Food transistion underway!

[Cami]

Something that might help in measuring is 1.333 is 1 1/3 cups, so instead of guessing how much over 1/4 mark, use the 1/3 mark on the cup.

I have a set of measuring cups that are 1/8 up to 2 cups but no 1/3 cup!
I am going to get a small kitchen scale and then measure out what she is supposed to have and then weigh it. He can't argue with an actual weight (if he sticks to it).
He is terrible with the addition of the canned food to her evening meal also. I add literally a few pieces of the meat and of course a bit of the "gravy" sticks to it. I add a bit of water and then the dry food. He adds about a tablespoon or more and too much water. End up pouring 1/2 of it out (when I point it out) and her meal turns to goo!

I can't not let him feed her meals since I am often not here for dinner and he handles most of the weekend meals. I need to train him better.

On a positive note....no middle of the night potty last night and her first poo this morning while no where near normal wasn't completely squirting out of her into a puddle on the ground. That seems like a little progress! Still a long way to go.

 

[Cami]

Continuing to see progress in stool consistency.
We have gone 2 nights now without middle of the night potty trips. I am not going to hold my breath this will become the norm since Raine has pretty much always been a middle of the night "have to go pee and check out my yard" kind of girl. But during the transition she was also going potty #2.
As of this afternoon and 4 meals in with breakfast this AM of just straight Acana her stool has returned to what it used to be. Though not "normal" in comparison to other dogs it is back to normal for the most part for her. Clean up with a bag is not nor has ever been an easy task. What looks normal is very deceiving! I feel so bad that I leave some behind but try my best. appicon
I'm feeling good with the progress (I was worried for a bit there). I hope that the progress continues and she makes a more firm poo on this food. If not I don't know what to do aside from adding *something* to her diet to help.
She is still overly interested in her bum. I hope her anal glands don't become an issue.
Still going to give the Acana a full 5 days before I make a final decision (not adding anything).
She has no clue her food is different. Acts like every meal is her last or she hasn't eaten in days. She is for sure a food addict which I prefer since it is always a good indicator of health (if she didn't eat we would know we were in trouble).
So that is our poop update for the day!

 

[Noey]

Newest issue.....Raine is really interested in her bum! Not sure if she is on "clean-up" duty or if her anal glands might be bothering her. I don't SEE anything wrong there and of course she can't tell me.

I am not going to be able to go for a few days to see if the massively loose stools clear up as she gets used to the new diet.

The TOTW comes it at 4% fiber. Her stools were the best on this food but never perfect. Nature's Variety Instinct is at 3.2% and Orijen is at 3%.
I just don't think either is enough so I am heading to the pet store today and will be picking up Acana. Their Grasslands (lamb) and Wild Prairie (chicken) versions come in at 3.5%. That is plan A for the time being.

I may also pick up a bag of frozen green beans and add about a 1/4 cup to hear meals just to give her an added boost of fiber. Also considered peas thinking they might produce less gas? Raine already passes plenty of gas however most often void of odor (good thing)!!

I have tried pumpkin in the past with no luck. Also considered adding The Missing Link supplement as it claims to be high in fiber but can't locate any specific percentages and only find "grams".

Another option would be to get a diet food since they seem to be higher in fiber but it will be hard to figure out how much of that type of food to add to regular food and yet keep enough calories in her. Plus.....finding a grain free version might be difficult since it appears to me (with little research) that diet foods are higher in carbs to help keep that "full feeling".

So many decisions to make just to feed one obnoxious puppy!

Hey all-

We are many weeks into a meld/transition. I fed Innova from the onset and then when Rox got sick, I went raw for a week. She did perfectly on raw.

I transitioned to Orijen, but Rox had the runs the first few days (and so did the cats who also eat Orijen (Red bag). Now they all have stable poop.

New issue... Roxanne's poops have gotten smaller, drier... I think too dry.
Help anyone? She seems entirely too interested in her own butt so I am concerned the pooping hurts her. No blood, no whimper. I am not meaning to kick a gift horse in the mouth. The meld of food was that I added farm fresh eggs and plain yogurt or cottage cheese to her food to help firm up her stools, which added a lot of bulk to her stools. She has been on just the kibble for many days, but just the last few days her poops seem dry and small.

I still give her meaty bones on the weekend, in her crate, where she is free to be a dog and not a polite family member.

 

[Cami]

UPDATE

Gas hit on Friday. Terribly foul, burn your eyes, clear a room, obnoxious smelling gas! I mean you know it is bad when the dog doing it turns to see what that smell is!

Hubby pretty much had meal duty this weekend (this may be important) and we have gone backwards. Raine is back to having to poo in the middle of the night and it no longer has any form. Pudding poo has returned.

I'll be back in charge of meals tonight and going forward for the week. I actually think I am revoking his feeding privileges! He swears he didn't over feed her but when I was feeding her it was getting better, nearly back to her old normal before all the new stuff was introduced. Coincidence or just me getting lucky? Time will tell.

She was overly active yesterday and did drink a ton of water, helped us with tree trimming (chewing on limbs/bark) but she strips the wood from the branches more so than actually ingesting it. He swears it was the water/wood but I think that is just wishful thinking on his part. She is needing to go a lot more this weekend as well (not in dire straits--diarrhea--type mode) but 4-5 times a day verses her typical 3. Methinks it is HIS FAULT!

 

[Cami]

Blood in stool this morning. Small amount and bright red so coming from irritation at the bottom end of the colon I'm assuming.
That being said I fed dinner last night and the poo this morning was less puddle than over the weekend when DH was preparing the meals. I know he was over feeding even if he swears he wasn't.
He is so visual in that he looks to see how much food is in the measuring cup verses actually doing much measuring. I also eliminated the TOTW canned food of which she is supposed to get about a tablespoon. I've seen what DH considers a tablespoon and it ISN'T. Will continue to go without canned food on the off-chance that is somehow problematic with the Acana.
If I can't get control on this by mid-week I am going to have to add something to her food to get her over this hump.
I really don't want to change food again but of course will if this issue doesn't get resolved.
So frustrating!!

 

[shindig]

Have you tried a natural probiotic. Bandit was having pretty runny stools for a while (mostly due to his chemo I think, but could be the high protein diet he is on also). The pro-biotic has seemed to really help. I use the one below.

4 in 1 Probiotics - GREEN

 

[Cami]

Have you tried a natural probiotic.

I had in the past when her stool was very soft and seen little to no improvement.

I have fed the past 3 meals and as I thought......her stool is getting better. DH was the culprit for the back slide. Had form this morning. Still too soft but headed in the right direction. Dinner tonight will be a complete week of straight Acana (Wild Prairie).
She gets another solid week with this meal plan to see what we end up with. If I don't see further improvement I am going to add a 3rd meal to her day (same amount of food just split into 3).

 

[shindig]

Arcana will probably be a little easier for her than Orijen since it is lower in protein. I had Bandit on Arcana before he was diagnosed with LSA and he seemed to have really solid stools while on it. I've just been trying to keep out as many carbs as I can due to his cancer.

 

[Cami]

2nd weekend where DH did the feedings and the loose stool returned. He again swears that he isn't over feeding but I caught him doing just that. I had to give him the temp job as pet chef due to being overly busy with the holiday weekend but he is fired again.
He puts the food in the measuring cup and then "pats it down". Well of course he is going to squeeze a bit extra in that way and he was.
It didn't get as bad as last weekend when he was measuring with his eyes.
It took just two meals of the Acana and him overfeeding for the dreaded results to hit.
It took only ONE meal of me feeding the correct amount to right the issue (not 100% but for sure in the right direction).
I don't know what I am going to do. I mentioned to him that I could pre-measure a few meals and have them at the ready in case I wasn't around at meal times but he sort of took it the wrong way. (Insulted?)
I don't mean to be negative to him but it just isn't getting it and Raine is paying the price.
At this rate I don't know if I will ever know for sure if her stools will ever be better than her normal on this food.
She can't seem to get into a routine since he keeps feeding too much!!
I almost find myself feeding her less to compensate for him over feeding and that isn't good either.
She whined so bad for a banana last night immediately after dinner and I gave in but at least it was fiber! I don't really think she was "starving" after eating and she usually eats a 1/2 banana (at least) per day but we had been without over the weekend and she saw me bring them in from the grocery store!
The saga continues.....

 

[Mega's Mom]

Oh boy ... you have me worried now as the BF is on Corenlius duty this weekend while I'm in Florida for a wedding. If Cornelius gets a smidge too much food (and I mean a smidge) it's disastrous. Maybe I should measure out the food but I'm sure the BF would be insulted too. He also gets a small dollop of yogurt on top. How do I explain that?! What to do? *sigh*