# Bones in stool?



## Rooney (Sep 22, 2010)

I just switched Rooney, cold turkey, onto raw because she'd developed hot spots under her chin. I've got her on chicken, bone ground in, to start her off. She LOVES the raw meat and is still as excitable and high energy as ever. However, I'm worried about her even if she seems normal. Her stool has become whitish and harder, dries up after a day, but it's littered with bones. Is this bad? Is she still just getting used to the new diet and hasn't developed whatever is needed to digest the bones? Or is bones in the stool completely normal?


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

You are feeding way, way, way, too much bone. Her poo should not be white. This can cause all kinds of problems like constipation and impaction.


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## Rooney (Sep 22, 2010)

Ok, so would you suggest adding in boneless chicken for one meal a day?


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## Rooney (Sep 22, 2010)

Also, just to clarify - I'm not sure if the stools are coming out white. I just picked up a couple days of stools from the backyard and they were whitish/yellowish. I read they were supposed to become whitish and chalkish? Was this wrong?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

That is how my dogs stool looks and I feed a balance of bone/meat/organ. 
The poo on a rawfed dog should look like that after a day or two, but I seldom see bone fragments with chicken.... w/pork, more bone passes through. 
My dogs only go poop once a day and it isn't very big....they utilize most everything they eat so there is little waste. You could add in some digestive enzymes/probiotics. I do this by the way of green tripe and yogurt.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

The poo should be tan in color, and the stool should be like tootsie rolls in appearance. 
After a couple of days, yes, it turns to ash in the yard. Normal.


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

It sounds normal. If you're worried about too much bones just cut it down. The whitish, harder and dry things are all normal. Some times my dogs will swallow a bone too big without chewing them through (but not dangerously big) and it will come out not entirely processed.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

This is so not normal and extremely dangerous for the dog. Anyone who says this is normal is not doing their dog any favors. Poo should be normal poo color and not white and crumbly. Not only is this dangerous, but you are throwing off the absorption of other minerals in the diet.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Elaine said:


> This is so not normal and extremely dangerous for the dog. Anyone who says this is normal is not doing their dog any favors. Poo should be normal poo color and not white and crumbly.



Even after a few days?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

What exactly are you feeding and how much? What percentage of bone are your feeding? It seems odd that ground bone would not break down completely, especially with chicken bones which are very soft.

I have heard that it can take a little while for a dog's system to adjust to RAW and fully break down the bones. I never had that issue. The only time Jax passed bone fragments was from pork ribs. They are just to dense.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My dogs stools are dark, normal stink small in size for a GSD, but after a couple days if I haven't picked up to poop, yes it is white or yellowish and crumbly. That is normal for my dogs....5 years feeding raw and always the same consistency. I feed 50% RMB, 45% MM, and 5% OM but not weighed, just eyeballed and each meal is a bit over a #....2 meals per day for 90#ers. My male eats more 2.5-3# per day as he is very active.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Jax as well, Jane. It's normal for the stool to turn white and disintegrate. There isn't any waste from vege/grain/fruit products so the stool is smaller.


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## Rooney (Sep 22, 2010)

She's getting a brand called Mountain Dog Food for five more days. It was just a quick switch until my kennel could order in food for her. It's chicken, 16% fat. She gets about 2.5 lbs a day to bulk her up a bit cause she's always been very thin. The ground bone isn't powder ground, kind of like small pieces. Is that maybe why? I've also heard about it taking some dogs a bit to break down the bones. I wonder if this is Rooney's problem? Since she was a puppy she's had stomach problems, been tested so many times, up to date with all her shots. I've switched her from expensive kibble, to medium, to low priced, and everywhere in between and it never sits right. I'm hoping she'll slowly get used to it, and once the kennel gets their new monthly order she says the chicken with bone ground in is a lot higher quality. Not so many large pieces of bones.

Rooney also will be getting tripe as well, slowly, once she's used to chicken. But I've decided to go with the prey model so her new food will be 10% pork organs 10% chicken bone (ground in) and 80% muscle meat. I'm also going to feed her some beef twice a week, though I don't know if it should be RMB or just MM. Tripe will be a treat for her. But that's not until she's used to just chicken.

And thank you so much for the responses! I was a lot scared when I saw bones in her stool! Also, she's been in raw now for 5 days now.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Mine get raw whole poultry necks and I've never found any bone in their stool. I would question the percentage of bone in the ground you are getting.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

There is little in the way of beef bones that are soft enough to feed, I seldom give beef bones if ever. Why don't you just give chicken backs, necks, leg or thighs instead of ground? Even an 8 week old GSD can chew up a neck, grinding isn't necessary. 
Maybe the bones are dried before adding to the ground or something, making them more dense?
Tripe is very nutritious and most dogs with sensitive systems will do well on it, in fact, it is recommended. 
A Place for Paws - Columbiana, Ohio - Tripe - The Other White Meat


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## Rooney (Sep 22, 2010)

I haven't given her pieces because I'm not comfortable doing the math to make sure he gets proper nutrition. I don't know the ratio of meat to bone in, say, a chicken back. That's why I've bought this bone ground in. If I can figure out ratios of meat to bone then I would consider buying whole chicken. What else can I feed her? I was thinking beef chunks without bone? But isn't the bone of beef legs really good for their teeth? Or is that any bone? I also read that in another post someone feeding sardines, would that be good for a dog with a very sensitive stomach? One lady told me pork is to rich for dogs who have stomach issues but I want to have her on more than just chicken. To get all te nutrients she needs, I mean.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Look on rawdogranch.com. They have a spreadsheet that will help you figure out proportions. I feed at least 5 different proteins...chicken, turkey, duck, pork, beef, venison, canned fish. Plus I give whole food sourced supplements from Carmspack.com.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Rooney said:


> I've got her on chicken, bone ground in, to start her off.


Does the chicken have bone in it? She should be getting raw meaty bones, muscle meat (meat WITHOUT bones) and some organ meat.



> Her stool has become whitish and harder, dries up after a day, but it's littered with bones. Is this bad?


Is it white coming out? If so then that means there too much bone in her diet.

If it is brown to tan coming out and turns white and dries up after just a day or so then that is perfectly normal.


You may see whole bone pieces in the stool until her body adjusts to having to properly digest them.


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## Rooney (Sep 22, 2010)

Thanks Jax! I have looked on there before. That's where I started my research, actually. I'm just a little scared that with Rooney's stomach issues, it _is_ an exact science for her.

Yes, her meat does have bones groin into it. The new company I went with that pregrounds the food has a ration of 80/10/10. I'm hoping this will be better on her. I'm not sure if the stool is white coming out but I will check next time he goes. I work up North as an EMT so she's at her kennel right now. The owner, who's a breeder and raw feeder herself, says Rooney is doing awesome on the food, no issues with poop, happy and playful as ever. I'm taking that as a good sign.

Thanks again for all the help. I will check out that link again and see if I can figure it out.


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