11 week old pup on raw has very soft poops

[Caspersmum]

Hi, hope someone can tell me if this is ok. My pup was weaned by the breeder onto raw and after researching ALOT I decided I wanted to continue him on the raw diet. He's been with us for 2 weeks now and seems to be thriving, 12.4 kg at his weigh-in at the vet today (who incidently is against raw feeding). I'm just concerned that his poops seem to be very soft, sometimes runny and I was under the impression from the breeder that raw fed dogs have much firmer, smaller stools than kibble fed dogs. He has 4 meals a day at the moment. Bashed up chicken wings for breakfast, green tripe with a few veggies and blueberries for lunch, premium large breed puppy kibble at tea-time and for dinner he has green tripe with a bit of heart and organ meat. I occasionally give him a raw egg and have on a couple of occasions substituted one of his tripe meals with minced rabbit or chicken for variety. He's eating about 10% of his body weight and really seems to enjoy his food (except the kibble). I'm trying to make sure the bone/meat/organ ratio is balanced. Am I doing something wrong here, he's looking great, seems happy but I am a little concerned about the poop situation! Any advice from experienced raw feeders much appreciated folks - thanks!

[Sunflowers]

Get rid of the kibble.

[N Smith]

First - was he on all that variety coming from the breeder? If not, scale it back and start with one protein source and add a new ingredient each 3 days with no runny poops.

Also WAY too much muscle/organ meat and not near enough bone (calcium). I would either supplement calcium using crushed, baked egg shells, or provide more bone throughout the day. The calcium is what firms the poop, without it, you can get soft poops. And especially with the organ meat being so rich.

Also, be careful of feeding too much fat at once, that can also be a factor in soft poops.

[Caspersmum]

Thanks Sunflowers. I might as well get rid of it anyway as he doesn't eat more than a few pieces so I don't think it's that. Would his vaccinations have anything to do with it? He had his 2nd and final one today.

[Caspersmum]

N Smith - the breeder had him on chicken wings, tripe and puppy kibble plus some liver. I think I'll just go back to the tripe and chicken wings then. If I increase the wings to 2 meals a day that would give him more bone. The fat and skin on the wings might be too much so maybe I should try to peel some off? Thanks for your advice.

[Sunflowers]

Rather than chicken wings, try chicken necks. Give him one or two at each meal, and use this as a kind of "knob" to regulate the poos. If they are too soft, add a little more chicken neck. They are too hard, take away a chicken neck.

The thing with kibble iis that the body digests it a little differently from raw, and many have soft stools when the two are mixed. Not all, but many.

Do add tiny pieces of liver, it is necessary, just don't feed too much.

[N Smith]

Originally Posted by Caspersmum

N Smith - the breeder had him on chicken wings, tripe and puppy kibble plus some liver. I think I'll just go back to the tripe and chicken wings then. If I increase the wings to 2 meals a day that would give him more bone. The fat and skin on the wings might be too much so maybe I should try to peel some off? Thanks for your advice.

I would just try adding more bone and see if things improve, if not then I would suspect the fat.

You can add chicken necks, as Sunflowers suggested, but I wouldnt get rid of the chicken wings, but maybe add the necks to two meals and wings to two meals.

ASAP I would be adding chicken back if he can manage it. They have a great calcium/phosphorus ratio, and can even have some organ meat pieces left inside.

[Sunflowers]

Originally Posted by N Smith

I would just try adding more bone and see if things improve, if not then I would suspect the fat.

ASAP I would be adding chicken back if he can manage it. They have a great calcium/phosphorus ratio, and can even have some organ meat pieces left inside.

[Caspersmum]

Thanks guys, I'll try to get hold of some chicken backs. I'm in the UK so think they are sold as chicken carcasses. Today I put in a bulk order for puppy tripe, chicken wings and neck from a raw food supplier as it was getting expensive buying those little 400g packs of frozen tripe from the pet store plus the organ meat and chicken wings from the supermarket. Think I need a bigger freezer or Casper needs his own freezer! Thanks for all your advice, it's reassuring to have back up that I'm doing the right thing, especially as my vet tried to talk me out of raw feeding. I only want the best for my boy and it seems so natural this way. Keep you posted.

[Gilly1331]

Agree with everyone...drop the kibble, add more bone and less organs and drop to one protein source for a few weeks. Once that is stable introduce a 2nd protein source.