Dog on raw diet has dry, crumbly poop. Is it the chicken feet?

Raw diet is not easily digestible. If you want to continue o give raw diet, you could try to add something else to increase the density of the feces. Boiled rice or potatoes could be the right option. If the signs persist despite this addition, I would switch her back to old diet. Every variation of the diet should be made gradually over one week.

Poor Meeka! The diarrhea could be due to many conditions including eating something she shouldn’t have, bacterial over growth, parasites, the raw diet or even organ disease. Since the diarrhea has continued beyond 24 hours, I recommend to have her examined by the veterinarian. With continued diarrhea, there are often bacterial shifts in the gut that will make matters worse regardless of the initial cause. Make sure to bring in a sample of fresh stool. The doctor will check her for parasites and bacterial over growth. Many times a bland diet can help and then a slow, gradual introduction to the normal food can be done. A bland diet can consist of 25% boiled white meat chicken and 75% boiled white rice. This should all be plain. Raw diets can contain bacteria that could be responsible for the diarrhea: https://www.petcoach.co/article/raw-and-homemade-diets-what-you-need-to-know/ Additionally, you need to ensure the diet is balanced and complete or you could run into problems long term. The diet should be AAFCO certified. Make sure to alert the veterinarian about the diet change. Any immunocompromised people in the clinic need to be cautious (just in case). I hope Meeka starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Changes in diet commonly cause digestive upsets but the white stools are most likely due to calcium fragments from the bones (they would normally be brittle/crumbly stools) and black stool often indicates bleeding within the bowel (due to infection or scratches from bone fragments). I would monitor very closely for any vomiting, constipation or abdominal discomfort which can indicate a fragment may be obstructing the bowel. I would also recommend small, frequnt meals of a bland diet or familiar kibble to try to manintain gut movement to encourage digestion of any remaining bone fragments

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Feeding BARF diet is not recommended and can be the cause of the diarrhea and yellow poop that you are seeing. Any raw food, or bones of any kind (cooked or raw) put the GI tract at danger for a nasty infection (just like you or I eating raw food, there is bacteria that can cause food poisoning). Bones have the potential to cause obstructions, perforations, bone-hardened constipation, and severe gastritis and pancreatitis. Especially in a puppy that is only 4 months old, as their immune systems are not fully developed. I would recommend feeding a high quality puppy food. If you would like to home cook that is great, and a combination of meat and vegetables (onions, garlic, grapes and raisins are toxic) is fine, just cook the meat as you would for yourself. If you wouldn't feed it raw, then it isn't good for your domesticated pet raw either. Adding as much oil and other 'stuff' to his food as well could be too hard on his system, as oil is fatty and dogs don't tolerate the amount of fat that we eat in our diets. Pumpkin is very good for teeth (raw pumpkin) and cooked it is a good source of fibre. Best of luck with Marvel!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Not necessarily. As long as he is doing well and does not seem in discomfort when defecating, it should be ok. I would make sure though that his water intake is appropriate as dry feces can sometimes be a sign of decreased water intake. Good luck and have a great day!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, switching to a dry diet can help. If no improvement after switching to a dry diet, you could consider adding a probiotic to her diet to see if that helps as sometimes that regulates the gastrointestinal system as sometimes there is an imbalance of the good gut bacteria. If no improvement, have her re-evaluated by your veterinarian to look for other reasons such as food allergies or sensitivity or intestinal malabsorption. Good luck!

This could be due to the change in diet. I can give you a home remedy for Nick to see if that helps. Withhold food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet.