# Dehydrated commercial raw - stool questions



## Mika140 (Jan 8, 2011)

I've had my 5 yr old GSD (diagnosed w/ IBD) on the Honest Kitchen Zeal for about 2+ weeks now. I'm just curious about the stool quality and whether it's a common thing with the dehydrated products, or if it's just my dog...

He's setting a lifetime record for 2 weeks of solid stool, so that's great. But I can see some undigested food in his stool - it looks to be the alfalfa (there's quite a bit in this mix I believe) and a small amount of the green beans. Some of the stool splits and falls apart when it hits the ground.

I've got an appointment with an internal med specialist a few weeks from now, so she may put him on enzymes....but I was just trying to sort out ahead of time whether it's common to have some of the ingredients like alfalfa, etc show up undigested in the stool. Any thoughts/experiences?


----------



## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

It is not uncommon for food to show up in the stool if the dog can not digest it. He may indeed have problems with the alfalfa, some dogs do.


----------



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

Mika140 said:


> But I can see some undigested food in his stool - it looks to be the alfalfa (there's quite a bit in this mix I believe) and a small amount of the green beans.


Since dogs aren't designed (by nature) to digest those things I'm not surprised you are seeing them. Digestive enzymes aren't necessarily going to help.



> Some of the stool splits and falls apart when it hits the ground.


Sounds like a good stool!!


----------



## Mika140 (Jan 8, 2011)

Thanks! That helps a lot....I'll just relax and be happy about the solid stool


----------



## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

I have a question....."What is the benefit of adding ingredients to a food, that is not digestible to the dog"? I am surprised that a natural food would do so....
just curious?...


----------



## balakai (Feb 9, 2005)

*poop "debris"*

I have fed all of the HK formulas over the years and just recently finished up a 10 pound box of Zeal. My dogs all had lots of "debris" with the Zeal, something I never really noticed with the other formulas, and more than I can blame on eating horse poop. 

I don't care for the Zeal formula overall. I am going back to the Embark formula.

BTW, HK has several new products coming out this year, including a new grain-free beef formula. Look for it late summer/early fall.

~Kristin


----------



## BOHICA Bay (Jan 26, 2011)

robinhuerta said:


> I have a question....."What is the benefit of adding ingredients to a food, that is not digestible to the dog"? I am surprised that a natural food would do so....
> just curious?...


I think the issue stems from the disagreement on whether or not dogs need/eat greens. There are arguments based on hunting dogs who take live prey eating the stomachs of herbivores proving that they do need the greens - and studies stating that those animals actually remove the stomach contents and eat only the organ itself, proving they do NOT need/eat the greens. 
Those who believe the former are the ones who will add those ingredients to their formulas.


----------



## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

I supplement with the grain free HK products in the summer when we're at the cottage. Rafi does not digest them well at all, no matter how long they have rehydrated. I wish they would puree everything instead of putting in pieces of veggies, etc. 

His poops are 100 times better on ground raw.


----------



## Katarina (Mar 4, 2011)

Mika140 said:


> I've had my 5 yr old GSD (diagnosed w/ IBD) on the Honest Kitchen Zeal for about 2+ weeks now. I'm just curious about the stool quality and whether it's a common thing with the dehydrated products, or if it's just my dog...
> 
> He's setting a lifetime record for 2 weeks of solid stool, so that's great. But I can see some undigested food in his stool - it looks to be the alfalfa (there's quite a bit in this mix I believe) and a small amount of the green beans. Some of the stool splits and falls apart when it hits the ground.
> 
> I've got an appointment with an internal med specialist a few weeks from now, so she may put him on enzymes....but I was just trying to sort out ahead of time whether it's common to have some of the ingredients like alfalfa, etc show up undigested in the stool. Any thoughts/experiences?


I know that this is an old thread, but I would like to know what did you end up doing. Have you continued to feed the Zeal or did you make a switch to something else. I just transitioned my dog to ZEAL and I see the same thing you described: well formed stool, but a lot of undigested food - alfalfa, apples, beans, and the amount of the stool is enormous. It seems to me that more comes out than goes in and also he goes 4-5 times a day, sometimes even 6.


----------

