Chumlee's Mom
Submitted by CathyandAudrey on September 26, 2010 - 8:01pmI was away for the weekend,and I didn't want to answer an old post and have it get lost.
Raw fed dogs do not poop as much as kibble fed dogs. It is really true. And their poop is a lot firmer. Raw meat does not have the waste that kibble does, so Chumlle would actually have more of a likelihood to poop inhis crate while you are gone on kibble than raw. Audrey doesn't even poop every day, She goes on average 7-12 times a week.
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Cathy and Audrey 
Hi Cathy
Thank you for the reply
I'm afraid during his "detox" that he will have the runs in his crate to be more specific. Because of this I am currently holding of starting raw until Shawn is on seasonal-salary-stand-by for work. This usually starts the week after Thanksgiving and he will be home with Chumlee all day unless it snows and he would have to go plow.
All this could change if my worrying subsides. Unless the runs only last a day or two I could see starting it on a Friday...
Skasqueeeeeeakaaay!!
Katie & Chumlee
well I can tell you
that I switched Audrey when she was 12 months old, and she had been vomiting her kibble almost every mea. She never had the runs or vomited one single raw meal. YAY!
I also switched my old lady lab mixes (we just recently lost both of them :-( ) who had been kibble fed for 12 years, and they never had the runs either. I started the old ladies with about 40% of their daily requirement, and gradualy increased it daily til they were up to 100% of what they needed. They started with chicken, breasts mostly chopped with the meat cleaver. They got organs after a month or so, and a variety.
Cathy and Audrey
What if...
I load him up with probiotics for a week and fast starting on a Thursday and he gets his first meal Friday night? I very well could be worrying for nothing.
I'm afraid of the detox.... :0
Skasqueeeeeeakaaay!!
Katie & Chumlee
The fasting, detox is not something
recommended by all raw feeder's.
With Kofi, I just started her in the morning. She had fasted since the night before.
Again.....the more you read, the more you realize that not everyone always agrees.
I didn't want to fast Kofi, so I followed the advice of those who said that it is not always necessary.
She did have two bouts with uncontrolled poops in the beginning. She came and woke me up after each. They were not runny, and it was no problem to clean up. Why did it occur?
I dunno!
I did not fast my dogs
Audrey had been vomiting her kibble(we had just gradually switched her kibble and by the time she was on 100% of the new she was throwing it up nearly every day), so I didn;t wan ther ti miss anither meal. I figured at that point, what the heck, she was already throwing up! She never threw up the raw. And my old dogs were 12 years old, about to turn 13, their stomachs got sick fi empty too long, so I wouldn;t fast them either.
Definitely give the probiotics.
Cathy and Audrey
The runs...
Well I don't have any personal stuff to tell you as I don't tend to follow Stella outside when she goes. BUT, I read somewhere that when you first start, since mixing is bad, that you should fast your dog for 24 hours so that the kibble is all out of their system first. Obviously I couldn't do that with Stella but maybe that would help their system get used to the change... I read that when you do that they are less likely to have diarhea... I also read that the bones tend to firm up the stools... Like (kachoom AKA Susie, Eddie, and Alex) mentioned earlier about the Natures Variety possibly being bone heavy and causing constipation. I read that when first starting out that chickens were good because they are super high in bones and it keeps the dogs from having diarhea. - So that might be an idea too :) - Maybe try it on a Friday and if it causes her to have the runs then you could discontinue and try again when your husband gets his time off?