# Mucus (Graphic question)



## Ziggersmom (Jul 4, 2012)

Ok, so this is rather graphic, but I've been researching all afternoon and haven't found an answer so I thought I'd ask you guys.  I always check the yard for Ziggy's stools as I've become a tad obsessive about them since switching him full time to raw. The last few days I haven't really noticed any new stools, or at least none that looked new. Then earlier, just after he finished eating his supper (lamb breast) I went poop hunting and found what looked like a newer stool. At first glance I noticed there was a streak of white about 3/4 of an inch long and of course freaked thinking it was a worm. Upon closer inspection, it was not a worm but what I'm guessing is just some bone maybe. The stool crumbled fairly easily and quite honestly is one of the best ones he's left out there since he started raw. Up until now most of them have been pretty white. This was more of a tan. Anyway, what has me concerned is that there's a smaller piece with mucus on it. The mucus looked more clear than yellow, but hard to tell with the stool being tanish already. I'm just wondering, should I be worried? Is a vet visit warranted? What could this possibly mean? Have any of your dogs experienced this? He's been on raw for appx 3 weeks and hasn't had any problems. So far he's eaten chicken (all parts, except liver... he hates liver), turkey (ground and drumsticks), and then today the lamb breast (bone in). Thank you all so much for your help! 


Edit: I forgot to add that Ziggy also got half a can of tuna last night and an egg without the shell right before he ate the lamb this afternoon. I gave him the tuna because I thought maybe the extra oils would help his skin. He seems to have been scratching more than usual in the last few days. I checked for fleas first and when I didn't find any decided his skin must be dry.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Is lamb new to his diet? Usually its best to do chicken, turkey, fish, pork, then lamb or beef. Lamb is pretty rich which could have irritated his stomach/lining of his intenstines. If the poop is too crumbly its because there is too much bone. But, you are only 3 weeks in, seems a bit rushed with the transition. How old is Ziggy?

This guide is really helpful on how to transition to raw How to Get Started | Prey Model Raw


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

And trust me, that wasn't a graphic question :tongue: I once posted a picture of a 10+ pound of beef liver with a golf ball sized cyst in it. Now that made people queezy haha


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

The mucous is perfectly normal for newly transitioned dogs and is just the intestinal lining saying it's a bit irritated.


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## Ziggersmom (Jul 4, 2012)

Lamb is new to his diet. I started with chicken, then transitioned to turkey, and now the lamb. I haven't been able to find a good source of fish or pork yet, so he got the lamb for the first time tonight. Ziggy is 10 months old, he's been on raw as a supplement (replacing 2-3 meal per week) since he was 6 weeks old, but just recently switched over full time because of the TOTW recall.


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## Ziggersmom (Jul 4, 2012)

Kat said:


> And trust me, that wasn't a graphic question :tongue: I once posted a picture of a 10+ pound of beef liver with a golf ball sized cyst in it. Now that made people queezy haha



Haha! Thank you, that makes me feel a lot better about it.  I'm just a little leary about asking poop questions, because most of the people I talk to look at me like I'm insane when I mention how Ziggy's poops are doing. :crazy:


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Yeah like Whiteleo said, it is perfectly normal in the beginning to see mucous. Especially when starting to add richer proteins.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Ziggersmom said:


> Haha! Thank you, that makes me feel a lot better about it.  I'm just a little leary about asking poop questions, because most of the people I talk to look at me like I'm insane when I mention how Ziggy's poops are doing. :crazy:


Im quoting lots of members when I say this - we love poop questions here. There is a thread labelled poop chart or something like that haha


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## Ziggersmom (Jul 4, 2012)

whiteleo said:


> The mucous is perfectly normal for newly transitioned dogs and is just the intestinal lining saying it's a bit irritated.



So should I go back to chicken then? How would one go about soothing an irritated intestine?


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## Ziggersmom (Jul 4, 2012)

Kat said:


> Im quoting lots of members when I say this - we love poop questions here. There is a thread labelled poop chart or something like that haha



Thank goodness!!! It's such a relief to find people I can talk to openly about my raw fed dog's mucusy poops. Lol!


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Ziggersmom said:


> So should I go back to chicken then? How would one go about soothing an irritated intestine?


For Ziggys next meal, just feed him bone-in chicken. Since it was just a bit of mucous he should be fine. Its best to feed a new protein between two bone in meals.


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## Ziggersmom (Jul 4, 2012)

Ok, tomorrow he'll get a chicken quarter. Should I take the skin off? Thank you so much for your help!


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Since its been 3 weeks, I think you should be ok leaving the skin on the chicken. If Im wrong, someone correct me please  Iv been feeding raw for almost 1 year, so Im still learning new things all the time.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

Ziggersmom said:


> Haha! Thank you, that makes me feel a lot better about it.  I'm just a little leary about asking poop questions, because most of the people I talk to look at me like I'm insane when I mention how Ziggy's poops are doing. :crazy:


People laugh at me when I go outside and fallow my dogs up and down the treelawn and watch while they poop. Poop is an important part of my day anymore!!


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## Ziggersmom (Jul 4, 2012)

I fed Ziggy half a chicken yesterday and removed the skin. Today I caught him pooping and went to check it out. There was one fresh pile that looked fantastic and then just a foot from it the one I caught him leaving. It was very well formed, but had a layer of clear mucus covering it, some undigested bones in it, and a couple twinges of blood. He has never had any undigested bone in his stool before, so I'm confused as to why he would have that now. I'm assuming the mucus and blood in this case is because of the bone irritating his intestine... although I don't really know much. The only things that have changed for him in the last few days were the flea and tick treatment on Monday and the dewormer on Wednesday. Could those be causing an upset tummy of sorts? And in turn would an upset tummy cause bone to remain undigested? I should note that I usually don't deworm him chemically, I would normally use Diatomaceous Earth and not worry about fleas or ticks as he's never had them. I'm planning on giving him ground turkey for lunch today (boneless) with the thought that maybe his digestive system could use a break from bones... but again, I'm a green hand at this.


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