Diet for a poo monster.

[Dominicgoings]

We rescued a gorgeous, bouncy large breed cross a few months ago. She had moved quite a few times between pound/foster/rescues and when she came to us she was on a fairly cheap own brand food from a large pet shop chain. Initially her poop was really loose which we put down to change in environment, bit if stress etc although she settled in really quickly.
The loose poop continued so on the advice of pet shop staff, we swapped gradually unto a different own brand for ‘sensitive’ tummies. Some improvement with poops 5 or 6 times a day, but she also needed quite a lot of training ( loose lead walking/recall etc) so we ended up using quite a lot of high value treats ( ham, cheese etc as she doesn’t respond to her ‘normal’ food as training treats)
Over the last couple of weeks her poop has got softer and looser and more frequent ( up to a dozen or so times a day)
I have fed her only boiled rice since yesterday with immediate improvement.
I have a vets appointment booked for Wednesday( she was given a full health all clear before we adopted her) but the vet has already mentioned a prescription diet.
I’m not sure if there are other options I should try? She LOVES the rice

Try Chappie, the tinned, cheap, bog standard stuff. It can be the best thing for loose stools, vets often recommend it. Much cheaper & more effective than most of the expensive prescription diets. You can pad it out with plain boiled rice to fill her up.

We now give our dog a powder supplement mixed in his food. It is made from pumpkin and apple pectin. We get it Canada but you may be able to find something similar. It is called "Firm Up". I believe it is the fibre in it that works. Our dog's stool is much better and more consistent with it.

Lots of American owners of dogs with the squirts feed tinned pumpkin but don’t know if you can get it here as it’s the plain, unsweetened pumpkin you need & all I’ve found here is the sweetened pie filling which would defeat the object.

A few charcoal biscuits makes a huge difference to our dog's poo.

Some people recommend a raw diet , but personally I find that a total lifestyle thing and not for us.

Prescription diets are expensive, Chappie is often recommended by vets (less so now days when they earn a decent commission selling over priced dog food) probably worth trying.

I would really recommend raw feeding. I thought it would be hard work but it’s not. And totally worth having to remember to defrost for the tiny, non smelly poos.

Raw here too but at the moment I am using a cold pressed complete food as DDog is in and out of foster care and not everyone wants to raw feed a dog.

Charcoal biscuits look interesting and seem to have great feedback. Will give those a go.

With regards raw feeding, can it be as simple as raw chicken/mince and rice?

Chappie original. Ddog has to switch to it because he's diabetic and I would never have considered it otherwise. The difference in the 💩 is amazing.

According to my vet they recommend it over the more expensive brands.

Chappie wet or dry?

Raw feed here too. The bone in the food firms them up! I use pre-made raw from cotswold raw food company but we only have a smallish dog. Could be expensive for a big one but there are cheaper raw feeds out there.

She needs a protein such as chicken with the rice.
Then introduce her usual food slowly.

’With regards raw feeding, can it be as simple as raw chicken/mince and rice?’

^ I would say that’s complicating it, and you’ll be missing the bone content.

Raw feeding needs to be 80% meat, 10% offal, 10% bone. Raw brands sort this out for you: you literally just open the tub/packet and pour/scoop/weigh, just as you would wet.

www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/
^ this is a really helpful website. You can set a budget and find quality dog foods that fit within it.

We feed our dog (had similiar problems to start) James Wellbeloved dry food, and give her mostly bits of carrot, broccolli, or plain meat for treats. Works well, mostly. Good luck with your dog's health, hope you find what works soon 👍

We chose not to raw feed for several reasons, but one of ours has a sensitive tummy and we’ve had HUGE improvements since our vet recommended trying Orijen. It’s pricier than most, but since we switched she is going reliably twice per day, easy to clean, not unpleasant smelling poo and is so much happier in herself.

A tin of Chappie original sorts ours out if she gets loose poos (usually when she's been stealing cat food) I've always tried to feed 'good' dog food but Chappie really is good for curing loose bowels!

Our rescue who had nervous guts (loose and sometimes with mucus and blood) for months when we first got him responded really well to Pooch and Mutt Health and Digestion kibble (fish based). Gets good score on the AllaboutFood site and often have 25% off discounts available.

We use Burns a mix of wet and dry more dry than wet, poos are fine, Breeder recommends Chappie to get rid of excess weight as it fills them up