# What did I do wrong?



## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

So we got our new pup "Jackson" who is 9 weeks on Saturday at 7pm. He got no food that night, Sunday morning he ate a little kibble that the breeder gave to us(he wasnt that hungry). The breeder suggested going raw as she does with all her dogs so after his small breakfast I went to the grocery store and got 80/20 hamburger meat and split chicken breast. 

For lunch he had about a cup of burger meat and some kibble mixed, about 1.5 hours later he went outside and his poop was solid and looked normal. For dinner he had the same meal but more, like 1.5 cups. Jackson was fine this whole time... playing and sleeping like normal. Again, he went potty and the stool was good.

Now all **** breaks loose during the night... diarrhea non stop til morning. Came out like a fire hose... So we took him to the vet today for the 72 hour pup check up and the vet supplied us with antibiotics incase he got something. Vet mentioned he does not approve raw meat, but people have different opinions. He recommended to cook it the meat and mix with the kibble and call it good. Of course change it up between chicken, ground chuck, yogurt, etc. Just no raw. Vet said the diarreah might have been the meat, the adjustment of living in a new area possibly, its hard to say. But to play it safe and use the antibiotics. 

I really just want whats best for my pup... whats the best kibble food out there you suggest for him? I plan on feeding him 3 times a day, but is it meat at every meal or just kibble sometimes?? Did I do something wrong with all this? Jackson has been great... Hes in good spirits and plays alot! But when he had diarrhea I could tell he was not feeling it...


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Well first, your raw diet is terribly unbalanced if you only fed meat. Put him back on the kibble until you can find a commercial raw dog food.

Many experienced people feed puppies a homemade raw diet. But that includes bones, meat and organs. It's not just meat. I've fed raw for years but was not comfortable feeding solely homemade so I used a commercial raw until he was grown.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

I like the Fromm large breed puppy food it is the gold line. I'm sure there are many people on here that can recommend a commercial raw food when going that route-it's sounds like the best way to start.


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Jax08 said:


> Well first, your raw diet is terribly unbalanced if you only fed meat. Put him back on the kibble until you can find a commercial raw dog food.
> 
> Many experienced people feed puppies a homemade raw diet. But that includes bones, meat and organs. It's not just meat. I've fed raw for years but was not comfortable feeding solely homemade so I used a commercial raw until he was grown.




So yeah, I screwed up bad then. I feel horrible I did this to him... I should have asked more questions or I guess the breeder should have been more clear with me on this. All she really said is hamburger meat and split chicken with the bone. I feel like a moron...


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

I wouldn't change anything from what the breeder was feeding him when he left. 1 big change at a time. But don't panic over diarrhea. Let him settle down a little and see how he does on the kibble the breeder was feeding for right now.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

Maybe I misunderstood, was the breeder already feeding him kibble,raw hamburger, and chicken? That's an awful lot of different foods to be putting into a 9wk old puppy.


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## JRC (Jan 27, 2016)

You are being way to hard on yourself.you are going to be a great dog owner and your puppy is lucky to have you


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Steve Strom said:


> Maybe I misunderstood, was the breeder already feeding him kibble,raw hamburger, and chicken? That's an awful lot of different foods to be putting into a 9wk old puppy.



yes she was already feeding him this... the Vet suggested just cooking the food instead and mixing than doing raw. Im very determined in giving him the best there is. Dont care about the cost. Thank you for the comments!


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

I'd go with what Jax said then, a commercial raw. Its really not too expensive when they're little and it will give you a chance to research feeding a complete raw diet. Kibble with some hamburger and chicken thrown in, that's just too mixed for me to be comfortable with. And if you do cook, no bones in, and I'd really make sure you drain the heck out of any ground beef.


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Steve Strom said:


> I'd go with what Jax said then, a commercial raw. Its really not too expensive when they're little and it will give you a chance to research feeding a complete raw diet. Kibble with some hamburger and chicken thrown in, that's just too mixed for me to be comfortable with. And if you do cook, no bones in, and I'd really make sure you drain the heck out of any ground beef.



Say I want to go away from the raw diet... what would you all suggest? Dont even mess with "meat" in general and just use a high end kibble?


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Don't know if there is any merit to the notion that mixing kibble and raw isn't such a good idea as the two supposedly digest at a different rate ??? I suppose if one felt they wanted to feed both...kibble and a balanced raw diet...I'd feed them separately...maybe kibble in the morning and then raw in the evening...i.e.


SuperG


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## kaslkaos (Jan 15, 2003)

And stress alone can cause diahrrea, a fairly common stress reaction. Both my adopted cats got the squirts on their 1st day and it went away when they started acting normal, and most people, if they think hard enough, will realize there's some intestinal upset that goes along with high stress (job interviews, your first public speaking engagement, etc)
So it may have nothing to do with what you fed your puppy, but now you've got better advice about the raw diet than you started out with, so all good there.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

Diet is so individual to every dog. I don't like to put too many different things in a puppy so for the most part I go one or the other. All my dogs, puppy or grown have done well on Taste of the Wild, but I've never had a single one that could tolerate Orijin. What kibble are you feeding now?


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

SuperG said:


> Don't know if there is any merit to the notion that mixing kibble and raw isn't such a good idea as the two supposedly digest at a different rate ??? I suppose if one felt they wanted to feed both...kibble and a balanced raw diet...I'd feed them separately...maybe kibble in the morning and then raw in the evening...i.e.
> 
> 
> SuperG


There's a new article going around that shows kibble actually digesting quicker then raw, but I think the idea was always kibble would slow things down. Either way, I've never been comfortable mixing the two together. Right now I'm feeding Doc that way though, dog food in the morning, raw at night. I actually brought him home on Abady and raw. Abady is different though. Its not a kibble and its meant to have meat added. He did real well on that too.


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Steve Strom said:


> Diet is so individual to every dog. I don't like to put too many different things in a puppy so for the most part I go one or the other. All my dogs, puppy or grown have done well on Taste of the Wild, but I've never had a single one that could tolerate Orijin. What kibble are you feeding now?



I think its Acana Wild Praire... not 100%.

Ill just do some more research and for now stick with the kibble that she gave me... but now I have 40 bucks worth in chicken and burger meat. lol Ill have to make some room in the freezer.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

So you already have Chicken,Turkey, Eggs, and Fish in a single meal. Then adding more Chicken and beef to it. I just like to keep things simple. That's a healthy, complete diet. I'd feed that alone and read up on raw and what it takes to balance a diet and give it a try later on.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Steve Strom said:


> So you already have Chicken,Turkey, Eggs, and Fish in a single meal. Then adding more Chicken and beef to it. I just like to keep things simple. That's a healthy, complete diet. I'd feed that alone and read up on raw and what it takes to balance a diet and give it a try later on.


^^^ This. 

Feed your puppy what you want and what you are comfortable with.

And don't be to hard on yourself. He'll be just fine. You can give him rice boiled in 2x the water, cooked and drained burger and add in a little ginger to settle his stomach. Do that for a couple meals to settle his stomach. And then go back to your kibble.


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Thank you all so much... I was seriously freaking out this morning. My wife was the one who took Jackson to the vet because she had the day off but during that time I was SOO stressed out, was ready to just call of work so I could be home with him... Ive been sitting here at my desk all day just thinking about the little guy, cant wait to go home. 

Thanks again everyone!


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Well... ended up going to the vet after work to drop a new stool sample. During that time I spoke with the Dr and since Jackson is having diarrhea, he said to wait 24 hours since the last feeding which was Sunday at 6pm. Dr said to start feeding him again this morning which I did with the Vets specific kibble food for his stomach, fed him and he wouldn't eat the food. So I added yogurt to the food, he licked it all off. Then I try adding some chicken broth and let the food soak it up... that kinda worked but I bet he only ate a 1/4 cup, maybe less. He still had tons of energy and is acting like a puppy. We started the antibiotics last night and some other stomach med. The doctor also suggested broiling some ground beef and giving him that... so when I get home tonight Ill broil some ground beef, drain it and soak up the grease... see if he likes that. Any other suggestions? Im calling the vet today to see what they think as well.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

CFH said:


> Any other suggestions?.


You can give him rice boiled in 2x the water, cooked and drained burger and add in a little ginger to settle his stomach. Do that for a couple meals to settle his stomach. And a scoop of pumpkin


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Jax08 said:


> You can give him rice boiled in 2x the water, cooked and drained burger and add in a little ginger to settle his stomach. Do that for a couple meals to settle his stomach. And a scoop of pumpkin


Awesome, thank you!


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

What kibble from the vet? One of the Science Diet products? I don't use ground beef, but I do basically like Jax is suggesting. The rice has to be boiled into paste and you want to give him the excess water too. Pumpkin is good too. Pure pumpkin, not pie filler.


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Steve Strom said:


> What kibble from the vet? One of the Science Diet products? I don't use ground beef, but I do basically like Jax is suggesting. The rice has to be boiled into paste and you want to give him the excess water too. Pumpkin is good too. Pure pumpkin, not pie filler.



Yes it was the Prescription Diet product...

Im going to do what Jax recommended tonight. 
*
*


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

Jackson is so adorable. Just one other thing that you may need to know: antibiotics can cause diarrhea because of how it works so as you are working out the best possible food to feed, you may see a slower time frame for when you pups stool really firms up.

The other members who have been responding have much more experience than me so hopefully they can address this also so that you can gain more/better knowledge without adding more worries and stress.

I'm new also with my 1st gsd. Just a bit further into the journey.

You will do a wonderful job and though you are new, he is obviously in loving, capable hands.


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Heartandsoul said:


> Jackson is so adorable. Just one other thing that you may need to know: antibiotics can cause diarrhea because of how it works so as you are working out the best possible food to feed, you may see a slower time frame for when you pups stool really firms up.
> 
> The other members who have been responding have much more experience than me so hopefully they can address this also so that you can gain more/better knowledge without adding more worries and stress.
> 
> ...


Thank you! Hes already a monster... hes biting anything he sees right now just to test what its like to bite... lol. But last night I decided to let me sleep with us because I had a feeling he might be feeling that great. So it was one big family in bed... wife , me, maltipoo and the bobcat. Whats great is he slept pretty much the whole night, I finally got a good 4-5 hours sleep.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

CFH said:


> Yes it was the Prescription Diet product...
> 
> Im going to do what Jax recommended tonight.


Those prescription diets have their place but I often wonder if they are tasteless. If I was going to give those short term, I would use canned.

If you have a double boiler, cook the rice with 2x the water in that. I have much better luck cooking rice in these. But I kind of suck as a cook of any kind.  I put in a couple teaspoons of ground ginger too


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

Reading this I'm feeling anxiety coming through the computer. Do focus on going slow and not freaking out. This is a dog and they can be pretty resilient. But careful with your own emotions. If you are super anxious about everything, they will pick up on that and you can inadvertently be supporting an anxiety response in the dog. Focus on "rolling with it". Dog do get sick and you just get to work on it. It is not usually a big deal. Dog food is anxiety provoking, pick one that works and go with it for awhile. And remember that you just got this puppy. All will take time to settle.

Best to you. He looks lovely.


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## RZZNSTR (Jan 24, 2015)

I went away from raw when Valor was about 15 weeks old. He was eating it fine along with Orijen Large Puppy (he'll eat anything!!!!). I went back to feeding him Orijen Large Puppy with some warm water to soften it up a bit and he gets cooked chicken livers, steamed carrots and broccoli. He is doing amazing on it. Almost too much energy. His coat looks sensational and his poop is perfect.... No more raw for him at least at this point.


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

RZZNSTR said:


> I went away from raw when Valor was about 15 weeks old. He was eating it fine along with Orijen Large Puppy (he'll eat anything!!!!). I went back to feeding him Orijen Large Puppy with some warm water to soften it up a bit and he gets cooked chicken livers, steamed carrots and broccoli. He is doing amazing on it. Almost too much energy. His coat looks sensational and his poop is perfect.... No more raw for him at least at this point.


Nice! Maybe Ill try that.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Any of the times my dogs have had some serious runs...I did what Jax and Steve suggested....the rice and burger....and the pure pumpkin as well.

I also have done the 24 fasting a couple of times as well and then started with the bland rice/burger and blob or so of pure pumpkin.

SuperG


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## RZZNSTR (Jan 24, 2015)

Yes, for the squirts (sorry) baked (no seasoning) or boiled chicken and plain white rice. That helps give some bulk with the rice and the chicken is easy to digest.


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Well made his dinner tonight, boiled hamburger, rice boiled x2 time, hint of ginger. Man did he gobble that up. Gave him 1/2 cup of it, didnt want to feed him too much since his stomach is still uneasy. But thanks for all the suggestions and helpful comments! Hopefully I see some solid poop tomorrow! lol


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## CFH (Feb 16, 2016)

Just and update. Hes back to normal... solid craps. lol And hes eating like a horse...


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