# Straining to eliminate



## Devils of York (Jul 28, 2010)

My 8-pound Yorkie has been eating Acana Grasslands for 3 weeks now. His poops are very small and firm. Unfortunately, he is straining too much to eliminate. This morning it was so bad that his front paw was shaking while he was doing it. 

He gets plenty of exercise and I encourage him to drink plenty of water. 

Any suggestions to remedy this problem would be appreciated.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Try adding a little pumpkin plain pumpkin to his food , not the pie pumpkin, plain straight pumpkin. maybe gee he's only 8 lbs. so 1/2 a teaspoon maybe a little less than that in his food. if he is really constipated metimucil just a smidgen would help. but I would do the canned pumpkin and see if this helps not the pie pumpkin! Just plain canned pumpkin!


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## Devils of York (Jul 28, 2010)

Thank you Wags for the pumpkin and metamucil tips for constipation. 

Are straining and constipation necessarily the same thing? The food is moving through my dog's system, but seems that the firm poops are a little too firm for him to expel. If I keep him on the Acana, I would have to make pumpkin a regular staple.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Sounds like he's not drinking enough water!


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

You can try wetting the food with water or adding in a good canned meat source with the kibble.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Maybe you could also try adding some canned food to his kibble for some extra moisture (plus some added variety). There are many quality grain free canned foods out there such as Merrick that would be great for him.


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## Devils of York (Jul 28, 2010)

Thank you everyone. I will encourage him to drink more water and try adding a little wet food.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

My dogs eat Orijen which is made by the same people as Acana and EVO. They also get a plate of canned food every morning. My Lhasa had back surgery when she was three because she was completely paralyzed and she has trouble with bowel movements if they get too firm. She doesn't have any trouble if I give her the small plate of canned food every morning. Then she has her 'crunchy' food out the rest of the day. 

We use a wide variety of grain free canned foods - Evo, Evangers, Back to Basics, Natures Choice, Merrick, Wellness......there are quite a few out there and variety is good for dogs. We also vary the kind of meat they get , like pork, chicken, venison, beef, etc. 

Hope it helps your little dog. It helps my little dog!


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

chowder said:


> My dogs eat Orijen which is made by the same people as Acana and EVO. They also get a plate of canned food every morning. My Lhasa had back surgery when she was three because she was completely paralyzed and she has trouble with bowel movements if they get too firm. She doesn't have any trouble if I give her the small plate of canned food every morning. Then she has her 'crunchy' food out the rest of the day.
> 
> We use a wide variety of grain free canned foods - Evo, Evangers, Back to Basics, Natures Choice, Merrick, Wellness......there are quite a few out there and variety is good for dogs. We also vary the kind of meat they get , like pork, chicken, venison, beef, etc.
> 
> Hope it helps your little dog. It helps my little dog!


Champion doesn't make Evo lol!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

meggels said:


> Champion doesn't make Evo lol!


I know.....remembered that Chelsy only eats Evo and added that part after I wrote the first part of the sentence.....she can't eat Orijen.......just a little mental blip on my part. I need to reread my posts sometimes,


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

chowder said:


> I know.....remembered that Chelsy only eats Evo and added that part after I wrote the first part of the sentence.....she can't eat Orijen.......just a little mental blip on my part. I need to reread my posts sometimes,


Lol it's okay. I was just givin you a hard time


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## Devils of York (Jul 28, 2010)

Adding a tiny bit of wet food solved the problem.  Max is also drinking more water. 

I tried adding a little water to the kibble, but he hated that. He looked at me like I had ruined his meal and walked away.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Devils of York said:


> Adding a tiny bit of wet food solved the problem. Max is also drinking more water.
> 
> I tried adding a little water to the kibble, but he hated that. He looked at me like I had ruined his meal and walked away.


Glad to hear you got it solved. It's funny the looks they can give you, isn't it! They have such personalities and such opinions on things!


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