cefe13
Well-known member
- Sep 12, 2013
- 3,714
- 205
- Country
- Sweden
- Bulldog(s) Names
- Castor (2013-2021 RIP)
Never-ending story...and this post is long, so please bear with me. It's not altogether about raw feeding, but I post it here. The problem is that we have still not quite managed to find the optimum food for Castor who is almost 2. We have tried both kibble and raw, and everything seems to work for a while, but then either Castor loses interest in his food or he doesn't digest it well.
Before he had his nares/soft palate surgery a couple of months ago, he was scratching himself raw. The vet who performed the surgery put him on an allergy kibble because of the scratching, but as it stopped right after his surgery, it probably was stress-related due to his breathing problems rather than food-related. The allergy kibble was great for his digestion but he showed very little interest in eating it, so he went back to normal food, and we tried a high-quality kibble (Canagan) - great reviews, but quite soon Castor had to be persuaded to eat and would often leave part of his portion (which perhaps is not a problem, but we would like him to get back the weight he lost in connection with his surgery). His stools were loose too.
Therefore, I decided to try raw again. He did eat raw last year before his surgery, with varying success. We tested a couple of different frozen ready-made brands, and some of them he loved and some of them he didn't show much interest in. Generally, his stools have been much better when he's been on raw than on kibble - one grainfree brand even made him constipated. Now, he's on a grain-free raw food that he likes a lot, but his stools are terribly runny. He doesn't need to go more often than usual, but he doesn't seem to digest the food. I called the manufacturer who said this was surprising as dogs often get constipated rather than runny poop when on grainfree raw, but they suggested I add some oatmeal or rice. I'm not sure if that's the right way to go, though?
So we have a dog who is overall doing very well but who hasn't found a food that works long term. He usually goes two, possibly three times per day, and although his stools are too loose now, he doesn't seem to be sick and there are no signs of tummy ache or anything like that.
I guess my question after this long post is whether there is something I'm missing? When we have transitioned him to kibble, we have taken it slowly over two weeks; with raw I've read that it's better to switch directly, without transitioning, so that is what we have done.
Thankful for any input! I realize it's normal having to switch food now and then but I would like to find something that Castor likes and that his tummy digests well too.
Before he had his nares/soft palate surgery a couple of months ago, he was scratching himself raw. The vet who performed the surgery put him on an allergy kibble because of the scratching, but as it stopped right after his surgery, it probably was stress-related due to his breathing problems rather than food-related. The allergy kibble was great for his digestion but he showed very little interest in eating it, so he went back to normal food, and we tried a high-quality kibble (Canagan) - great reviews, but quite soon Castor had to be persuaded to eat and would often leave part of his portion (which perhaps is not a problem, but we would like him to get back the weight he lost in connection with his surgery). His stools were loose too.
Therefore, I decided to try raw again. He did eat raw last year before his surgery, with varying success. We tested a couple of different frozen ready-made brands, and some of them he loved and some of them he didn't show much interest in. Generally, his stools have been much better when he's been on raw than on kibble - one grainfree brand even made him constipated. Now, he's on a grain-free raw food that he likes a lot, but his stools are terribly runny. He doesn't need to go more often than usual, but he doesn't seem to digest the food. I called the manufacturer who said this was surprising as dogs often get constipated rather than runny poop when on grainfree raw, but they suggested I add some oatmeal or rice. I'm not sure if that's the right way to go, though?
So we have a dog who is overall doing very well but who hasn't found a food that works long term. He usually goes two, possibly three times per day, and although his stools are too loose now, he doesn't seem to be sick and there are no signs of tummy ache or anything like that.
I guess my question after this long post is whether there is something I'm missing? When we have transitioned him to kibble, we have taken it slowly over two weeks; with raw I've read that it's better to switch directly, without transitioning, so that is what we have done.
Thankful for any input! I realize it's normal having to switch food now and then but I would like to find something that Castor likes and that his tummy digests well too.