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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:
Ihaventgottimeforthis · 29/10/2021 00:27

I like to be able to kick a poo and it rolls; if it crumbles he has had too much bone.

Girlintheframe · 29/10/2021 07:18

We don't feed raw for a variety of reasons including having little freezer space.
We use Millie's wolf heart.
He was on James well beloved but had sloppy pops and regularly farted.
Since being on Millie's his poo is firm and inoffensive. No more farting either.
Millie's can be feed from puppies.

CatsForLife · 29/10/2021 07:30

Vets don’t like raw. I have always had dogs on kibble and poos were a nightmare. Now on raw and it’s brilliant would never go back. I buy Natural Instinct. They do a working dog range.

StrongCoffeAvalanche · 29/10/2021 07:35

Another vote for Canagan. Our vet recommended it after we had the same problem. Salmon one softest on the gut

Cumbercat · 29/10/2021 07:47

Slightly different thought here - our 9 month old puppy had always had loose poo and the trainer said we needed to change when we fed him so that he wasn’t fed within 30 to 45 minutes either side of a walk. That made the difference and solved the problem. Worth a try.

mayblossominapril · 29/10/2021 08:01

Chappie is really good. You can also add cooked rice and scrambled eggs to the food as well as cooked meat and veg.
I don’t feed raw. I use kibble (not a particularly expensive one, Super dog) and add extras

Recycledblonde · 29/10/2021 08:15

I use raw complete for my spaniel cross and border collie, been doing it for eight years, small firm poos and shiny coats. I use Bella and duke now and you can get a bone free one to use occasionally. Never caught anything from the dogs and we are not over scrupulous with hand washing after petting. Vet is neither pro nor anti but does say my dogs are awesome!

Chickpea22 · 29/10/2021 08:19

We use orijens with additional bits of raw and lots of veggies throughout the week for interest. Our dogs poo was vile on royal canin as was her wind. Nice formed poo now and no wind.

idontlikealdi · 29/10/2021 08:27

@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.
DDog is diabetic and went onto chappie original wet and beef kibble after a bout of pancreatitis on the advice of the vet as its fish based and the lowest fat food you can get.

I would never have considered it but it has been the best food he's been on, jo more sloppy poo has been an unexpected benefit.

TattySlippers · 29/10/2021 15:50

My dog refused to eat chicken flavoured dog food. He constantly scratched, his ears were very troublesome - always wet and mucky inside. Thornit powder did nothing. He began to bite at his paws. I changed his food many times. Both dry kibble and tinned food. I tried Chappie, he refused it. I prepared his food - cooking meat, oily fish, veg, blueberries, everything that people recommended.

As a last ditch attempt, to give him a diet that made him more comfortable, I switched to a raw diet, recommended by my vet - who feeds his dogs raw - six weeks ago. He absolutely loves his food now. No scratching, no mucky ears, he has stopped nibbling his paws.

I would never go back to dry or tinned food. Raw is the way forward.

Leeeeeeeeeeeeeee · 29/10/2021 16:16

@willogswoo

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?

I put my lab on raw but it didn't agree with him & his poo was worse than ever & don't get me started on the raw meat farts! I now have him on Butternut box & he's so much better, good poos and way less farts. The vets were against raw at ours but our lovely vet said as a practice they have to say that but ultimately it was our own choice. We looked for other food but due to serious allergies Butternut Box works best for us.
TattySlippers · 29/10/2021 17:41

Sorry I didn’t answer the question 🤭

Poos were firmer, much smaller (we went from very loose poos 3/4 times a day to firm, significantly smaller, poos once a day), within a few days of being fed raw. Anal glands problem has also disappeared 🙏

KiaOraWasTheBest · 30/10/2021 15:51

Wcs often have dodgy tums but as others say, be really careful changing food too quickly

In the end, the only food that our wcs tolerated was the royal canin cocker puppy (now on cocker adult) food

It never rates that highly on the allaboutdogfood site but it was the only food that stopped his stomach being upset

We also had to stop all treats and only fed him the rc puppy as food and treats and it soon sorted it

XiCi · 30/10/2021 16:18

Another recommendation for Butternut Box. Small and firm poo 1-2 times a day and no smelly wind.

WaggyWoof · 30/10/2021 21:23

We had the same problem, pup came with Beco food. Poop was like Mr Whippy Grin. Local pet shop recommended Barking Heads Puppy days kibble and it completely changed her stools within a couple of days. She is now on BH adult grain free .

Molecule · 30/10/2021 22:15

My Patterdale had a sensitive tummy as a pup, and after trial and error I tried Chappie and haven’t looked back. Nice solid poos and I’m always being told how well he looks. At 4 he can now tolerate other foods, but I can’t see any reason to change. Whether it is good enough nutritionally for a young pup I don’t know (my boy was about 12 months when I discovered its magical powers), but then I guess a poorly tummy and runny poos aren’t great either.

Sumlove · 01/11/2021 21:22

So glad I found this thread. My 16 week cockapoo is on pooch and mutt puppy dry food and her poo is not great - and the wind! 😳
I am not great with raw meat so wish to stick to kibble or a mix with wet food.

Wombat49 · 01/11/2021 21:25

We use Honey's raw food. Rock hard poo, to the point we often feed oats too. And a bit of fish kibble. Dogs look amazing on it, got rid of a lot of itchiness for the oldest one. Others always fed raw from pups

BrilloPaddy · 01/11/2021 21:34

I've got a working cocker. He's got a very sensitive stomach and is prone to horrendous separation anxiety which doesn't help either. We've tried a LOT of foods over the years but he's now on Forthglade cold pressed food and Nature's Menu Country Hunter sachets as a topper. It's all pretty close to raw but as a vegetarian, I'm not messing about with raw meat even if he is my favourite soul in the whole world Grin. Our sprocker loves it too, and both have got super soft silky coats.

Just as a side note, I found both of mine had soft poop as puppies...... I'm sure it was to do with soaking their food and it seemed to improve by around 6 months.

EmotionalSupportBear · 04/11/2021 19:14

not a cocker but a KCC, he's on the royal canin sensitive stomach food, only thing we've found works for him!

Mol1628 · 04/11/2021 19:21

My dog is prone to colitis and she’s on Chappie. Tried all sorts (slowly of course) and this is the only thing she can tolerate. Her poops are great now. Always firm.

casinoroyale4ever · 04/11/2021 19:50

A other vote for trying Harrington's salmon and potato or Simpson's -my fcr had very dodgy digestion and it worked brilliantly for him

LoveFall · 04/11/2021 19:51

Our little maltipoo has always had a sensitive stomach. He even had pancreatitis recently and was miserable and on pain medication. The vet prescribed the Royal Canin low fat gastro food.

I read some much about Chappie I ordered some. He loves it, and his poos are firm and predictable. He goes to see DH at the same time every day asking to be fed and then cleans his dish. No more panicked dog at the door, or just sniffing the food from a foot away and rejecting it.

He also seems to feel really well on it, mixed with a bit of kibble. He is perky and playful despite his 11 years.

Unfortunately we can't buy Chappie in Canada and we have to order it from England, along with huge shipping fees. We have tried to find an equivalent but can't.

Joystir59 · 06/11/2021 06:15

Our dog used to do slimy soft poo and also had bouts of colitis. We cut chicken out of our dog's diet, and also started adding oat bran to his meals. Poo is bigger and firmer ever since.

Sumlove · 06/11/2021 17:27

Well we have switched from Pooch n Mutt to Millie's Wolfheart and 3 days in and she has smaller, firmer poos and no wind! I just got her a puppy pack which had about a week worth of kibble, and two bags of treats. Very impressed. So far so good! 😃🤞🏼

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