Is it normal

[Finnegan]

... for dogs to poop WAY less when eating raw food?

I assume so, but my husband's worried about Finnegan. When we fed him kibble/canned/homemade cooked, he pooped in copious amounts just about every time we took him out. Now, he goes maybe twice or even once a day and hardly any at all. Mike insists he's constipated, but he's not trying to go and can't, so I think it's just his body getting used to the raw and absorbing more of the nutrients, therefore creating less waste. My husband, on the other hand, insists he's not trying to go because he's got a "bone stuck up his @ss."

So ... can someone shed some light and/or ease my mind? I'd really appreciate it. In case it matters, these days he's eating chicken quarters, breasts, feet, turkey thighs, wings, necks, ground beef, pork (boneless, so far), with beef ribs and knuckle bones as the occasional treat.

Thanks.

[MollyWoppy]

Funny, I had exactly the same whinging from 'my lord' here. He kept insisting the dog was constipated, that it wasn't normal, to "wait, wait, don't rush her, she's not finished yet". That was a year or so ago and it is still the same today and the dog is as good as gold. I think you have found one of the other pluses of raw feeding.

[CorgiPaws]

It is 100% normal. What you're witnessing is one of the many perks to raw feeding... the poop patrol!
Stools will be much smaller and compact than on kibble. The reason being, the food you're feeding is much more "usable" to your dog, and therefore produces much less waste.

Just wait, and a couple days, it will turn white, crumble to dust, and you'll nevr know it was even there in the first place.

[Finnegan]

Oh, good to know - thanks so much.

He didn't poop this morning, so I got a little worried. We've been feeding raw for a couple months now and he's been pooping less and less during that time; like I said, I had assumed because his body is using more of his food. Mike, on the other hand, insists he's getting more and more 'backed up' thanks to the raw food.

Men.

[DaneMama]

Yep totally normal!!! One of the biggest perks to raw

[eternalstudent]

The way I understand kibble, at least half of it is filler that is no use to the dog but makes us the owner feel that we are feeding our dogs a good amount of food instead of a supplement pill!!

And that filler has to come out the other end. Normally as a smelly squishy mess of starch :-)

[luvMyBRT]

This is one of the perks about switching to raw that I am so excited about!

[magicre]

my older girl, malia (10.5 years old) used to have stools that were fairly large, not very solid and it seemed like she pooped five times a day.

now, she poops maybe once or twice....if they are loose, it's only because she needs some bone....or she's had too much fat in too many days....but that's the only reason....

bubba sometimes goes a day without pooping.....

[CorgiPaws]

Just to add:
The size of the stools will not indicate if a dog is "backed up" or not.

Unless your dog is straining to poop while nothing is coming out, or seems to be in pain passing stools, don't worry about a thing.
Sometimes feeding too much bone and not enough meat can cause stools to dry out and can be a bit more difficult to pass, but you'll know if that's the case right away because the stools will be white and crumbly as they come. Should you ever see this, generally a bone free or low bone content meal is all it takes.

[Finnegan]

Just to add:
The size of the stools will not indicate if a dog is "backed up" or not.

Lol, I know. You should come tell my husband that for me, though.

Sometimes feeding too much bone and not enough meat can cause stools to dry out and can be a bit more difficult to pass, but you'll know if that's the case right away because the stools will be white and crumbly as they come. Should you ever see this, generally a bone free or low bone content meal is all it takes.

Thanks! I have had this happen on occasion, and in that case I just feed a ground meat meal without bone and it seems to remedy the problem right away.

Thanks again everyone!

One question, kind of off topic - is there a reason to provide a calcium supplement with meals that don't include bone?