[mrezkill]

I've had Tater on the raw diet for a month and he's losing weight. When I try to give him slightly more food, his poop gets soft. I'm not sure how to get his weight back up. Should I just feed him more and ignore the soft poop? He gets pumpkin after every meal still.

He started off at 54 lbs and is getting:
12oz RMB (chicken necks and drumsticks)
10oz MM (skinless chicken breast...just started adding some ground beef yesterday)

No OM still as it gives him diarrhea. He is now at 49 lbs. Any advice?

 

[onyx'girl]

Feed smaller meals a few times a day. He may just have an issue with chicken. Maybe try a pre-made raw diet for a tube or so and see if it helps? Digestive enzymes and probiotics are helpful, too.
Some dogs need more bone. Have you given leg 1/4s? They are almost the perfect balance for meat/bone/organ ratio.

 

[Elaine]

Your dog may not be able to handle any more fat in his diet. You could try and add some carbs such as rice, potatoes, or sweet potatoes.

 

[mrezkill]

Am I feeding enough? I can see his ribs

So if I feed him more carbs, how much should I give him?

 

[Elaine]

If you want to try rice, make sure it's well cooked, almost a mush. Potatoes and sweet potatoes should be well cooked and mashed. The sweet potatoes should be peeled and the potatoes might have to be peeled or not depending on whether your dog can handle the fiber in the skin or not.

You can try feeding small amounts first to make sure your dog can handle them and then increase it if all goes well. My dog eats over a pound of sweet potato and a little less than a pound of white potato a day just to give you an idea of potential volume.

 

[lhczth]

It could be a few things. Too much fat. Too much MM (needs his RMB increased). A protein source other than chicken.

How old is Tater?

I am one of those people who does not feed RMB, OM and MM at every meal. Breakfast is pretty much always RMB only. Dinner will have a small RMB and MM alternating each night with OM. It also depends on the RMB that I am feeding. Leg quarters are very meaty and do not require extra MM and neither do the turkey thighs I feed or when I cut up whole chickens or whole turkeys. The mutton I get is very meaty (whole animal was cut up for the dogs) so again I don't add extra MM. The turkey necks, chicken backs and often the pork neck are bonier, so the next meal usually is or includes MM. OM I usually feed with a bonier RMB (like a chicken back).

 

[mrezkill]

Thanks for your responses! I feel like I'm starving him now that I can see his ribs.

Tater is now 9 months and weighed 49 lbs on Saturday. I take the skin off the chicken (drumsticks and breast). I stopped giving him leg quarters because some OM was getting in there and gave him diarrhea. Plus, I wanted him to have more bone so I started doing only drumsticks for RMB.

I was giving him 12oz of RMB, but started giving him 2oz extra of chicken necks this week to see if that helped with the weight and the poop. I started giving him ground beef for his MM (along with the chicken breast). He gets his RMB in the morning and his MM in the evening.

I feel like I'm doing this correctly, but his poops and weight loss are kind of driving me a little crazy. Esp because I know that I have to start bringing in OM soon.

 

[onyx'girl]

Why are you removing the skin? There is nutritional benefits in skin. I'm not sure you are feeding a balanced diet. If he isn't doing well on what you are feeding him, splurge and go with Bravo premade and see if he still has issues with weight gain and runny poo. My pups were fed about 2# a day split between 3 meals til they were 5 mos. Then I went to two feedings a day 1# each meal. You may not be feeding him enough if he is so skinny.
Maybe go with some turkey necks(chunked into 1/2 or 1/3's) for his RMB's. Chicken necks are so small and there is a fair amount of fat on them, not much bone.
I am one that does feed the ratios of MM, OM, RMB's per meal as I don't want too much bone to cause hard stool or too much MM to cause runny poo.
I think the ratio is good for digestion. My dogs have not had any issues with extremes and I think it is because I feed the balance at each meal.