# Is diarrhea normal for dogs starting on a raw diet?



## miro2010 (Mar 11, 2010)

I started Miro on raw yesterday and he had major diarrhea today!!! Is this normal? Will his poop go back to normal? He had pork meat on the bone and 2 raw eggs with shell.

Thanks for your help!

Maria


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

1st, some dogs don't do well on pork
2nd, what type of bone was it. The only pork bone that is suitable for dogs fo eat are pork neck bones. 
Also how much did you feed? Sounds like too much meat and practically no (edible) bone.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

My dog couldn't handle all the fat in pork. And my big GSD mix broke a canine on pork necks, so I stopped buying those. (Root canal, $925.) The only pork I give the dogs now is an occasional pork chop(s) with bone when I can find it. Those bones are okay.


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## miro2010 (Mar 11, 2010)

Thanks so much for your replies.

How about beef and lamb? Can they eat all kinds of these bones?


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

they definitely can not eat all kinds of beef bones the leg bones are far to dense for them they are more for recreational bones but not for them to eat You have to remember those bones are meant to support over 1 ton of weight from the cows.

I wouldn't necessarily say it's "normal" for a dog to have loose/runny stools after starting raw but it certainly is common. Their digestive systems are adapting to an entirely different type of food and it generally clears up in a few days when their systems regulate. There are other things to cause it though you want to be aware of because it can happen at any time during raw feeding and helps you to know your making a mistake somewhere so you can fix it.

First is feeding to much food it can cause loose stools. Second foods that are to fatty some dogs it's pork some it's skin on the chicken etc.. Third is introducing too many different proteins too quickly, example start the dog on chicken one day beef the next type of thing. Fourth common reason is starting organ meats too soon or giving too much of them. Organ meat is very rich and you want to stay away from it until your dog gets used to raw them gradually introduce them. Another reason and quite common is not enough bone (edible bone) being given to them. As much as we don't love doing it you have to really moniter your dogs poops so you know if you are giving them what they need. Generally if they are doing good then not bone is the first culprit. Not enough bone and your going to have runny stools. Too much bone in the diet and you are going to notice them straining like they might be constipated and the poop is going to be small generally kind of like pellets and it's going to be white.

Personally what I have always found to be best in starting a dog on raw is to start them on chicken. Most dogs do very well on chicken it's a very basic meat so it's easier to adapt to. For just starting out my favorite thing was chicken quarters. For a large breed dog one decent size quarter is generally going to be enough for a meal (if your feeding twice a day which I suggest for just starting out) and it gives you a good source of edible bone and meat. If in a few days they don't seem be getting enough bone try using chicken backs also (with some other chicken) because they are rather boney and should help out.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

just an added thing and all of the other more experienced please correct me if you disagree. I used to give my guys ribs. It was awhile ago so I don't remember if it was beef pork or both but I definitely remember feeding them ribs which were a nice source of bone for them I just made sure they had a lot of meat to them and if not I gave them a smaller portion of ribs and a nice chunk of something like beef heart to go with it.


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## miro2010 (Mar 11, 2010)

That was really helpful. Thank you so much. Yesterday he had chicken quarters so I will stick to that for a few days.

He threw up this morning TWICE and you could see a couple of chunks of bones in there. Sorry to be gross but I wonder if he's having problems digesting the bone.

I do have an extra piece of info: my mother-in-law took care of him for 3 hours the day he started on raw and I just found out that she gave him a few chunks of beef soup bone. Could this have gotten him sick? She said he chewed them up like nothing and they had some nice beef on there but it sounded to me like he ate dense bone (the kind you talk about). Will he be okay? He doesn't seem to be feeling well but I could just be paranoid.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

just keep an eye on him. The soup bone was a bad idea. What how he eats if he's a gulperthat may cause there to be pieces of bone thrown up from time to time. also you're not being gross we deal with some of the wierdest things most people couldn't stomach with feeding raw lol so no reason to apologize.

Without being there I'm just going to assume that maybe the bone was from the soup bone. They are very dense and he probably didn't digest thing because they are so dense and thats how he's getting it out of his system. It may be other things so just don't get to dead set on one thing and ignore other signs or symptoms. Keep an eye on him make sure he's acting ok. Want him to still eat and use the bathroom watch for illness and watch for an issue from the soup bone. 

I would stick to the chicken for a good week or 2 nothing else just chicken. Do not let anyone give him anything else and let them know they are to give him nothing without your approval first. Some people see dogs eating raw and think they can just be a garbage disposal and give them all sorts of things they shouldn't have but those people don't know better because they don't know about raw.


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## miro2010 (Mar 11, 2010)

I took him out for a walk a little while ago and he seems to be better. His poop was also better (still runny but looked a lot more normal than it did yesterday). I just gave him a bowl of chicken quarters. I hope he keeps getting better! I was really worried about him last night and this morning.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

thats good to hear. Sorry if you said this already but how how old is he? How much does he weigh? and how much are you feeding him? Like actually weight like how many pounds/ounces is he getting of meat a day and do you feed him once twice etc.. Might help others direct you as well. Do you know about how much RMB/MM/OM they are supposed to have?


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

Personally...if he continues to have the runs I would feed him cooked meals of rice and chicken/beef/turkey - ALL cooked, NO bones until his system settles. Dogs are more apt to have the runs if you introduce too much variety at once (and you have done pork, beef and now chicken). I would start with JUST the chicken quarters and I would feed them exclusively for at least a week. They have a good ratio of bone:meat. Also, how much does your dog weigh, and how much are you feeding him? Over feeding is another reason dogs get the runs. It will definitely help to get a kitchen scale to weigh his food.


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## miro2010 (Mar 11, 2010)

Miro weighs 100 lbs. He still had the runs this morning but better than the first day. I was told he needs about 2 lbs of food a day (1 kg). Since he had the runs I gave him 1 lb of chicken quarters yesterday and he does seem to be getting better so I will definitely stick to this until I see that his poop goes back to normal.

Is he out of the foods after having had the soup bones 2 days ago? Can I stop worrying about this now? I hope he didn't break any teeth!!! I can't believe my MIL would do that without asking first!


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

I would still keep an eye on the poops. It is great for determining if your dog is getting a good ratio of bone:meat. If the poop is too try/dog constipated - feed more muscle meat(MM) and less RMB (raw meaty bones); if the poop is too soft, feed more RMB's. 

Some dogs also go through a transitional stage when starting raw, so that could be a factor in your dogs runny poop (although, I bet the soup bones had more to do with it). 

Not sure if they have it in Europe or not, but we can get canned pumpkin (100% pure pumpkin, no sugar added) here and if you give your dog a scoop of that it might help with the runs. The fiber will help firm up the poop if your dog has the runs and it also helps if your dog is constipated as well.


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