[Anonymous]

I have a four year old, 8 lb Shih Tzu. We just started yesterday feeding fully cooked chicken. I decided we’d cook the meat first and slowly cook it less until it’s raw. I thought it’d be easier for her since we already know she likes cooked meat and she’s had it many times before with little to no problems. Anyways, she had diarrhea this morning that seemed to have a little blood in it. I wasn’t really concerned, but she just had diarrhea again with more blood for the second time today. It’s not much, only a streak or two. A little while ago, maybe a week and a half, I gave her bone broth from Answers and she had the same kind of diarrhea. Same color (orangeish) with a small amount of blood. The next day her stool was normal again and had no blood. She’s acting fine, just like her usual self. Should I be worried? Should I keep feeding the chicken?? I really want to go through with it and get to feeding completely raw, so this is a little disappointing 🙁 Just want the best for my girl!

[haleycookie]

Dogs can have small amounts of blood in their poop from a variety of things. This sounds like it’s probably a sensitivity to chicken or a switch in the diet. Dogs with sensitive systems can have these symptoms too.
If you’re still wanting to go the raw route perhaps try to slowly mix a premade raw food (nature’s variety, primal, Stella and chewy) and see how that goes. Transition the same way you would with a new kibble. Over the course of several weeks.
There may also be an under lying problem. The answers was a cooked plain broth so I’m not sure why that would cause any upset. I would go to the vet and mention it to them. I would first mention the answers and see what they say. Then perhaps mention the raw chicken later. Traditional vets will immediately jump the gun and blame it on raw as they are trained to support large kibble companies only and that may bring them to a wrong conclusion when something else may actually be going on.

[anonymous]

Stop the raw immediately and take the dog to the vet, TODAY. This has been going on for more than a week. She needs treatment by a veterinarian, not the internet. BE HONEST ABOUT THE RAW WITH THE VET.

Give us an update so others will learn from your unfortunate experience.

Whatever you are feeding her does not agree with her and is causing her harm. She may have an obstruction especially if you have been feeding bones and such.
Or not, but something is wrong.
Even cooked chicken has a lot of small sharp bones in it, especially if you haven’t carefully chopped it up.

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2018/02/actually-raw-chicken-likely-does-lead-to-paralysis-in-dogs/ excerpt below

“Dr. Brady can call me a dupe or lackey of Big Pet Food if he wants (and I suspect he will). The truth is, I am open to the idea that fresh food, even raw food, might have health benefits. However, the evidence is clear that raw has risks, and it is up to the proponents of raw diets to prove there are benefits that make these risks worth taking. Not with anecdotes, faulty logic about what is “natural,” rhetorical assaults on the pet food industry, or mere passion. They should prove it with data, with reliable evidence derived from appropriate scientific research. Until they do so, there is no reason for pet owners to take the risks they deny exist for ourselves, our pets, or our families.”

Yet Another Study Shows the Real Dangers of Raw Diets for Dogs

Read article and comments, use the search engine there to look up topics for more articles.
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/

Nothing is being sold at that site, no dog food, no supplements, no books, no membership fees.

[anonymous]

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2011/06/salmonella-and-other-risks-of-raw-pet-diets/ excerpt below

C. Health Risks:
As I have pointed out before, raw diets are more likely than cooked diets to be contaminated with infectious organisms, including Salmonella. Such organisms have been found in raw diets (1, 8-12) and have been found shed in the feces of pets eating these diets (13), they can be passed from pets to humans (13-16), and they have caused illness in both pets and humans (16-18).
Another recent paper in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, written by Dr. Kate KuKanich (19), specifically addresses the subject of Salmonella contamination in pet foods and treats. Her analysis of the literature shows that uncooked foods and treats are far more likely to be contaminated with Salmonella, and that up to 69% of sled dogs and 61% of racing greyhounds fed raw meat shed this organism in their feces even when they have no diarrhea or other clinical symptoms. This is compared to a rate of shedding of less than 5% up to 15% in studies of other healthy dogs. While Salmonella contamination after cooking has been found in dry diets, the risks for uncooked foods and treats are substantially higher, and Dr. KuKanich concludes, as I would,
Ample evidence exists for the risk of Salmonella contamination in raw food diets; thus, it is advised that pet owners avoid feeding raw food diets to pets.

[CockalierMom]

Shrub, since you are feeding FULLY COOKED meat and NOT RAW, this clearly has nothing to do with raw meat. Was the bone broth also chicken? Your dog could have developed a sensitivity to chicken but if she has been eating the same food for awhile her digestive tract may not have the gut bacteria to handle additional foods.

What percentage of her regular food did you replace with the cooked chicken? Is she eating a food with probiotics?

[anonymous]

“Blood in the stools that is red, is undigested blood. This is a sign of the colon lining being irritated. This can be from something like pieces of bone in the stool, from diarrhea”.
“If the stools are soft, there may be colitis, inflammation of the colon lining”.

“It might be better on its own in a few days. If is not better, I would start with a microscopic exam of a stool sample to check for parasites. Not all parasites are worms, and most are too small to see without a microscope”.

Above are excerpts in response to a specific question about a dog and answered by a veterinarian from https://www.justanswer.com/dog-health/bvnrf-wrong-beagle-blood-stools.html

Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

The broth was turkey with beet juice in it. I’ve been slowly adding in small amounts of bone broth into her food and she’s been fine with it now. The first time I gave her quite a bit which obviously wasn’t a good idea, but she seems to be handling it now 🙂 I replaced all of her regular food with the chicken, but I’m going to try to go back to her regular food (freeze dried) and slowly replace it. If slowly replacing it is still making her upset, I’ll switch proteins to see if it’s a sensitivity. I have been giving kefir for probiotics for awhile leading up to this, and I have still been adding it to the chicken as well.

[Anonymous]

Anon, I haven’t been feeding her any bone at all, just muscle meat. The same kind we eat, fully cooked. I’ve also done many months of research on raw feeding and I have very little concerns about bacteria. Dogs aren’t built like us and are designed to be able to handle it. As long as your dog is healthy and doesn’t have any underlying problems they should be just fine. My dog is healthy, and we’re not even at feeding raw yet. We’re going to wait it out a couple of days, but are still going to take her to the vet to make sure nothing else is going on.

[Anonymous]

I should add that she has been eating dehydrated bones practically all her life without problems. I haven’t been feeding her any raw bones yet though.

[anonymous]

“dehydrated bones”

That is bone, it can calcify in the gut and turn into a cement like substance and cause a blockage, GI upset at the least.

Obviously you have been listening to the homeopathic crowd. Your info about raw food is wrong.
” Dogs aren’t built like us and are designed to be able to handle it. As long as your dog is healthy and doesn’t have any underlying problems they should be just fine.”

Good luck with that.

BTW: Your dog is a senior, has she had labs done recently? My advice still stands. Take her to the vet. I would have an x-ray/ultrasound done to rule out.

If you think I am blowing smoke, I am not. I have experience and knowledge in these matters. Find out the hard way, I did.

Please provide an update after your dog sees a real vet (not the internet).

[Anonymous]

She isn’t a senior, she’s only four. If the bone was the problem she would be having problems not just when I give her something new. I doubt it is that, when she does just fine when she’s eating her usual food. I’m sorry you had a bad experience, but there are numerous things that could’ve gone wrong. Just because one person has a hard time does not mean the diet in itself is bad. There are many people that have been doing it for decades and their dogs have never been healthier.

[anonymous]

“She isn’t a senior, she’s only four”

That is even more concerning. I am sorry but you just don’t get it. Blood in the stool is not normal.

GO TO THE VET. What did her last annual exam reveal?

Peace out

PS: An 8 pound dog is not a wolf, they are delicate animals, please discuss with your vet, prescription food may be the way to go at least till she is stable.

“There are many people that have been doing it for decades and their dogs have never been healthier”
BS Where is the research? You are talking ragtime.

[anonymous]

Please be advised that we not veterinarians. For this reason, this website was never meant to be used as a substitute for sound professional advice.
Because the health of your dog can be directly affected by what you read here, you should always consult with a licensed veterinary professional before taking any specific action.

Above is an excerpt from /disclaimer-and-disclosure/

[Anonymous]

I don’t know why you’re so flustered. I never intended to use this as a source for professional advice, just advice from people who probably have experience with feeding raw. Before rushing to the vet, I’d prefer to ask other people if they know anything that could have caused it, or what I can do that might possibly help it. I never said I wasn’t going to take her to the vet, I intend to. I came here because I wanted helpful advice presented in a kind, respectful manner. I did not come here to have someone tell me I shouldn’t feed this way, or to make it seem like I don’t care for my dog by insinuating I am against taking to her to the vet. You’re only making a worrisome situation even more upsetting. Also, I wouldn’t feed her any of those prescription diets. The ingredients are horrible. I’d prefer to help her body with real food, not garbage.

[anonymous]

” Before rushing to the vet, I’d prefer to ask other people if they know anything that could have caused it, or what I can do that might possibly help it. I never said I wasn’t going to take her to the vet, I intend to. I came here because I wanted helpful advice presented in a kind, respectful manner”

Yes. That is what I responded to, my advice was “Go to the vet” asap. I provided information to support my opinion.
I guess that is not what you want to hear.
Don’t get angry at me. Don’t ask for advice if you don’t want to hear it.
Anyone can tell you not to worry, everything will be alright. I guess that is what you would prefer.

[CockalierMom]

Shrub, I am not a raw feeder, but have experienced what you are going through when my girls were eating food without probiotics. I believe you just added too much too fast and your girl’s digestive tract needs time to adjust, and like you said just do it more slowly. I have used kefir in the past with good results and since you used Answers bone broth, you may want to try their goat milk. I have heard a lot of people say they had better results with goat milk. Also, you may want to try adding a little raw, instead of cooked. It is my understanding cooking kills off the digestive enzymes that come from raw.

BTW, when I had problems, my vet told me a little blood in the stool when they have diarrhea is not uncommon, and as long as it goes away after a digestive upset not a problem, as in your case.

[anonymous]

“BTW, when I had problems, my vet told me a little blood in the stool when they have diarrhea is not uncommon, and as long as it goes away after a digestive upset not a problem, as in your case”

Yes that was specific to your dog or dogs that were examined by the vet. You don’t know what the OP’s case is, as they have not been diagnosed yet by a veterinary health care professional regarding the symptoms described.

[Anonymous]

I have been giving digestive+systemic enzymes as well as dr. Harvey’s runs be done. Also medicinal mushrooms as a prebiotic. I switched her back to her freeze dried and her stool went back to normal immediately, with much less blood. Today there wasn’t any blood at all and she’s doing well.

[CockalierMom]

Anon , NO that was not specific to my dog or examination. The vet said that when dogs get diarrhea it can cause them to strain and it is not uncommon to see blood in the stool as a result.

I do know what the OP’s case is because I read the message, unlike you who thought the problem was from RAW food. You do not have to go to veterinary school to know that when you feed a dog too much of a new food, they will get diarrhea. Please quit attacking me when I post a message.

[CockalierMom]

Shrub, glad to hear everything is back to normal. Since you were able to add the bone broth back without any problems, you just may need to take it slow.

Since you mentioned Dr. Harveys’s, are you going to be trying the Vibrance mix for raw food?

[Anonymous]

Thank you 🙂 we might try it and other base mixes, I have to look at them more. I do plan on feeding mostly premade raw (at least for now) though.

[Spy Car]

Wait, you are putting beet juice in the broth and are surprised the stool is red? LOL.

Stop the beet juice and see if red stools go away.

Bill

[Anonymous]

I didn’t put it in there that’s just what Answers adds in it. But she is fine with it now anyways.

[Author]

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