Rockafella

you could try real fish? canned sardines are cheap. My puppy absolutely loves the days he gets them in with his dinner.

my stafford pup is absolutely thriving on an all raw diet. I even tried him on the super expensive "biologically appropriate" Orijen and that disagreed with him. I say go for it (the raw diet), and if it's not right for him - just find what he does do best on. My vet kept telling me to put him on Hills Science - but first ingredient - cereal... I very diplomatically declined.

he's going really, really well. He loves everything we feed him and he's looking really healthy and happy! You're advice was spot on and now I'm only ever picking up small hard white poos with NO smell at all.. even the fresh ones don't have a smell which is fantastic! Thanks so much for the great advice!!

I've had no consistency with my stafford pup's poos since being on the Orijen (as previously posted). And OMG the wind could make you puke!!! So thanks to some great advice from DOL postes (see puppy problems forum) he's been on a raw diet since last Thursday - and he's had a 200% turnaround... not ONE SINGLE runny poo and NO WIND!!!!!!!!! He's also gone from gobbling down his dry in about 30 seconds to at least a 5-10 min chomp on his wings/necks, which is great. So the Orijen has now gone to the cupboard for emergencies only and he's a raw food boy now - and loving it!!!!!

Update - he's now on a raw diet.. and no longer eats his poos at all... his rear end has cleared up and he doesnt have wind either. So I guess the Orijen is great... but not for all dogs... it truly is what's best for YOUR dog is the best!!!!

QUICK UPDATE... I've had Rocky on wings since Thursday night and his poos have firmed right up, he also has NO wind at all and is doing just great! So now he can happily be where he wants to be all the time.. in our bed!!! Thanks heaps for all the advice given and if anyone out there is freaking out a little bit about going raw, the DOL'ers are just great for offering top advice that works!!!! And it is just as easy to throw your dog some raw meat etc than it is to scoop dry out of a bag!!!! Who would have thought!!!

Thanks PPS, you're a legend!! And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who was freaked out at how hard "raw" was, when in fact it's not at all.

Actually I've changed my mind.. I'm stopping in at the pet food shop tonight to get supplies up.. no time like the present hey!!!

yep! And thank you, thank you, thank you one and all for your advice!!!! I do have some turkey mince in the freezer and some chicken necks.. so tomorrow I'll start him.. and keep the dry for emergencies only! I'm sooo excited now!!! I guess I just overanalysed the whole food thing.. basic is best and raw is even better!!!! Cheers

Thanks PPS. I used to feed my beloved rottweiler carcases in the morning and raw mince (chicken/turkey/roo or a veg mix) with a little dry mixed in at night. Would this diet be ok to give to a him???? Not necesarily the carcases - since he's much smaller than a rottweiler - but maybe necks, flaps etc in the morning and a good quality pet mince/chucks etc with some dry at night? I have to small kids and a hectic life already and so I'm a bit freaked out over the thought of having to prepare freshly made meals for the dog aswell, if you know what I mean. I'm just a little overwhelmed I guess at how small and young he is, I'm used to a dog who'd eat anything and everything and was in perfect condition (weight/coat/temprament) his whole 9 1/2 years. Sorry for all the questions... I guess I should just trust my judgement - and the Orijin just may be too high in protein and too rich for his belly to handle.

I feed Rocky twice a day.. around 6:30am and around 5pm. He's 10 kg and nearly 5 months old. But it's in the late evening (around 8pm) that he goes out for a #2 and normally proceeds to eat it (and it's usually a runny one). It's at no other time of the day (that I've noticed anyway). It's been suggested to me that I should either maybe wait till around 6-6:30 to feed him - or break his night meal up into 2 smaller meals and spread them out - maybe 5pm and 8pm. Would anyone else agree that maybe, just maybe he's eating his poos out of hunger/boredom and that this could be the answer??

thanks for all the suggestions!!! I might just give the raw diet a try. And as for the amount of dry he's getting - it's what's reccommended on the packaging... It's Origin Puppy... 16-26 weeks, 5-10kg - 1 3/4 - 2 1/2 cups per day.. So I'm just doing what's advised. Once again thanks!!!!

thanks guys!!! I'll get rid of the rawhide for sure!! He's close to 10kg and he has 1 cup on the morning and 1 cup in the evening.

Cheers Nekhbet. And you're right, the well digested poo's aren't the ones he's interested in which is why I'm suss about why he's so up and down (well put!!!) They are fantastic and I'm sooo glad to see them! In a typical day he does 3-4 good ones - and at least 2 runnies

Thanks Terrorbull. I do pick them all up asap.. I do a daily bucket run... but the really runny ones are the only ones he eats.. not the nice ones!!!

My nearly 5 month old staffie eats his poo's... he leaves the nice firm poo's alone.. but when they are runny... he feels the need to clean it up.. and it's normally in the evening. He also has another issue that if he does eat it that night it comes out again while he's sleeping - making for quite a mess on his rear end and his bedding. I can normally tell if he's eaten his poo's on his breath (OMG SOOO YUK) and the next day if his bedding and bum are nice and clean or a disaster!! Oh yeah and his wind can clear a room at any time of day!!! Does anyone have any suggestions for this problem? I'm currently feeding him Orijin but he has as many firm poos as runny so I'm thinking of changing him to Royal Canin due to the expense - and the fact that it hasn't cleared up his tummy issues. I'm also only giving him rawhide chews to chew on all day as I don't want the extra protein from bones making his tummy more upset/fragile. Is this ok - or should I at least give him a couple of chicken bones a week? He is starting to teeth and nip/chew everything in site. Sorry for all the questions - but I was hoping that a good clean up of the yard and Orijen would fix his problems but it hasn't.

my staffie pup has been on it for about a month.. His coat is amazing.. soooooo shiny and soft!! But his poo's are still inconsistent too, I think it may be due to him eating something in the garden that's not right.. not sure, as Orijen is all he gets. I'll be sticking with it though as I'm not sure how he'll react to another change of diet and the grains are just fillers - so why pay for something that's unneccessary to his diet!

there is an Australian online vet who specialises in this sort of thing. My rottie had an OCD and was prescribed Herbal Flower Essence Drops to calm him down and they worked soooo well. I've still got vials of the drops in my cupboards. The website is called www.greenpet.com.au and they are based in Qld I think from memory.

I'm so very, very sorry that the end is coming for your beloved pet and hope you and your family can remember the good times and the joy she brought to your family for many many years.

I might just do that PPS thanks for the advice. Could you PM me any info you think might relevant on a raw natural diet, it would be soo appreciated. Or point me in the direction of other posts that might help? That's why I'm going for the Orijin to try to avoid grains completely. Cheers.

from what I hear Eagle Pack Holistic is also grain free.

thanks for the replies people! yes he's up to date with his worming and I thought that was what set this bout off in the first place.. I've been told I was changing his diet too fast and it initially caused the problem and all my efforts to fix it only made it worse (oops). Im hoping to only feed this to him for a few days (maybe a week) to get his belly back to a normal state and then start very slowly introducing Orijin, reducing the mix daily. I've reduced his rice content and added pumpkin to the mix. All your advice has been greatly appreciated... to date the runs are no longer running!!!!! I hope to keep him that way. Wow Rysup.. 11 months.. that's a long time to be dealing with those issues. I'm glad they have worked themselves out.

Thanks for all the advice!! i took him to the vet yeterday. He's gaining weight well (phew) and the vet seemed to think it might be due to changing his diet too quickly as apart from his "off" rear end he's more than happy and a normal pup with an enormour appetite to match. She also gave him some "binding" stuff which I think looks a lot like runny cement, to coat the intestines and relieve his sxs. We're on the boiled chicken and rice and I will maybe halve the rice and give pumpkin too for a week or so and then start adding small amounts of Orijen (when I get it). And I'll be sure to stick to the one diet and we'll see how we go! Once again, thanks for all the fanstastic advice... you guys ROCK!!!! :D

thank you so much Settrlvr for your reply!!!

I had a halti (head harness) for my rottie and absolutely loved it. My small kids were even able to walk him without being dragged around the park.