# Raw questions - fairly urgent, pls?



## Samajade (Apr 9, 2012)

I switched my very small toy pup (4 1/2 months old) from Royal Canin (breeder was feeding) to Natures Variety Instinct frozen raw. She of course loves it. She's been on it exclusively for about a week and a half or so. Thing is, her stools were perfect and normal on the kibble, but since starting the raw, they are rock hard. Smaller yeah as expected, but she's absolutely constipated and having much trouble pushing them out. It's every time she goes. This morning was really bad - when she finally pushed it out, she yelped and cried.  And her poor little anus was all red and puckered.  
I know some people with small dogs have trouble with Instinct because of too much bone or something... So what should I do here? Is there a better one for the small guys? Am i better feeding her dehydrated raw for some reason? Obviously I can't keep feeding her this if it's doing this to her. Cant talk to the vet, because theyre against raw feeding ANYhow. Please help, no clue what to do!


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Constipation can certainly be a sign of too much bone - she could perhaps adjust over time, but meanwhile I would add a little more meat/offal. A very small amount of liver would probably do the trick, or replace about 20% of the NVI with boneless meat, and see how she does on that. Canned pumpkin might be good as an immediate short term soother, until her tummy is right - or even try adding a spoonful to the NVI longterm.

I think dogs do vary as to what works best for them - the mix that is right for Sophy gives Poppy slight constipation. That has been easier to manage since I discovered she LOVES dried apricots


----------



## Samajade (Apr 9, 2012)

Thanks so much for the reply. 
Seems that I'm not the only one with a dog having constipation issues on NVI. I decided to change it altogether. Also got a can of pumpkin. I got Stella & Chewys frozen raw (thats the only other one I could find any sort of locally besides the Instinct) and started mixing it with the Instinct this afternoon so I can get her switched over. I also added about 1/2 teaspoon of the pumpkin. Hope this all helps. I wanted to get Steve's Real Food frozen raw, but the closest to me is about an hour away.
Sound okay? She just can't be as constipated as she was this morning - she'll start refusing to go to the bathroom at all.


----------



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Samajade said:


> I switched my very small toy pup (4 1/2 months old) from Royal Canin (breeder was feeding) to Natures Variety Instinct frozen raw. She of course loves it. She's been on it exclusively for about a week and a half or so. Thing is, her stools were perfect and normal on the kibble, but since starting the raw, they are rock hard. Smaller yeah as expected, but she's absolutely constipated and having much trouble pushing them out. It's every time she goes. This morning was really bad - when she finally pushed it out, she yelped and cried.  And her poor little anus was all red and puckered.
> I know some people with small dogs have trouble with Instinct because of too much bone or something... So what should I do here? Is there a better one for the small guys? Am i better feeding her dehydrated raw for some reason? Obviously I can't keep feeding her this if it's doing this to her. Cant talk to the vet, because theyre against raw feeding ANYhow. Please help, no clue what to do!


She is getting too much bone in her diet. Many pre-made raws, including Nature's Variety, are far too high in bone for my liking. Try adding some boneless meat to her meals.


----------



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I have a toy too. I keep hearts and gizzards on hand and add them to Swizzle's diet if his poop is too hard. I feed him Aunt Jenni. His stool is usually just right but I also give him raw bones for his teeth and that is why I give the hearts and gizzards too.


----------



## Samajade (Apr 9, 2012)

> She is getting too much bone in her diet. Many pre-made raws, including Nature's Variety, are far too high in bone for my liking.


CM, are there any you feel are more properly balanced??

A couple of you have suggested adding boneless meat. Forgive the raw-newbie's idiocy, but, does it matter what kind of meat? Or only matters that it obviously has no bones?

CT Girl, you said you give hearts and gizzards when you give raw bones. You give those in place of a regular meal, or...?

Thanks guys. I'll get this figured out at some point!!


----------



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Samajade said:


> CM, are there any you feel are more properly balanced??
> 
> A couple of you have suggested adding boneless meat. Forgive the raw-newbie's idiocy, but, does it matter what kind of meat? Or only matters that it obviously has no bones?
> 
> ...


Well, I do think Nature's Variety is balanced well as far as the diet goes...it's just a bit bone heavy for some dogs. Mine always have very firm stool on it too. I don't know the differences among the brands. I feed Northwest Naturals raw right now and we don't have overly firm stool. It really depends on the individual dog. You may be just as good just adding some chicken hearts or gizzards or something to each meal.


----------



## TrinaBoo (Apr 3, 2012)

I also feed Nature's Variety Raw. With the beef I noticed more of a problem when Trina would go outside and do her business. I haven't tried chicken but the lamb, venison, and rabbit haven't caused any problems. Good info though as I never knew what the cause was!


----------



## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

I think Primal and SmallBatch are pretty good. NV sometimes gives chalky and/or hard poop. Or you can add some fresh raw meat to the frozen meal. Pumpkin/sweet potato helps too.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Any kind of raw meat - muscle meat if you just need to reduce the bone level, liver for a more relaxing effect. Hearts and gizzards would be a particularly good form of muscle meat and offal - hearts are very high in taurine, for example.


----------



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I give the hearts and gizzards in addition to his regular meal. Swizzle is very active and has no weight issues. I had a similiar issue when starting off with raw but once you get the hang of it and keep an eye on poop consistency it is easy especially since I feed commercial raw.


----------



## lwm1984 (Apr 15, 2012)

How soft is the stool supposed to be on raw? My spoo's stool is pretty firm on NVI, but she has no problem going potty, so I don't think she's constipated. The consistency didn't really vary on either the beef, lamb, venison, or bison. I tried the duck, but she had massive diarrhea afterwards. Should I give her some extra meat to try and soften it up a bit, even if she doesn't seem to be having bathroom issues?

I also noticed that my spoo has lost 1.5 pounds since on raw (weighed at the same time of day, on the same scale at the vet). I am going by NV's online feeding guide (she's 37.5 pounds, and the website says to feed 9.3oz for 40 pounds, and I feed an even 10oz).


----------

