

[Anela]

Quickly switching food, especially in large breeds can cause serious health problems, even death due to the painful condition known as bloat. You need to stop this practice immediately, you are putting your dog’s health at risk.

Make a choice of either a raw or dry diet. Personally, I don't think raw gives the dogs all of the nutrients they need, but I would ask a vet.

Anela

[GreatDaneMom]

I agree. cute dane BTW. really you need to either feed raw, or kibble. switching like that its just too hard on a danes belly. i have two danes. the littlest things like too many treats can set off booty blowout. danes are just so hyper sensative to things like this, plus you have to be careful with diets due to them being SO prone to bloat. if you are feeding raw, please be very informed and educated about making a balanced diet. i have contemplated switching to raw, but im going to stick with kibble. with two danes, its just too much. i could do it during the hunting season, and a little after, but once im out of deer, im mostly out of everything unless i hook up with my boyfriends friend who hunts for a living and has bison and other things like that i can use. ANYWHO! in short, feed either kibble or raw... and on a regular constant diet, if you get booty blowout, use pumpkin.

[Lonewolfblue]

Another option is 50/50. Like with my dog, every day, she get's some raw, then she has some of her dry kibble. This has been working pretty well, and I think that she's getting other nutrients as well that she wouldn't be with going raw alone. Also, if you have a meat grinder, you could even mix some raw with kibble, and feed that way. Just don't leave the raw in the dish too long that it starts going bad.