# Watery Diarrhea- worried!!!



## bxrluv (Nov 11, 2010)

post edit!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I need more background information please. 

On raw, what exactly were you feeding and how much?

How long have you been feeding raw?

How old and what breed is your dog?

Knowing these things will help me help you and your dog.


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## bxrluv (Nov 11, 2010)

post has been edited


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Hmmm.....toxoplasmosis is usually something that has to be diagnosed by sending blood out to a laboratory and it takes usually 3-5 days to get the blood test results back. I hope your dog gets feeling better soon.

That sounds like an awful lot of food. I feed my 70# golden retriever 22oz per day. Overfeeding could be the culprit of the diarrhea. Just keep in mind most vets get tunnel vision when they hear you feed a raw diet, and won't look at any other diagnoses other than something caused by feeding raw.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

I assume since you are feeding ground chicken necks, that your mix includes some bones. 

I would say that the problem is a combination of the addition of organs too early in the diet and not enough bone. It is typically recommended that organs not be introduced until the second or third month, and that a newly switched dog be fed high bone content meals.

Organs can cause loose stools. Bones firm up stools.

I would cut out the organs for the time being and add more chicken necks. If you can get some more bony chicken parts (such as chicken backs), I would add them to your mix.

Good luck! I hope Duke starts getting better soon! Glad to hear that Spike has handled the transition like a champ. :smile:

ETA: Yeah, that DOES sound like quite a bit of food for one day. That could also be contributing to the problem. Good catch, cprcheetah!


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## bxrluv (Nov 11, 2010)

post has been edited


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

I've never heard/seen it diagnosed by a stool sample before (have worked for a vet for 20+ years). I don't think I've ever seen it in a dog either (not that they can't get it), I've just never seen it. 

Are you balancing the diet 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, 5% other organs?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

You have to realize that those calculators are just a guideline. They do not take into account:

1) how long the dog has been on raw
2) the energy requirement of the dog (high energy vs low energy)
3) age of the dog
4) what exactly you're feeding (some foods are higher in calories than others) 

I could probably list more reasons why those calculators are non specific for each case, but I think this should get the picture. Not to mention 3.5% of ideal body weight is pretty darn high to begin with, very few dogs do well at such a high amount of food per day. But boxers are notorious for needing larger amounts of food. 

How long have you been feeding this way? 

If I were to help you I would say to cut everything out but bone in chicken for the next week, even if it is ground. You cant get anymore bland than that because there's only one ingredient. All a bland diet is providing is the least amount of ingredients to help the dog digest better. I wouldn't even do the rice/boiled meat thing, that is an old train of thought that really doesn't help the dog at all. I would also cut out canned pumpkin, because the fiber in it can be irritating to a dogs bowels.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Using those calculations Duncan was supposed to be eating 3 pounds of meat a day. When he first switched to raw this was just way, way too much. He just couldn't handle that much meat being new to raw. 

He got diarrhea. I fasted him for 24 hours and started over. I fed ONLY chicken backs for the first several days, until he stool was nice and firm again. Then I began adding in a chicken quarter here and there. I went very slowly and didn't start adding organs in until we were 2 months in.

Once he was through this I had to cut back the amount of food I was feeding by half! He was pretty skinny, but that's what I had to do. If I started to feed him too much, his stool would get soft. Now that we are well into raw he eats his normal ration and is doing great. He has added back on some weight and looks perfect (6 months old and 65 pounds to be exact! LOL :tongue. 

Just take it slow. :smile:


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