Food doesn't really work...

[nycbullymama]

[MENTION=6311]Vikinggirl[/MENTION] Ironic how pet food pumpkin is actually pumpkin, while human canned pumpkin is generally squash.

I've never seen the brand you posted but it says made in the U.S. Will try finding it.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Yes it is a product of USA, I bought it at RENs Pet Depot, I'm not sure if you have a RENs in NY? Actually I looked it up for you just now, and it's a Canadian store, but here's a link to an American site that sells Nummy Tum Tum.


Dog and Cat Food, Treats, and Supplies | Free Shipping at Chewy.com


Chewy.com - Nummy Tum-Tum Pure Organic Pumpkin Canned Dog ...
reviews.chewy.com/.../nummy-tum-tum-nummy-tum-tum...pumpkin...dog...
Rating: 4.8 - ‎24 votes
Use Nummy Tum Tum Pure Pumpkin on top of food, or as a treat on its own. ... Not only did it help him adjust to the new dog food we had to put him on, but it also helped his tummy ... The fiber helps to get things moving again if they are constipated and it helps to firm up loose stools. .... fromLong Island, New York, USA.

 

[cefe13]

This was interesting! [MENTION=6311]Vikinggirl[/MENTION], thanks for posting those pics, but ordering canned food overseas would probably be very expensive!
[MENTION=7457]nycbullymama[/MENTION] So now I have learned the difference between summer squash (as in zucchini, I take it?) and winter squash! I've seen butternut squash here not long ago so that could be an option for Castor.

As [MENTION=3354]RiiSi[/MENTION] said, traditionally, we don't eat a lot of pumpkin/winter squash in the Nordic countries and I've never seen canned pumpkin/squash (recipes here are always based on fresh squash/pumpkin).

Will look into this and see what's on offer in the grocery shop.

 

[nycbullymama]

This was interesting! @Vikinggirl, thanks for posting those pics, but ordering canned food overseas would probably be very expensive!
@nycbullymama So now I have learned the difference between summer squash (as in zucchini, I take it?) and winter squash! I've seen butternut squash here not long ago so that could be an option for Castor.

As @RiiSi said, traditionally, we don't eat a lot of pumpkin/winter squash in the Nordic countries and I've never seen canned pumpkin/squash (recipes here are always based on fresh squash/pumpkin).

Will look into this and see what's on offer in the grocery shop.

Butternut Squash is the perfect substitute for Pumpkin. I wold use less of it though as it contains much more fiber.


****************ETA: DISREGARD MY POST, SEE BELOW *************************

 

[nycbullymama]

[MENTION=9875]cefe13[/MENTION] disregard my above post about butternut squash being a good substitution. I don't think it is. ButterCUP squash is a good substitution, not ButterNUT.

So if you can find Buttercup squash, or even Banana squash, those are good alternatives.

 

[cefe13]

@cefe13 disregard my above post about butternut squash being a good substitution. I don't think it is. ButterCUP squash is a good substitution, not ButterNUT.

So if you can find Buttercup squash, or even Banana squash, those are good alternatives.

Oh, thanks, but now I'm a bit confused - please let me know why it isn't good! I found several websites stating that butternut squash is good for dogs and also that some Acana dog food contains butternut?

Well, we've got a butternut squash sitting in the fridge so the big question here is whether the dog or we get to eat it!

 

[nycbullymama]

@cefe13 Butternut may be a perfectly good alternative. It's just not the squash used to substitute pumpkin here. Buttercup is (along with other types). That's why I said to disregard my comment, I just don't know for certain about butternut, and don't want to give you false information.

 

[cefe13]

@cefe13 Butternut may be a perfectly good alternative. It's just not the squash used to substitute pumpkin here. Buttercup is (along with other types). That's why I said to disregard my comment, I just don't know for certain about butternut, and don't want to give you false information.

I see! Thanks - I have learned a lot about pumpkins/squash today!:D

 

[anatess]

My opinion:

I've been feeding dogs prey-model raw for a long time now and has gotten good experience with "Poopology" on raw food. Reading your post rings the following bells:

1.) Soft stool. There's a difference between soft stool and diarrhea. Diarrhea is usually soft stool excreted frequently. Diarrhea will need a vet visit if it persists for an extended period - this could cause your dog to be dehydrated and can become a big problem if untreated. Soft stool is just regular scheduled poop but soft. This, on a raw diet, usually means you're not getting enough fiber or bone in the diet. I don't buy pre-packaged stuff. What I do is - I buy my meat from the grocery for people and humans alike guesstimating that the dog has eaten all parts of an entire chicken/pork/rabbit/turkey/fish/beef that the dog can eat in the proper proportions. I also get whole prey - rabbits, chicken, quail - from the reptile store and give the whole thing to the dogs. So, when I get soft stools (common occurrence especially if I'm giving the dog lots of innards), I simply increase bone content of the next few meals and reduce organ meat (liver, kidney, etc.) until it is corrected. If the stools are hard or powdery, I reduce the bone. If the stool gets really dark, I reduce organ and increase muscle meat, if the stool gets yellowish, I reduce muscle meat and increase organ. This is one of the advantages of feeding raw - you control what your dogs eat according to what your dog needs. I don't feed anything other than parts of an animal. I don't do rice/pumpkin/fruit/leaves, etc. Just plain animal.

2.) Particles in the poop looking the same as when it came through the mouth... this signifies improper digestion. A dog's digestive system is a lot shorter and more acidic than humans. If the food went through the short track without getting broken down by the stomach acids, the dog cannot process that food for some reason. This is another good advantage of feeding raw - if the dog cannot digest that particular food item, you simply don't feed that item. If the dog is only digesting very few limited type of food, he needs to go to the vet to see what's going on with his digestive system.

Hope this helps.

 

[cefe13]

[MENTION=2874]anatess[/MENTION] Thanks for this 'poopology' lesson - very useful!

As we're only dealing with soft stools here (no diarrhea at all), increasing fibre sounds right at this stage. He's eating this pre-packaged raw food, so we'll start by adding butternut squash or possibly flax seeds to his meals and see how that goes. What came out of him today looked a bit more processed, so hopefully, things are going in the right direction.

 

[cefe13]

An update from Castor; butternut squash helped and the situation is ok now so we're testing without the squash. Will try out the other suggestions if needed as squash is costly here this time of year.

 

[yulia]

if the stool is runny it can mean not enough raw bone or/and too much liver/fat. I grind turkey/chicken necks and chicken drum sticks for bone content. works well for Kira. and I put MUCH more bone (ground) than 10%. I would guess around 30-40% of the mix (the mix has meat, organ meat, bones, veggies and fish).

 

[nycbullymama]

An update from Castor; butternut squash helped and the situation is ok now so we're testing without the squash. Will try out the other suggestions if needed as squash is costly here this time of year.

Good news. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but I'll ask around.

 

[cefe13]

if the stool is runny it can mean not enough raw bone or/and too much liver/fat. I grind turkey/chicken necks and chicken drum sticks for bone content. works well for Kira. and I put MUCH more bone (ground) than 10%. I would guess around 30-40% of the mix (the mix has meat, organ meat, bones, veggies and fish).

There is actually no bone in his food... and he doesn't eat a lot of bones. Will consider this - thanks for pointing this out!

 

[yulia]

There is actually no bone in his food... and he doesn't eat a lot of bones. Will consider this - thanks for pointing this out!

You are welcome . Raw bone matter is an important part of raw diet. Though bones MUST be raw, never cooked (cooked bone can kill a dog).