Switching from RAW to cooked

[Lynne&Co.]

I was wondering if anyone here has switched to cooked food from raw. I recently switched my 6lb papillon to cooked food and now she hasn't pooped in 24 hrs. She used to go right after each meal on raw. I'm thinking it is due to the rice in the cooked recipe. Anyone run into this before? Maybe I should add pumpkin to the recipe or eliminate the carb portion?
RAW recipe: 75% meat, 20% bone, 5% veg.
Cooked recipe: 16oz. meat, 8oz. carb., 4oz. Veg., After cooking add in
1tsp ground egg shell, 1 capsule omega 3.

[Dog Dancer]

Wish I had an answer for you Lynne, sorry, never done that switch. Why are you switching her from raw to cooked? Just curious, I think both are great. Although my older dog wouldn't eat my cooking! Go figure! Has she gone yet? Have you tried slippery elm, I have heard lots of good about that as well as pumpkin.

[marko]

Dietary changes can often temporarily affect the way the digestive tract processes the new food....hopefully this is temporary though. The rice is definitely a potential culprit but not sure if it's a big deal or not in the long-term. (I don't have much knowledge in this domain so hopefully others will add even more info)

In terms of relieving constipation though, our cat Twiggy has this issue and both canned pumpkin as well as prune baby food helps her out. big time. (I teaspoon mixed with her soft food ) per meal is what she normally gets.

[Lynne&Co.]

The RAW Jazz eats only comes in one or five pound blocks so it goes bad before she can eat it. She only eats 1.5 oz twice a day which I used to just scoop from my other dogs food. She has been out of sorts since our other dog passed away and refuses to eat the 1oz RAW nuggets from another supplier. I got desperate and gave her some of our food by hand which she gobbled up so then decided to switch her DD.
I'm not interested in hand feeding RAW but have no problem hand feeding cooked food to her. I'll get her back to eating out of a bowl eventually too. When she came to us as a rescue two years ago she was fearful of eating from a bowl so kind of a step backwards for her right now.
Great news is she finally "went" this morning. I think your right Marko that the rice messed with her system so I'm going to reduce the recipe to 4oz carb and see how that goes. I'm not really sure why the rice is in cooked food?

[Marty11]

Switch the rice to sweet potato? Stella and Chewy's makes a raw for small dogs frozen. And Orijen is making a freeze dried raw that's easier for small dogs.

[Dog Dancer]

Glad she went Lynne. The 5 lb frozen block of chicken mix I buy lasts me about 2 days (mixed with lots of other stuff). I use the chicken/bone mix as a base and then add meat and bone and organs to it. The Moots each eat about 2 lbs a day, Nikki a bit more. Your little one will get settled soon no doubt. I hear you about hand feeding raw. I had to laugh Nikki's trainer suggested hand feeding his food during training, I was like NO - that's not happening. Couldn't see myself carrying around a bag of raw liver or heart as a training tool!

[Lynne&Co.]

OMG I'm in stitches Carrying around a bag of organs! Yikes!
I've always given whiskas temptations cat treats to all my pets so when I shake the bag the dog comes running with the cat. It's such a small treat I'm sure it is okay for dogs. Best part is it doesn't leave any bloody residue on my hand

[Dog Dancer]

I use dried lamb lungs (I buy them that way!) as training treats - the three dogs go nuts over them. They seem pricey, but because they're dry they actually don't weigh much so the price isn't too bad. They were a big hit at dog classes with the other owners. When their dogs wouldn't respond to the regular treats I'd share - worked like a charm.

[Lynne&Co.]

My poor little Jazz has not been very well since Billy passed away. I know she is missing her buddy but didn't realize how bad it was. She has continued to have chronic and intermittent constipation or diahrea regardless of what food I feed her. Since July 15th she has gone from 6lbs to 4.2lbs and all the vets visits and different foods have come up with nothing concrete. We've gone from RAW, to cooked, to kibble, back to RAW and yesterday just started her on Hills Prescription i/d low fat GI restore. She is on Xylene 75mg for "depression" and Fortiflora 15mg to help her gut heal.
Crossing my fingers that this is going to do the trick. Anyone have similar experience or advice greatly appreciated.
Vet says next steps are colon biopsy........hopefully we don't get to that.
Warning to all.......the kibble I tried her on "Blue Wilderness" small breed with life source bits which came highly recommended by the pet store possibly made her even more ill according to my vet???

[Dog Dancer]

Aw, I have to run right now, but I am sorry your pup isn't doing well. Will re-read this and see if I can think of anything helpful. Good luck to you.

[Barkingdog]

I think you should call your vet b/c you have a very small dog and need to be careful trying to treat it yourself.

[Lynne&Co.]

Thanks for the well wishes DD.
Thanks for the advice BD. Jazz is being monitored by our vet so no worries on that front. I agree she is teeny tiny! I've always had 65lb to 90lb dogs so I'm very cautious with this little one. Her last vet visit was yesterday

[Lynne&Co.]

Much to my dismay Jazz still has chronic diahrrea. I've fed her exactly as my vet recommended. I'm really wanting to add rice or pumpkin to tighten her up but vet wants me to stay with the new food and supplements only for six weeks. Off to vet again tomorrow to have her weight etc checked out. So tired of cleaning up runny poop!

[Dog Dancer]

Lynne, sorry to hear this isn't resolving yet. I agree that while it's tempting to add the pumpkin or rice, it would only mask the problem and ultimately make it harder to know if what you are doing is actually helping. I try to use pumpkin only if I know it's just a tummy upset, not as a magic cure. I guess at this point it's best to see if the vet food works. But it will likely take a bit longer to see "firm" results. Sorry you are having to deal with the mess, it's not easy that's for sure.

Went back to read the thread a bit again, and I see you were concerned with the raw because Jazz eats so little and you were getting a one lb or five lb block. For future reference, I mix lots of raw stuff together, so even with the Malamutes, a five lb block lasts longer than I like. I defrost the block (it's cheaper to buy a breeder block) and then split it into several smaller containers and refreeze. It's perfectly fine to defrost and refreeze raw food for the dogs. It's really only a texture thing and they don't care. So if you do go back to raw, try that. Works great for me.

You and your little Jazz are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Lynne&Co.

Much to my dismay Jazz still has chronic diahrrea. I've fed her exactly as my vet recommended. I'm really wanting to add rice or pumpkin to tighten her up but vet wants me to stay with the new food and supplements only for six weeks. Off to vet again tomorrow to have her weight etc checked out. So tired of cleaning up runny poop!

I would try going to another vet to get a second opinion , you have a very small dog and you need to be sure she does not dehydration . I really feel the vet had his chance and it's time to get a new vet.

[marko]

Much to my dismay Jazz still has chronic diahrrea. I've fed her exactly as my vet recommended. I'm really wanting to add rice or pumpkin to tighten her up but vet wants me to stay with the new food and supplements only for six weeks.

I can see why the vet wants to do this. Adding rice or pumpkin is another variable in the mix and the vet is trying to control the amount of variables that are affecting your little one. My experience is that these products are generally safe....but we have 1 cat with food issues so we have been through a similar routine food wise....and vets really do like to arrive at conclusions with as few variables thrown into the mix as possible.

....that said 6 weeks is a long time to continue to watch your dog have diarrhea if it doesn't get any better

wishing you and your little one

[Lynne&Co.]

Thank you everyone for your good wishes.
Jazz is down a little bit more in weight, she's now 4.1 lbs but otherwise very healthy and still has a ton of energy. Honestly she's always bright eyed and bushy tailed....you'd not even know she's ill to see her behaviour.
The only thing my vet can recommend is a referral to a specialist for a colon biopsy or to treat her with 25mg Metronidazole every 12 hours to ease her anxiety.
I'm leaning towards the anxiety as this problem all started when we lost Billy. She used to follow him everywhere and was his constant companion. I truly think he helped her adapt to any situation. With her coming from a puppy mill she was always fearful of people, tolerates the cat but absolutely adored the dog.
I used to take both dogs regularly to visit family in Ottawa with no problem. She never once had diahrrea in the last two years, now she has it every time we go away which has been almost every weekend since August and it lasts longer and longer.
In fact she had a normal BM yesterday before her vet appointment and then this morning she was back to being runny?
I'm starting the new meds today and crossing my fingers all goes well. Really don't want to have a biopsy done. I might have to find a cheaper supplier for these pills though! They sure are expensive! $125.00 for 25 pills yikes!

[Dog Dancer]

I hear you on the cost of the meds. It's crazy. I sure hope it helps though, I agree it's probably anxiety. Hopefully over time it will resolve somewhat.
Good luck and keep us posted.

[Lynne&Co.]

I tried to follow the advice from my vet and fed Jazz the prescription diet and anxiety meds for four weeks and finally couldn't take it any more. She was so skinny and I was so fed up with the constant bathing and cleaning that I had to try something else.

As a last resort before having a colon biopsy done, I visited my old RAW supplier and they offered to prepare a blend of fresh food for her so I could freeze it in 1.5oz potions. I'm thrilled to report Jazz has thrived on the new recipe (2lbs Turkey, 8oz. Tripe, 8oz. Offal) and has not had an episode of diahrea since the end of November. She has gone from 4.1lbs to 5 lbs in just 4 weeks of feeding 3 times per day. Unfortunately she has continued to refuse to eat from her bowl and I have to spoon feed it to her but that's a two minute job and I guess only a small inconvenience to me.

Just so glad she is again healthy and on her way to a good weight.

[hazelrunpack]

That's marvelous news, Lynne...even if it is spoon-feeding! Great mommy-baby bonding time!

[teddym]

I switched my dog from Primal which is a raw commercial diet, to cooked homemade food. I suggest eliminating the rice and other grains. I hope your following some type of recipe so that the diet is complete, if not I've had great success with Dr. Karen Becker's book. The recipes she provides are good cooked or raw.

Good luck!