So, 7 months ago, I switched ddog over to Orijen + mixed real food....

[HopeTheHeraldAngelsSing]

and since then, she does about 2 -3 times the amount of poos that she used to, plus she is incredibly farty (and she never used to be).

I am now thinking that this diet probably does not suit her - it can't be good to have to poo that much, can it? And the stinky farts must show that something is not ok with her tummy.

She used to get Royal Canin, plus a mixture of other foods.

She is on about 70% Orijen and 30% other food including fish, lots of fruit and vegetables, occasional pasta/rice/potatoes etc

A month ago, I switched her to another high-quality, no grain, dry dog food just to see if there was any difference.
Farting has gone down somewhat, but she is still pooing waaaaay too much. She used to do only 2 a day!

DH says we should go back to Royal Canin as it obviously suited her better.

Any ideas what I could do?

TIA (and apologies for yet another food/poo thread from me)

[toboldlygo]

The fruit, veg, pasta etc. will probably be doing it - totally unneccessary bulk! Mine get the odd bit of cooked veg as they enjoy it but I know to expect an extra or larger poo the next day.

The ultimate diet for small, smell-free poo is one based around raw meat on the bone with a decent ratio of bone to meat (chicken wings and carcasses, ribs etc.)

I am cynical about Royal Canin because it contains exactly the same crap ingredients as much much cheaper foods (Skinners duck/salmon/turkey and rice, for example - same ingredients or better, actually, as it doesn't contain maize or wheat, costs £20 for 15kg) and you're paying for the fancy pseudo-scientific marketing on the packet.

[misdee]

cut out the rice, pasta etc. she doesnt ened that.

if possible switch to raw food diet as suggested by toboldlygo

[HopeTheHeraldAngelsSing]

She's always had the other stuff, so the change must come from the new food.

Royal Canin is crap, I know, which is why we changed. But I'm now not convinced that a grain-free dry food is the right one for her. I want her to be healthy, but I can't believe this is right.
She is pooing SO much! And the smells! It's appalling!

[misdee]

get a dog

set out two big bowls of food

one full of pasta and rice.

one full of raw meaty treats.

bet your bottom dollar which one the dog would go for.

dogs arent designed to eat grains, vegs, potatoes etc.

dog food is massive industry.

[minimuu]

Totally agree with Misdee. Dogs do not need veg, rice, pasta.

Don't get me started on Orijen - no dogs need marigold flowers!!!!!!!! in their diet. Orijen is just a rip off to make owners feel the need to spend ridiculous amounts of money on dog food.

Raw diet 2-3%of body weight. Include some offal and mixture of meat and bone. Chuck in an egg and fish (if dogs like it) job done.

Spend the money you save on a nice meal out for you!

[HopeTheHeraldAngelsSing]

Orijen was the dry food that was recommended by numerous posters on here, and when I researched the ingredients appeared to be of a good quality, hence going for that one.

The pasta/rice is only occasional, as I said in the OP, but she does eat quite a bit of fruit and vegetables. She likes them. The apples she gets herself when we are out (lots of orchards round here) - I assume she wouldn't eat them if she didn't want/need them?

I thought that dogs actually ate quite a varied diet and not just meat?

She won't touch raw fish, but loves it tinned (or cooked). Raw meat has been a bit hit and miss, and tbh I'm not looking to put her on a raw food diet, I just want a better one without all the additives/preservatives/dodgy ingredients etc.

I suppose what I'm looking for is something in between BARFing and bought dry food.

I don't understand why she appears to be worse off now with the supposedly high quality no-grain food. Shouldn't her digestive system be either the same or better? Really, we are talking A LOT OF POO for one small dog!!

[batsintheroof]

Royal canin is awful stuff, don't know anything about Orijen.

We're on barking heads- I only don't feed raw as I'm only supposed to give grey 20% protein and tbh don't have time to work it all out. The chicken is the sensitive line in barking heads. My supplier- a local pet store- only stocks barking heads and arden grange- I believe these to be one of the best two kibble brands. Greyhound is thriving and nice hard poos.

[batsintheroof]

The Orijen looks like good stuff to me. I think you're probably giving too extra much veges and fruit- this will make stools loose.

[batsintheroof]

I know this as grey LOVES banana and carrots- but I have to be careful she doesn't get too much/ready for the poo that follows.

[HopeTheHeraldAngelsSing]

Her poos are firm and hard, as they always have been (even on RC), but she is pooing waaaaaaay too much (plus on Orijen we had the farting problem).

batsintheroof Can I ask how you know about the 20% protein? I mean, is it different for different breeds? Do some need more and some less? Am off to have a look at the barking heads - what it's made up of other than meat.

[anchovies]

I feed fish4dogs as I am too lazy and disorganised to manage raw. Would highly recommend for small firm poo and no bad smells. If you are feeding Orijen I would just feed Orijen. They are meant to be complete foods so adding extra carbs/veg/fruit is probably the cause of problems?

[batsintheroof]

It's just because she's a greyhound HopeTheHeraldAngelsSing and it's just what all the rehoming centres recommend for greys- don't think it's a general rule, but I always thought more active = more protein %, at least racing greyhounds have a high protein diet but they don't need it when they've retired.

The ingredients are on the barking heads website, but really I think Orijen does look great-also fish4dogs as anchovies says is also supposed to be good. I only ended up with barking heads as fish4dogs was too high % protein for me and grey was quite fussy so it was a long process of working out what she would let me feed her!

[ditavonteesed]

I feed half barking heads and half raw, the cats have barking heads as well, puppy used to have fish 4 dogs but too pricey, I am very pleased with barking heads. have a look at vet uk, it is usually cheaper and free delivery over £19.

[daisydotandgertie]

I'd guess the problem is caused by an overload of nutrition.

If you choose to feed Orijen, then stick with it. It's a complete food and designed to be fed alone - it's very protein rich though. Adding grains etc to it will not only knock the nutritional balance off, but will also give the dog more nutrition/bulk than it can process hence the excessive poo volume and farting.

Many people are evangelical about BARF, but I'm not. It's not for me or my dogs. A good quality dried complete is perfectly good if it suits you, your dogs and your circumstances better.""

[walkersmum]

I feed Orijen or Acana to my dogs, but watch the feeding amounts, if I feed any more than the lower amount they poo to much.

Speak / email them about how much you are feeding and what other food you give them, they really helped my with my rescue dog, who is diabetic, has a number of allergies etc and with a little practical help was under control.
I currently have 7 dogs on this food and raw suits them all with fairly small poo's

www.bernpetfoods.co.uk/cgi-bin//mf000001.pl?ACTION=SHOWFORM

[multipoodles]

If you are uncertain about raw and what your dog should really be eating have a look here, www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html they myths of raw feeding. This article is always a good read, about why commercial food is often bad, and the reasons behind why it is so bad. www.rawmeatybones.com/articles/Nexus07_pub_articletext.pdf

[HopeTheHeraldAngelsSing]

Thank you so much for all your replies!
Looks like I have some more reading to do.... :)