Kibble v Fresh

[Brazilianut]

I’ve been giving pup a mix of kibble and fresh. Honestly the constant pooing is getting me down.

I’ve read some negative reviews of kibble due to being so highly processed. I would try raw due to the health benefits and firm odourless poo but I have vulnerable family members.

Do any of you do a cooked fresh diet and if so does this have any positive effect on their stools?

The mess I get to clean up so many times during the day and night is just a nightmare.

It depends on the quality of dry and wet food you are giving tbh. They are not all the same.

Are the poo's firm but overly frequent or soft/diarrhoea? I imagine puppies do need to crap fairly frequently compared to adults as usually on 3-4 meals.

There's quite a few options in types of dog foods, not all kibble is equal in quality and dog may just not tolerate some meats/ingredients well how ever good what you choose is. www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/types-of-dog-food

My dogs have always been fed dry (extruded & cold pressed) as size makes other options uneconomical. The salmon nature's diet is my go to when they've dodgy gut as seems to help firm up.

I fee high quality kibble and the odd bit of cooked meat and veg.
She's happy healthy and thriving

There was a thread about raw feeding and everyone bar 1 or 2 who it actually worked for seemed to be having a terrible time with it while maintaining "its great"

What kind of food are you feeding in terms of brand and quality?

I feed a mixture of kibble and wet food. Two solid poos a day - no issues. He gets natural treats and vegetables for snacks.

Thanks all, It’s called Natures Range.

His poo is mostly just soft frequent and pungent

If there are any really high quality ones I you could all recommend me I’d be grateful.

When I feed him foods like sardines, chicken, eggs, fruit veg etc he wolfs it down whereas with kibble he isn’t too excited by that.

It may not be the quality, it could be he's intolerant to some of the ingredients.

We feed Harringtons' - it's not the highest quality out there but it's not dreadful either. We feed a mixture of wet and dry and mix up the flavours so he doesn't get bored - he wolfs it down. We also buy Lily's Kitchen when it's on offer which he loves, but it's more expensive at full-price.

I have to say I've never heard of Nature's Range - you could look on www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk to see what good quality foods in your budget you can afford?

My dog has Millie’s wolfheart ranger kibble and Applaws chicken in broth wet food and poos a maximum of twice a day , if it’s really bad weather and we only go for 1 walk he goes once a day .

How old is he?
What sort of dog?
And weight?

What ever they are fed, poo should be perfectly easy to pick up with a poo bag without and hassle.

The natures range puppy food does not look too bad. But, it is stuffed full of chicken which really does not agree with some dogs.

Thank all, good to read your comments. He’s going on 11 weeks and is a Labrador.

Yesterday I fed him mostly cooked human food with no kibble and the difference was remarkable! Much less poo, less smelly too.

I think you'd have to be very careful he is getting the nutrients he needs giving him human food. Plus I just don't have time to be cooking for another fussy eater in my household . I feed him butternut box, which is fresh, with just a little kibble and get small, firm poos 1 or 2 times a day.

I really wouldn't recommend feeding just human food - they need a good balance of nutrients especially while they're growing and I suspect now you've given him a taste he may not be too keen on going back to dog food for a while

Find a good quality dog food and stick with it - he can always have human food as a treat or extra but you need to make sure he's getting the right balance of food when he's so young.

We feed lilies kitchen dry food, poos are extremely firm, he doesn't suffer from any issues with his anal glands, he doesn't fart at all! Which is obviously good… I would say he does around three poos a day

Yes thank you for the advice, I’ll maybe try Ella’s kitchen as I doubt I’ll have the time to do it every single day anyway. Hopefully he’ll accept a mix!

Lily’s*

We feed Aatu turkey kibble (soaked) with a tiny bit of cooked turkey and a daily carrot. 1 year old doodle.

We had issues with runny poos and had her allergy tested - allergic to chicken, lamb and beef. Less allergic to turkey and whitefish.

@Notonthestairs I think a pp said too much chicken isn’t that great for their tummies so that may be the reason this particular brand of kibble is not agreeing with him.

I’d love to get him allergy tested, I’ll look into that.

The trigger for the allergy test was repeat eye infections but the Vet had previously said to eliminate chicken from her diet as he was seeing a lot of dogs that couldn't process it well.

He's only 10 and a bit weeks, when you say his poos are frequent how many times a day is he going? Sounds like you've already fed him a variety of food (sardines, chicken, eggs, fruit, veg), maybe it's all the variety giving him an upset stomach. At that age I'd stick to mainly puppy food, one brand and see how he gets on. We weren't even giving particularly exciting treats at that age in case it upset her tummy. And speak to your vet before you consider switching food.

I obviously don't know how bad the poos are but it sounds premature to be thinking of allergy testing! Also, our first vet kept suggesting food allergy whenever we took her in for anything in the early days (she ate a stone and then had a skin infection). Turns out she was just a spaniel puppy scavenger, and the skin infection was bacterial (diagnosed by a second vet cos I swapped after being like wtf with the constant allergy diagnosis). I'd be careful of vets who blame food for every little thing.

Try freeze dried raw like wolfworty.

We feed high grade kibble called platinum. Dogs poo is firm and small for his size, usually twice a day. It dries to a sold small black poo that doesn't smell and can be picked up easily.

This 'fresh' food diet doesn't not sound ideal for your puppy. Use either raw or a high grade kibble to make sure they are getting all their nutrients. Give eggs and sardines as treats or kong fillers only, eggs can often cause tummy upsets.

Would highly recommend platinum dog food as it is semi moist and smells good to fussy dogs.

If still having problems then definitely allergy test

*wolfworthy

My labrador pooed loads in early months but it lessened as she dropped from 4 to 3 to 2 meals to digest. At 11 weeks she still pooed overnight too.
She came being fed royal canin puppy and there was do much poo. Switched to arden Grange and just stuck with it and settled better. Now on arden Grange adult and predictable, pickupable poos

Oh bless, he is still a wee baby.

What food was the breeder feeding him? Was it Nature's Range?

At his age, choose a puppy food and stick to it. He will have amply opportunity to be a cast iron stomached, canine dustbin when he is older. No human food yet.

Four meals a day, add a little hot water to the kibble and wait for it to cool. You don't want mush but some of it a bit softened will help digestion. If you want to mix wet with kibble, make a small amount of wet into gravy with the hot water and pour over. Choose your brands and stick with them.

Everyone would appreciate a pic of this immense bundle of cuteness

If he is not thriving and seems sickly, too subdued or too skinny, get a vet check. Worms and other things can effect digestion.

@ashmts @OHthatbanana really really appreciate all this advice, it’s so helpful.

@MrsPernicious yes so the breeder recommended that particular brand of kibble. I’ll take a nice picture later, he is gorgeous. He’s thriving - if anything he’s looking slightly chubby and full of energy but takes himself off for a nap too whenever he’s tired. But I thibk I’ve been over feeding him. This morning he bit his bowl and flipped the plate I had under it in protest when he finished breakfast, I wondered whether I’m feeding him enough but looking at him he’s looking very well fed!

I really wouldn't recommend feeding just human food - they need a good balance of nutrients especially while they're growing and I suspect now you've given him a taste he may not be too keen on going back to dog food for a while
Ha yes, we gave pup a Xmas dinner with us on Xmas day and he refused food for about 2 days after until he realised that no, he wasn't getting another turkey dinner . He also now refuses any sort of dentastix or chew now he has tasted pizzle sticks

over feeding is one way to get yucky poo.
How much are you giving him?