# Loose stool and raw food



## efinishya (Nov 2, 2010)

I have been putting Smeagol on raw food diet for 1 months now. I only gave him cornish chicken with bone in. His stool was solid and he poo less than when he was on commercial food. I heard this is a good thing so I thought I moved on and started giving him ground beef yesterday and today. This morning his poo was a bit soft and black. And this afternoon he had very loose stool and it was black. And it was scattered all over his pad. Is this normal. Should I continue giving him ground beef? Or if someone can tell me what's the next step to do?


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Are you still giving him bone? He'll still need bone in his diet otherwise he will end up with loose/soft poo. The bone is what keeps the poo firm. Some add new protiens very slowly to boney chicken meals but I'd not hesitate feeding a whole meal of the new protien (this is what we've always done) but I've been sure to feed a boney meal before & after the new protien meal. So my suggestion would be to go back to cornish hen chunks & when his poo is normal again add 1 beef meal in & then back to the boney cornish hen piece. Keeping bone in his meals every day should help.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I agree with Heather. It's not a race. It's OK to go really slowly. So go back to the cornish hen pieces and when he's stable on that, then add in beef. But add it in slowly, like one bite WITH the chicken. Then the next meal - two bites - and so on. Some dogs can handle fast transitions and some can't. 

Get back to us with questions and we'll help you!


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## efinishya (Nov 2, 2010)

Ah that's what I did wrong. I only gave him ground beef all day thinking that will get him used to it. I will give him bone in chicken back and some ground beef. Thank you for the help.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Good! And then once he's doing well on the beef, remember to give him some bony pieces as bone is what keeps the stool firm. Some dogs can do fine on several meat only meals, and some need a little bone in almost every meal. You will learn what works for your dog. I like and use the wing tips from chicken wings. The very end piece. It has just a little bit of bone in it. Very little meat, and some fat. That works well to firm up loose stools. You can also do chicken feet! Most dogs love them. A whole one may be too much bone, so you could give a couple of the fingers to gnaw on or you could let your puppy chew on it for awhile and then take away and refrigerate until next time.


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