[lmnordrum]

I am new to puppydom but I did learn quite a bit about my own dog’s digestive system when trying to find her things to chew on. We feed Wellness Core Puppy with great success and I also have some Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast which I give a handful for lunch. (Pup is a Giant Schnauzer, born 10/21, and I also use the Earthborn for training.) I decided that pig ears would be a convenient and inexpensive way for my dog to while away her time and not gnaw on furniture. Silly me…

While many puppy parents are focusing on the actual food when there’s a problem, what I learned was that pig ears are loaded with fat (and god knows what other stuff because they’ve been treated and salted). My pup had some loose stool towards the end of her BMs, and I mentioned it to the trainer in puppy class and she immediately pegged it as pig ears. Once I stopped the ears and substituted them with a good old fashioned bone and an antler, the loose stool went away immediately. The frequency of the BMs became more normal too, about two hours after a meal with appropriate consistency.

So if you’re feeding a good food and having strange digestive issues with the dog towards the end of a BM you might want to look at the treats/chewies/snacks. I use real meat (cooked) for puppy school and when we’re doing obedience, and regular kibble. No more pig ears here, and I doubt I’m going to try bully sticks for the dog either. I’m a label reader for my own food, and also read what’s in dog treats and think most of this stuff is junk. When I did the pig ears I did so at the recommendation of the boutique pet store, and these were not processed in China and were deemed “Natural”. Silly me, I thought I was just getting a baked pig ear, and it didn’t even occur to me that it would have a lot of fat or salt. Like our own diets, when we eat a lot of fat it comes out the other end, which is exactly what happened with my dog.

I have learned a lot from this group and this might help someone.

LN