# drinking less water on raw?



## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

hello again. i fed my puppy some chicken breast yesterday, and today i feed him 1 chicken quarter. when he was on kibble, he would drink lots of water. 

since yesterday and today, i have not given him kibble, only raw meat. does fedding raw make a dog less thirsty? my pup hasn't touched his water bowl at all today. also he hasn't pooped at all? i am thinking maybe he can't poop it out? thanks.


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

coolstorybro said:


> hello again. i fed my puppy some chicken breast yesterday, and today i feed him 1 chicken quarter. when he was on kibble, he would drink lots of water.
> 
> since yesterday and today, i have not given him kibble, only raw meat. does fedding raw make a dog less thirsty? my pup hasn't touched his water bowl at all today. also he hasn't pooped at all? i am thinking maybe he can't poop it out? thanks.


THere is a lot of water in raw meat. There is hardly any in kibble. So yes, drinking less water is totally normal.


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

thanks! sorry for so many q's. there is a thread saying someone will never feed his dog marrow bone. doesnt chicken quarters have marrow bones in there??


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

coolstorybro said:


> thanks! sorry for so many q's. there is a thread saying someone will never feed his dog marrow bone. doesnt chicken quarters have marrow bones in there??


Yeah, I think all bones have marrow in them. But the bones that are commonly referred to as "marrow bones" or "soup bones" are weight baring bones from large animals like cows or bison. THese bones are designed to hold a LOT of weight, so they are very strong and dense. FOr this reason, they can cause tooth breakage.

You might have seen these bones in the grocery store. The reason people call them "marrow bones" is because there is quite a bit more marrow in them than normal bones. Many times, they are cut in a way that the bone looks like a ring, and there is a bunch of putty-like marrow in the middle. Know what I'm talking about? 

Marrow bones are also what they sell in pet stores....


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

No, they are not referring to the marrow inside bones.

What they are calling marrow bones, are the weight bearing bones of animals, large animals. Basically the bones in big animals that carry their body weight, such as the legs.
Examples are beef/pork leg-bones.

They usually look something like:









You want to avoid these bones because they are very heavy/dense and can easily break a dog's tooth.


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## hcdoxies (Sep 22, 2010)

About water...

Yes, on kibble my dogs (8 mini dachshunds) drank their water in about 2 days. Now it takes them about a week. There is so much moisture in PMR versus kibble, which has been processed and dehyrdated - the moisture has been sucked out - so on kibble dogs need to make up for that by drinking A LOT of water.


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

thanks. 

also, my puppy hasnt pooped in 2 days. i am starting to worry. is that normal?


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

What exactly are you feeding and how much? 

If you're feeding a lot of bone, he may be blocked up. I don't tend to worry if they skip a day w/o pooping.....going on 2 days though thats a little long. Has it been two full days or are you just starting the 2nd day of no poop? 

To answer your other questions, they will drink far less water on raw than they do on kibble. 

And marrow bones are usually considered the recreational bones that you can buy just for your dog to chew on and clean the marrow out. They should always be given RAW and under CLOSE supervision. I give my dogs marrow bones occasionally, but only as a treat and I watch them closely. As soon as the marrow is cleaned out I toss them. They are very dense and its a personal choice if you are comfortable giving them.


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

Northwoods10 said:


> What exactly are you feeding and how much?
> 
> If you're feeding a lot of bone, he may be blocked up. I don't tend to worry if they skip a day w/o pooping.....going on 2 days though thats a little long. Has it been two full days or are you just starting the 2nd day of no poop?
> 
> ...


the last time he pooped was thursday anytime around 4-7pm. right now, it is 9:15am saturday here. he also through up yesterdays chicken breast in the morning. 

i fed him 1 chickn quarter yesterday after he threw up. today morning i give him 1 more. also he hasn't ate that much bone. i was holding onto the chicken while he was ripping away at the meat.


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

Was the chicken breast bone in or boneless? Did you just start raw yesterday?


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

Northwoods10 said:


> Was the chicken breast bone in or boneless? Did you just start raw yesterday?


boneless. yes i start yesterday, but after i am done with these chicken quarters, i will finish the rest of the kibble then go back to raw again.


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

coolstorybro said:


> boneless. yes i start yesterday, but after i am done with these chicken quarters, i will finish the rest of the kibble then go back to raw again.


Ok......I would think he'd have a stool here at some point today. Keep an eye out for it. Has he been acting fine otherwise? ITs pretty normal for a raw fed dog to skip a day and not poop....just surprises me that this happened with himm since you just started on raw.

I also wouldn't recommend going back and forth with raw & Kibble if you can avoid it. If you want to go full raw, why not just donate the kibble to a shelter? Some dogs do fine with a partial raw/partial kibble diet or going back and forth but if your goal is to go full raw, I'd just avoid the headache.


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

I wouldn't go back on kibble. I had some cat food/kitten food (Blue Bufflao) We went and donated it. It can cause stomach upset.  My dogs had 0 dog food when I switched because I did it cold turkey. No going back.

As for less water yes, my crew drinks less water when on raw. It's normal


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

Northwoods10 said:


> Ok......I would think he'd have a stool here at some point today. Keep an eye out for it. Has he been acting fine otherwise? ITs pretty normal for a raw fed dog to skip a day and not poop....just surprises me that this happened with himm since you just started on raw.
> 
> I also wouldn't recommend going back and forth with raw & Kibble if you can avoid it. If you want to go full raw, why not just donate the kibble to a shelter? Some dogs do fine with a partial raw/partial kibble diet or going back and forth but if your goal is to go full raw, I'd just avoid the headache.


yes, he is acting normal, no signs of being sick or any other weird behavior. if he does not poop today at all, i might take him to the vet to see whats up.

yes, i want to finish this bag of kibble before i switch. also i dont think the shelter would want open bag of kibble, but i will ask.


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

Yep shelters take all sorts of bags of kibble. Opened, unopened. Canned...
Don't worry! They'll accept it  After all it's being donated. Can't be fussy!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I wouldn't worry about him having a BM at this point. Only when dogs get lethargic and sick when they don't go for a few days is when you start to worry. Dogs can go a long time without going and be perfectly fine.


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

danemama08 said:


> I wouldn't worry about him having a BM at this point. Only when dogs get lethargic and sick when they don't go for a few days is when you start to worry. Dogs can go a long time without going and be perfectly fine.


thanks. wat is bm?


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

coolstorybro said:


> thanks. wat is bm?


Bowel Movement


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

well its almost midnight here, and he hasn't pooped all day. this is 2 days with no poop. should i take him to the vet?


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

Is he acting sick or not normal?


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

Cliffdog said:


> Is he acting sick or not normal?


no he seems fine. should i stop worrying? maybe all the chicken went to his body? and there was no waste?


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## mischiefgrrl (Oct 28, 2010)

My dog went 3 days without pooping when he first switched to raw and has been regular since. Don't be surprised when he does go and it's just a little bit - they poo way less on raw. Take him for a nice long walk - at least a half hour. With Tanis on raw now he poops 2-3 small amounts on a log walk instead of one GIANT one like he did on cooked food.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Louis will occasionally go 2-3 days without pooping, which is very normal for him. Sometimes if I feed a little too much bone, he gets a little backed up and won't go for a couple days. But it always comes out in the end :smile:


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## coolstorybro (Nov 3, 2010)

thank god, he finally pooped today afternoon lol. pop was very dark color, same texture as he was on raw, but when i smoosh it with my hands, there was like string like things holding the poop together.


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