Extreme Diarrhea!

[Alayna]

Hi there,

We just got Thor, our new GSD pup, on Sunday. The breeder was feeding him
kibble. We wanted to do raw, however. Unfortunately around here, it was
immpossible for me to find chicken backs. (I don't know why, but I searched high
and low, never had so much trouble looking for that.) So, I grabbed the next
best thing. Chicken quarters with half the back attached.

He took to it so well! We were excited about that. However, his poo is just like
water! Literally, "the squirts". It's terrible. Especially when he has accidents
in between going outside (but who doesn't, when they have diarrhea?). The smell
is.... no words. Lol. O_O

Is there anything I could be doing to help remedy this? I don't want to feed him
kibble, but if it helps his poor bum, I will. But wont mixing kibble with raw
upset his stomach and cause possible vomitting? Should I cut off the excess meat
on the chicken quarter so he's getting a little meat, but more bone?

Any advice is appreciated!
PS. Also posted this in a Yahoo Group. Just trying to get the best solution.

[Liz]

How about buying a whole chicken and cutting out the back and rib cage and feeding that to him. You can save the breast meat, legs and thighs for him later or have for yourself. You might be able to get turkey neck but I am not 100% that would be enough bone to start with. If he were mine I would fast him about 12 hours before feeding again - sometimes that old kibble just needs to get through. Oh, if he has the runs you may want to take the skin off the chicken.

[eternalstudent]

You can also go for wings, so long as your pup is good with chewing. I agree with liz and you can have a few chicken dinners out of it is a good way.

I can not get backs as such, I use chicken frames / carcasses instead which are nearly all bone. I get them from the wholesale butchers that supplies the catering trade. They are sold commercially to make chicken stock. It might be worth even asking your local places where they get there meat from (places like Chinese takeaways usually have a roaring in strange meats :-) )

[Alayna]

Hmm, you think the chicken skin is aiding in the diarrhea? I didn't think about that. Someone mentioned putting him on rice and cooked chicken for a little while and then reintroducing him to raw. That I introduced him to raw too quickly. But I thought dogs couldn't digest grains? O_O

I have a whole chicken in the freezer. I'll thaw that out and cut out the back and ribs like you mentioned. Even if he doesn't eat them until a couple days from now.

@Eternal- Good idea. Didn't think about that. I'll have to check around. Though, the butchers here don't process their own chicken (have no idea why not). Will have to ask around.

[Liz]

He has had a lot of changes. Just the stress of a new home can cause diarrhea. How old is he? Maybe you can fast him for one meal and then try the bony chicken with no skin. You might want to look for meat packagers or processors and see if they sell to private parties. You can also check ethnic grocery stores - they will usually add a case of food for you if you ask. Asian markets will commonly get the bacs, frames, and necks while spanish markets are real good for heart, beef neck and pork neck. I hope it helps I don't really know about Canada but its worth a visit. Good luck and don't worry he will even out.

[Alayna]

@Liz- Unfortunately, in this area (5 hours north of Edmonton, AB), there's no "ethnic grocery stores". Lol. I miss the Asian & Spanish markets back home in the states! The extent of ethnic cooking is split into half of one isle at the regular supermarket. Smh. I think there's a meat processor or packager in the next town over. Will have to check the yellow pages. The pup is 10 weeks old. You're right about the stress of a new home. I think he misses his littermates a bit. Only has a couple cats to play with and they're too occupied with sleeping to be bothered with him. Lol. Poor guy. Thanks for the advice! It's much appreciated.

[_Trish]

If he's having very smelly diarrhea then I'm wondering if it's not a parasite or virus like giardia or coccidia, which are common in puppies. Puppies have a sensitive digestive system, and it doesn't take much to set them off (in my experience). Whenever I brought home a new puppy, I fed them what the breeder was feeding them, even if I didn't care for the ingredients for a minimum of 4 weeks. I let them have a chance to settle into their new home first before changing things up on them too much. I would take in a fresh stool sample to the vet and have them test it, to rule out parasites. Whenever one of my dogs has an upset tummy (diarrhea) I feed them a bland diet, and also give them Diarsanyl, I get it from my vet but it's available over the counter.

[schtuffy]

The chicken skin/fact could definitely be contributing to diarrhea. Try trimming all of that off as a precaution. When he starts to have consistent firm poops, then you can start adding it back in. As for the attached back, sometimes there may be a bit of organ like kidney stuck on it. You want to make sure you scrape all of that off too. The cooked chicken and rice thing is a stomach remedy for kibble fed dogs Maybe try fasting your pup for 24 hours before you start up again without the skin and fat. Hope he gets better soon!

[_Trish]

He -WAS- being fed kibble by the breeder, though. My dogs are both kibble fed and raw fed, but more raw then kibble lately. There's nothing wrong with feeding him chicken and rice (I use lean hamburger and oatmeal, with a little pumpkin, though) even if he is raw fed. My dogs have no trouble going from raw to kibble to canned, they don't have any digestive upsets from it. I often eat raw meat and cooked food in the same sitting, and have not suffered any ill effects from it - for example with sushi I'm eating raw fish with cooked rice. I also eat my steak rare, but often times eat a baked potato with it. I know dogs and people have completely different digestive systems, and dogs digest things much more quickly, but.. just sayin'!

Also keep in mind that not all dogs can tolerate raw, most can, but there are the occasional few that cannot. I had a foster dog that could not tolerate raw, period. Got nasty diarrhea and kept regurgitating and vomiting, this went on for over a month, so we went back to kibble with him and he did fine. My dogs tolerate raw pretty well for the most part.

[Ania's Mommy]

Your new puppy is too little to fast. So I wouldn't do that. What I would do is up the bone content of his meals. If all you are able to get is chicken quarters, I would remove all fat, skin and organs from each. I might also remove SOME of the meat in order to increase the bone. But make sure and keep the bones completely covered with meat. I would only only give him half of his daily ration today, though.

How much are you feeding? It could be you are feeding too much. That is also a main diarrhea contributor.

I would for sure get him checked out at the vet.

Hope he starts to feel better soon! Poor little guy!

He -WAS- being fed kibble by the breeder, though. My dogs are both kibble fed and raw fed, but more raw then kibble lately. There's nothing wrong with feeding him chicken and rice (I use lean hamburger and oatmeal, with a little pumpkin, though) even if he is raw fed. My dogs have no trouble going from raw to kibble to canned, they don't have any digestive upsets from it. I often eat raw meat and cooked food in the same sitting, and have not suffered any ill effects from it - for example with sushi I'm eating raw fish with cooked rice. I also eat my steak rare, but often times eat a baked potato with it. I know dogs and people have completely different digestive systems, and dogs digest things much more quickly, but.. just sayin'!

The bolded section is the key here.

Also keep in mind that not all dogs can tolerate raw, most can, but there are the occasional few that cannot. I had a foster dog that could not tolerate raw, period. Got nasty diarrhea and kept regurgitating and vomiting, this went on for over a month, so we went back to kibble with him and he did fine. My dogs tolerate raw pretty well for the most part.

I'd be interested in how you transitioned. As far as I am aware, EVERY dog can handle a raw diet. Saying that they cannot is like saying not all cows can tolerate grass. That doesn't mean there truly aren't any. There are anomalies in everything. So I am genuinely interested in what was being fed.