A load of POO – Bit on POO (and dodgy tums!!)
How our dogs are doing on their raw diet can be told by what comes out the other end! Raw feeders are poo obsessed for this very good reason as poo will tell you whether or not you have to adjust the diet. Especially when you start it’s ESSENTIAL to keep a close eye!
Equally it’s quite normal if you have just started to have a few odd poos, it’s part of detox and many do experience some sloppy and mucoussy poos.
Mr Whippy!
Basically it could be you have fed too much offal and/or heart and/or not enough bone. Bone, eventhough the guideline is only 10% of the diet, it is essential and firms things up.
Eew & the Wrong Gift Wrap….mucous and film
Every now and then your dog will output something rather nasty, a poo with a slight film over it or with some mucous at the end, quite normal and as a one off nothing to worry about. However if it doesn’t go away or clear up often it means that the gut is responding to something, a meat or ingredient that did not fit, then it’s important to act.
What works for me is going back to safe foods, eg turkey or chicken plus tripe, for a few days. Tripe is great to rebalance the gut. If this still isn’t doing the job bring in the heavies; slippery elm powder (in UK you can buy Dorwest Tree Bark Powder – a cupboard essential in my eyes) and perhaps get some probiotics (Lintbells do a dog specific range).
If this happens regularly it will be very much worth your time to go back to basics; introducing a single protein for a few days and keeping a diary – see if you can correlate the tummy upset with a particular meat or ingredient. In my case with Merz he will develop colitis (mucoussy poo and gut inflammation) when he’s been given, cows diary or pork.
Do NOT start introducing new things to help clear it up! So no rice for example – it makes things harder to digest and can hinder solving the issue.
Another note here is that too much fat or fatty foods can cause poos like this.
If it still continues visit the vet.
Magnolia Paint Poo – Ouch!
very crumbly and/or hard or “that” white
Not good and often happens to those who have just started, basically you have fed too much bone, make the next meal(s) a boneless one, if it’s very hard have a whole day without bone and for good measure add in some offal or heart too!
Red Polka Dot Poo
Also if a dog has strained very hard it can happen blood vessels break on the way out which means you can sometimes have a bit of blood – as a one off I personally don’t flip but if it persists get it checked out by the vet.
Night Sky Poo – totally black and tarry
visit the vet, it can indicate internal bleeding
Serious Splatters – way beyond slop!
That moment where you think – what is it puke or poo, where you get the worst audio EVER! Splatters aka Diarrhoea is really awful and important to clear up quickly, again feed some slippery elm (Tree Bark Powder) and some plain safe foods like minced chicken or turkey with tripe. And make sure the dog is well hydrated. If seriously liquid-y it might be an idea to skip food all together and give some bone broth instead. Keep a close eye of course and that wees are being done and of course if concerned visit the vet.
The Invisible Poo
If you are not getting a poo when you should, feed offal: liver and kidney – this is a great bowel mover and of course if concerned visit the vet. If don’t have any offal heart is also rich and can get bowels moving.
From beige to brown! Colours
Poo can really differ colour wise – this is totally normal, if you feed offal and organs the poo will be dark, if you feed chicken you will end up with something lighter, beef can also make the poo a bit darker … Basically colours vary enormously based on what went in.
Sprinkle poo
Some people will tell you that you should feed rice if your dog is under the weather, however this can result in …. sprinkle poos – you will initially think your dog is invested with tiny worms and you can’t figure it out… this is rice! It often doesn’t get digested at all – so next time don’t add it! If you KNOW it can’t be rice it could be worms so visit the vet.
Blood in Poo
visit the vet as soon as.
Poo Perfection
A good poo is firm but not hard! Kickable is what you after, non stick and formed, and can come in a variety of mostly natural colours – tan, beige, brown etc…