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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Seeking firmer dog poo! Vet against raw for my wcs

100 replies

willogswoo · 27/10/2021 09:44

Morning everyone!

I have a 15 week working cocker spaniel.

He came to us on Royal Canin medium puppy. However his poop has always been quite soft and leaves an unsightly stinky residue on walks.

We have tried wainwrights (absolute awful farts on this and even sloppier poo on Salomon one) James wellbeloved (awful awful poo) and lastly on vets advice some Burns grain free but still have loose poo.

Everyone has suggested a raw diet but my vet is really against it. I explained I would not be doing it myself but buying a complete from somewhere like Paleo or Bella and Duke but she was not happy.

Any advice on food for firmer poo?

OP posts:
PurpleBirch · 27/10/2021 10:44

Mind three are fed Millies Wolfheart. Firm poo and no smells.

stopblowingyournose · 27/10/2021 10:46

I knew it would be a spaniel mine was just the same. Agree it's an allergen. We went grain and gluten free he's been fine for years. We feed Harrington's grain free which is a cheap not amazing food but anything nicer he gets hyper and irritating!

TerrierOrTerror · 27/10/2021 10:46

Trying four different foods by 15 weeks seems like a lot, how gradually are you introducing the new food? Also overfeeding can cause softer poos, so make sure you're accurately weighing it and allowing for treats.

We feed Wolfworthy and were recommended to add some cooked carrot to help firm things up. It's definitely noticeable if she skips the carrot for a few days. Other veggies also work but carrot is the best.

On the carrot note, it's often recommended to give pups raw/frozen carrot during teething. This gave ours dreadful poops so something to be mindful of.

ImJustMum · 27/10/2021 10:50

We used nutriment complete raw, if i was to go to a kibble id use Arden grange but my advice on the whole is ignore your vet

Original poster
willogswoo · 27/10/2021 10:54

@TerrierOrTerror

Trying four different foods by 15 weeks seems like a lot, how gradually are you introducing the new food? Also overfeeding can cause softer poos, so make sure you're accurately weighing it and allowing for treats.

We feed Wolfworthy and were recommended to add some cooked carrot to help firm things up. It's definitely noticeable if she skips the carrot for a few days. Other veggies also work but carrot is the best.

On the carrot note, it's often recommended to give pups raw/frozen carrot during teething. This gave ours dreadful poops so something to be mindful of.

We have just introduced a small bit each day so say he was due 60g of his usual food at meal time we would literally scatter a small bit on top but those slight changes were enough each time to see what made it worse etc x
OP posts:
rbe78 · 27/10/2021 11:28

@willogswoo I believe that they had to change that recently because the guidelines on calcium intake for some giant breed puppies have changed - it's fine for most puppies. Either way, I believe they are about (in the next week or so) to release a puppy food, so keep an eye out. If you call their customer services they can give samples. My dog loves it!

Brendabigbaps · 27/10/2021 11:34

Our pup arrived on Beta and her poo was awful, it stank and was very loose.
We changed her to Walker & Drake cold pressed kibble, the smell is much better and her poo is solid.
It’s not cheap tho.

k1233 · 27/10/2021 11:46

My westie is very sensitive to fatty food. Goes straight through him. I like to feed turkey mince (human quality), beef neck bones (again for humans) and a grain free kibble. The low fat helped but the move from royal canin to grain free helped even more.

So I'd keep it simple. 95% mince ie very low fat, quality kibble. Chicken allergies aren't unusual, so try to do a single protein for a couple of weeks to see if there is an allergy. I've never done that but I'm sure google could help on how to approach.

The reason I feed meats that are for human consumption is they are much more regulated than pet quality food.

UndertonesOfCake · 27/10/2021 12:12

@littlebilliie

I researched raw and the bacterial risk increase was untenable for our family.
Same here - DDog was greeting a relative in her late 90s with a face kiss... No way was I going to feed raw when that's happening!
duvetdrama · 27/10/2021 12:18

Not all raw has bones...we use free flow beef (like mince) from Pets at Home. We mix it with grain free, high protein kibble. Our dog likes the meat straight from the freezer which I'm assuming is okay!

hairybakers · 27/10/2021 12:18

Nutriment here too, no issues with bone or blockages - a very happy, healthy, shiny coated, firm compact pooing, never farting 5yo RR here.

TheSandgroper · 27/10/2021 12:50

My border terrier has raw bones go straight through her. Unpleasant. So I make her food being chicken boiled then brown rice, potato, sweet potato, carrot broccoli, beans ( all whizzed for easy chopping) cooked in the stock. Strip the meat from the bones, chop and add to the veges later.

I cook about 10 litres each time and it lasts about a month. She also gets various leftovers. Her bones are usually cooked lamb shanks. Her poos are always little torpedoes and smell reasonable.

oviraptor21 · 27/10/2021 12:55

Raw worked for my DD. She had severe and debilitating digestive issues and raw was the only thing that worked! despite vet being against it. She lived a normal life span with no other issues.

gogohm · 27/10/2021 13:11

Mine has always been on burns. I don't think you are giving any of them a chance, it takes 2 weeks ish to settle down between transferring.

GuyFawkesDay · 27/10/2021 13:36

Eden country cuisine is chicken free a d only just not classed as all stages due to calcium being a little out for larger breeds. You may well find it fine. You can also feed their semi-moist food in duck & tripe from 14 weeks.

My cocker is on original and has been since 12 weeks and it's been fantastic but he is definitely chicken sensitive so moving to the country cuisine as I get to the bottom of this bag.

GuyFawkesDay · 27/10/2021 13:37

Sorry, pressed send too soon. He has loose poop too.

Try adding pureed butternut squash or pumpkin to food as that can firm things up.

Gingerninja4 · 27/10/2021 13:37

Raw feed here and lovely firm small poo.

We did get the comments about raw feeding at start but 7 years later even with immune suppressed daughter never once had anyone catch anything from the dog

ginslinger · 27/10/2021 13:41

we used Royal Canin Hypoallergenic and it changed things in a couple of days - we used it for training treats too and fresh chicken for high value treats

ShesComeUndone · 27/10/2021 13:45

We tried lots of different dog foods but nothing helped and then our vet recommended Chappie! We feed our spaniel the chicken Chappie wet food and dry food now and haven’t had problems since. Plus we feed her for a week on what it used to cost for a day! I know it sounds crazy but it really worked.

maeb · 27/10/2021 13:54

We had the same problem with our wocker and our vet* is strongly against raw food too.

Doglet had been tested for e-coli and other nasties and we had ruled out allergies, but nothing seemed to stop the awfulness.

After a year plus of this I discovered Tribal Cold Pressed (made with fresh meat and not meat meal) - it's easier to break down and gentler on the tum than kibble and is a raw alternative and it helped a lot.

But the real improvement happened when I supplemented his food with raw green tripe. It's full of goodness (google it!), it is a bit stinky but once it's eaten, there's no trace and it has settled his digestion like nothing else. After that I tried him on raw meals too and haven't looked back. He is now 2 and lean, strong and healthy.

I give him Tribal for breakfast and training treats and in the evening we give him raw with a couple of handfuls of minced tripe. I also add in a spoonful of Pro-Fibre which bulks out the poo but is meant to help with bum glands too (another working cocker delight Halloween Blush ).

He still gets runners trots when we go somewhere fun but I think that's a spaniel thing Shock

*Vets dislike raw because of potential bacterial contamination but brands like Natures Menu, are really up to speed on food safety.

Silverdorkinghen · 27/10/2021 14:05

Our dog had constant loose stools when he got him. He had been fine before he came to us so vet recommended rather to an changing his food trying a paste that would help settle his digestive system. Worked a treat. Can’t remember what it was dales but I’m sure your vet would have one similar in stock. The trouble with loose stools is that it can continue long after the original cause has gone so the issue may not be the food you’re giving.

Lou573 · 27/10/2021 14:06

Does anyone have any further references for the risk of feeding raw? Would like to move pup to a high quality complete frozen raw diet but have small children and as much as I tell them not to let her lick them it falls on deaf ears. That said we fed our dog raw when I was growing up without issue and I’m sure it was less regulated in the 80s!

Snoods · 27/10/2021 14:33

Raw fed our dog since we got him. He’s almost 4. All fine. He’s healthy and poo’s are firm

Original poster
willogswoo · 27/10/2021 14:39

@ShesComeUndone

We tried lots of different dog foods but nothing helped and then our vet recommended Chappie! We feed our spaniel the chicken Chappie wet food and dry food now and haven’t had problems since. Plus we feed her for a week on what it used to cost for a day! I know it sounds crazy but it really worked.
My mum suggested this as her cavalier used to poo for England and vet recommended Chappie
OP posts:
Original poster
willogswoo · 27/10/2021 14:41

@maeb

We had the same problem with our wocker and our vet* is strongly against raw food too.

Doglet had been tested for e-coli and other nasties and we had ruled out allergies, but nothing seemed to stop the awfulness.

After a year plus of this I discovered Tribal Cold Pressed (made with fresh meat and not meat meal) - it's easier to break down and gentler on the tum than kibble and is a raw alternative and it helped a lot.

But the real improvement happened when I supplemented his food with raw green tripe. It's full of goodness (google it!), it is a bit stinky but once it's eaten, there's no trace and it has settled his digestion like nothing else. After that I tried him on raw meals too and haven't looked back. He is now 2 and lean, strong and healthy.

I give him Tribal for breakfast and training treats and in the evening we give him raw with a couple of handfuls of minced tripe. I also add in a spoonful of Pro-Fibre which bulks out the poo but is meant to help with bum glands too (another working cocker delight Halloween Blush ).

He still gets runners trots when we go somewhere fun but I think that's a spaniel thing Shock

*Vets dislike raw because of potential bacterial contamination but brands like Natures Menu, are really up to speed on food safety.

Thank you so much this is really helpful. Do you just get the tripe from butchers or a specialist raw food shop? X
OP posts: