Labrador Diet Questions.

[hyrola]

Hi Guys,

I posted this in the labrador specific thread but i thought i would post it in here too. So i will just cut and paste what i typed in there:

"Hi Guys,

Been a little while since i posted in this thread.

I actually need a little advice on what i should be putting my Labrador on diet wise. In the past couple of days he hasn't been well in his stomach but is still active and playful and has no trouble eating. I think a bone from the butchers i gave him may have made him sick?

A quick recap, i adopted Miles the chocolate Labrador at 1.5 years old a short while ago and the previous owners were strict vegetarians. Never had proper bones or any meat in his diet.

Now that i have him, i have been giving him the Eukanuba dry food for Labradors and a couple of lamb rosettes each day.

He also gets treats eg Smackos, raw hide bones and recently bones from the butcher. The last bone i gave him was last night after a big run. He only gets a new bone once in a while. His stool was clearing up i felt then this morning it was loose again.

He is still very energetic, will eat his food down without any issues, still wants to wrestle and play like a crazy Labrador.

Any suggestions on what i should do, should i be fasting him now, cut him back to just dry food for a little while? Any good diet suggestions you were recommended by people who know Labradors?

Thanks in advance! "

[Embellish]

HI, is he is not well, I would put him on some boiled chicken and rice for a few days, then slowly introduce the dry. If he continues to have diarrhoea, or is sick in any way, take him to your vet.

[Nekhbet]

his stomach will not be used to digesting bone since he has never had to. If you want to start introducing chicken necks, one a day, then up to 2, then 3 etc as long as his poo stays firm for a few days you can up the necks. His stomach will gradually start changing to a proper, more acidic environment needed to digest raw bones.

[*Avanti*]

his stomach will not be used to digesting bone since he has never had to. If you want to start introducing chicken necks, one a day, then up to 2, then 3 etc as long as his poo stays firm for a few days you can up the necks. His stomach will gradually start changing to a proper, more acidic environment needed to digest raw bones.

A warning with chicken necks but it may not happen to you; when I fed them to my Labrador he would swallow them whole and vomit them up later. I could only give him marrow bones because they were the only bones he could not swallow. He was such a super guts though.

[persephone]

Try feeding him chicken frames .. I worry about them swallowing chicken necks whole.. and the necks are just a size to get stuck

I also feel lamb rosettes are a size which is dangerous... I feed them to my cats :D

Try bones like lamb brisket ...beef ribs .

While he has a tummy upset though.. as suggested.. boiled chciken and rice.. with a gradual change back to normal food over a few days.

his stomach will not be used to digesting bone since he has never had to. If you want to start introducing chicken necks, one a day, then up to 2, then 3 etc as long as his poo stays firm for a few days you can up the necks. His stomach will gradually start changing to a proper, more acidic environment needed to digest raw bones.

good point

he also doesn't really need schmakos /rawhide . Try Nature's Gift treats ... and leave the rawhide for some time until he is all settled again.

Any diet additions should be done gradually... or there will be stomach problems.

[Nekhbet]

if the do gobbles the necks bash them up. A chicken frame can still be too much on a dog living on a processed diet. Meat is one thing, bone is another.

I could only give him marrow bones because they were the only bones he could not swallow

marrow bones can be too high in fat so unless the dog is underweight there is no point. Also great at ruining teeth.

[loulouB]

Yep - i recommend chicken carcasses. My labrador swallows chicken necks whole - not good!

The chicken carcasses are big enough that she has to chew, and chicken bones are nice and soft and more easy to digest compared to weight-bearing bones from beef and lamb.