[aubie]

I have fed him a fair amount of marrow bones and chicken bones as well, though.

Do the marrow bones still have marrow in them? Marrow can cause runny poo as well. IMHO I think it's a combo of overfeeding and the marrow and not a sufficient amount of bone and possibly too much OM from the mix you're getting.

Even if you're feeding a 50/50 diet (50 kibble/50 raw) you need to include a complete raw portion, including muscle meat, raw meaty bone and organ.

 

[GSDSunshine]

I would want to see his pictures as well. One from the side, and one from above is most helpful. GSDs are supposed to be kept lean, so he might not be under weight at all, most german shepherds don't reach full size until after a year. (mine just started filling out after 2).

 

[Jennifer]

Do the marrow bones still have marrow in them? Marrow can cause runny poo as well. IMHO I think it's a combo of overfeeding and the marrow and not a sufficient amount of bone and possibly too much OM from the mix you're getting.

Even if you're feeding a 50/50 diet (50 kibble/50 raw) you need to include a complete raw portion, including muscle meat, raw meaty bone and organ.

Yes, the marrow bones still have marrow in them, but he's only getting those about once or twice per month and yet the runny stools are much more frequent.

What does 'OM' stand for?

Thank you for the explanation about what the raw meat should contain. I am really appreciating all that I'm learning here.

I would want to see his pictures as well. One from the side, and one from above is most helpful. GSDs are supposed to be kept lean, so he might not be under weight at all, most german shepherds don't reach full size until after a year. (mine just started filling out after 2).

I would be happy to post photos. It may take until tomorrow for me to get to it though because today is my son's birthday and I need to be focused on that. It may be the case that Oro has filled out as much as he needs to for his age but I'm not sure. When I got him 3 months ago, the breeder said he was on the thin side (she's been breeding world class GSDs for over 30 years) so I went with her opinion and instructions based on that.

 

[Lauri & The Gang]

What does 'OM' stand for?

Organ Meat - liver, kidney, brains ...

 

[Jennifer]

Organ Meat - liver, kidney, brains ...

Ah, thank you.


Hey, I just have a second right now but want to mention that it's really strange to me that whenever he goes a few days eating only the Orijen -free feeding as well- his poop becomes solid. Like right now, I decided to lay off the raw completely for a few days because of concern about how long the 'pudding poops' were going on for, and I'm noticing that his poops are becoming more solid . . . and this has happened every time he's been only on the Orijen (like when we went on a week-long camping trip and that's all I brought for him).


Why would that be??

 

[GSDSunshine]

Orijen was created by people that know how to create a balanced diet. Not saying you can't create one. But it sounds like the raw that you are feeding him currently isn't balanced and it is throwing off his digestive tract.

If I were you I would stick with the Orijen for the time being and do some more reading up on a RAW diet. When I first started feeding Koda raw food, I fed him one meal raw and one meal kibble for 2 months and didn't have problems, but I made sure to make his one raw meal as balanced as possible. And you can bet that the day I decided that he needed more organ meat, was the day I came home to a mess on the floor. It wasn't his fault, it was mine.

There are tons of threads on this board as well as websites that can help figure out how to make a successful raw diet for your dog. And if you ever come across a question, there are many people on here that have fed raw, and/or are still feeding raw.

I think if you do decide to go back to raw, you should either go completely raw, or feed one meal raw and one kibble, so that you can better ensure his raw meal is what he needs. (And if you are feeding Orijen, you can most likely find raw for a comparable price... assuming you have space for buying in bulk)

 

[Jennifer]

I had fed him alternating meals of Orijen and then raw for a few days after receiving the advice in this thread. It didn't seem to make a difference. I am guessing from all that I'm reading here that the raw dog food made by the beef farmers is just not working out for Oro. They have some of that pre-made raw dog food at our health food store. I may give that a try.

 

[GSDSunshine]

It just sounds like what the beef farmers made you has too much Organ meat in it, and when everything is mixed together it becomes impossible to know in what percentages you have organs and muscle meat.

I'm not sure where you are from (no location on your profile) but most places have a local butcher or meat processor. I have been able to find some pretty good deal shopping that way. Also, if there is any way you could get JUST beef heart, or just Beef liver, unprocessed, from your friends at the beef farmers, than they could be incorporated into your raw diet.

 

[aubie]

How well your dog does on raw hinges on learning what THEY need in their diet...what percentages of bone, muscle and organ meat they do best on. To do that, you need to know the amounts of MM, bone and OM in a mix. If you don't do a mix, you'll need a scale to weigh out each component. The Excel sheet on rawdogranch.com breaks down each into the suggested ounces for your dog.

 

[kaydeandanes@yahoo.com]

When I changed my dogs to raw they did fine on the preground and mixed chubs that I purchased. When I added the chicken quarters they had serious diarrhea. It did not stop until I went to the butchers and got beef neck bones. As long as I kept up with bones for them to chew on the stool was perfect. I stayed consistant with the bones with they rest of the food and they have done fine. No diarrhea since then. I also give raw eggs and sometimes hardboiled eggs and that helps too. Dont know why. I vary the food a lot.

 

[onyx'girl]

Beef neck bones are a bit hard for a GSD.
A Great dane, they may be fine for. I would stick with turkey necks, pork neck bones and not feed the beef ones unless you have a very strong chewer.