# Unique stool?



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

I'd talk to the vet, but it sounds like he may be low on fiber or not drinking enough water, or both. 

He probably does not have some bizarre intestinal thing going on, but it's always worth asking the vet... 

For Poodles, unfortunately, a "Unique" stool usually consists of a sock, some glitter encrusted kid toy, part of a chew toy, etc... Sometimes they don't come out - then a vet visit is really in order... 

sarah


----------



## TrinaBoo (Apr 3, 2012)

Looking that dog food up on dog food analysis, it is rated as a 6 star food. When you feed high quality kibble, their stools will be noticeably smaller and firmer. This just means that he is digesting more of the food. When I changed my girls' diet to Nature's Variety/raw their stools changed drastically. But, there is nothing wrong with asking the vet too. 

Have you always fed Shelton this food?


----------



## pinkteaji (Dec 7, 2012)

I haven't always fed Shelton this food. He was on Purina One till he was around 13 months old or so but wasn't gaining weight as he should so we switched to taste of the wild. I don't remember what his stool looked like when he was on purina one haha. Bad memory. I Should have kept track 


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## pinkteaji (Dec 7, 2012)

sarahmurphy said:


> I'd talk to the vet, but it sounds like he may be low on fiber or not drinking enough water, or both.
> 
> He probably does not have some bizarre intestinal thing going on, but it's always worth asking the vet...
> 
> ...


If there was something stuck inside his intestines, how will I know he does? Will his behavior change? 

Is there a way I can increase his fiber and see if that helps? Also, lately, idk of this applies but he has not been eating his food again, it takes him forever to eat or he won't finish his food. He's been like that with totw. There are days when he eats like he's hungry and then days where he won't touch it till like two hours later or something. 


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## MaryLynn (Sep 8, 2012)

That's a normal behavior for a dog that gets to free feed. If you put his food down, and pick it up 15 mins-30 mins later and don't put it down again until next meal time he will learn to eat it when it's available. I don't really see a harm in free feeding though, but it makes it easier if you know when your dog has eaten (because then you will have a rough idea of when/what should be coming out ).


----------



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Of course always ask your vet first, but if I feel one of my dogs needs fiber, I add a couple of table spoons of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) to their food.


----------



## pinkteaji (Dec 7, 2012)

MaryLynn said:


> That's a normal behavior for a dog that gets to free feed. If you put his food down, and pick it up 15 mins-30 mins later and don't put it down again until next meal time he will learn to eat it when it's available. I don't really see a harm in free feeding though, but it makes it easier if you know when your dog has eaten (because then you will have a rough idea of when/what should be coming out ).


Il definitely do that! Thanks for letting me know. Yeah he's a wild card with his pooping sometimes I might have to start taking it away then. I'm glad it wasn't anything too weird. I used to have a lab and he would just eat like he's been starving and poop big solid ones so it was definitely something new to me. Also he had trouble gaining weight so I'd always feel bad about takin it away but I'm going to suck it up and try it. Thank you for your advice! 


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

I guess only your vet would know, and an intestinal blockage would have some signs, I'd think... 

The higher quality food, the less quantity of poop, generally. 

If you want to try a fiber thing, we also use plain canned pumpkin (no spices)

sarah


----------



## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

It's funny talking to you here, instead of in person  But I know it's sometimes much easier to articulate thoughts in writing (and helpful to get opinions from folks other than me!)

Eating small amounts throughout the day could also be contributing to your problem with him pooping a little, then pooping a little more later on in the house. He's constantly got kibble digesting in his system, so he's going to have irregularly scheduled potty breaks. I'd go with the suggestion of offering food for 15 minutes then taking it up. 

To help with weight gain, you can try adding high-fat fresh foods to his meals. Full-fat plain yogurt, cottage cheese, olive oil, hamburger meat (raw or cooked) can all be mixed with and added to kibble to increase palatability and to increase the fat content. You can also try satin balls (Satin Balls – For Ill or Underweight Dogs : gssarda-il.org) for weight gain. 

You could always try going full raw  That may make him enjoy his meals more!


----------



## pinkteaji (Dec 7, 2012)

I still like going to you for help though, Sookster  you're my number one poodle gal! ill definitely try adding olive oil or cottage cheese. I know he'll like that hahahahha 

I have been curious about the raw diet but wasn't sure how to go about it. Is it just feeding the dogs raw meat? Are there any precautions or recommendations to consider? 


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

There are several threads on this forum about it, but basically yes. You do have to balance it: 

80% muscle meat (includes heart), 10% bone (whole or ground; whole is better for teeth cleaning), and 10% organ (5% liver and 5% other secreting organ) is the general rule for balancing over time. 

My suggestion for starting off would be use Blue Ridge Beef (sold locally at Mary's). It's pre-ground meat sold for pet consumption. It comes in 2 lbs tubes and you can get beef, chicken, venison, quail, rabbit, or turkey. The "with bone" varieties vary between 8-15% bone content, so then you just have to worry about balancing your organs. I recommend this for starters instead of going cold-turkey home prepared raw (whole bones, just meat from grocery store or wherever) because when I did the switch with my girls, they would vomit a lot when given bones. I think their stomachs just hadn't adjusted to digesting the bone. Starting with the meat and ground bone give the stomach a chance to adjust. 

You can find liver at any grocery store for extremely cheap. The "other secreting organ" is harder to find, but I bet y'all can find it at some ethnic markets near where you live (and if you do let me know! I will pay you to bring me back some!). Kidney, spleen, testicles, etc are secreting organs. I know there are others but not sure what they are. 

Here's a link that I'm hoping will let you download a spreadsheet that helps you calculate how much to feed. I would not try to balance organs daily, but rather weekly (the spreadsheet gives both): http://www.netrophic.com/misc/NewPersonalDogFeedingGuide.xls

If that doesn't work, I can email it to you (and anyone else who is interested). 

There are a lot of people here a lot more knowledgeable than I am about raw. I've only been at it for about 3 months, but so far so good!


----------



## pinkteaji (Dec 7, 2012)

Thank you sooo much for this info! I'm excited to try it and incorporate it into his diet! I'm pretty sure I've seen kidneys and other things at the Korean market next to my house. Ill let you know what they have and the pricing as soon as I can  


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------

