Little dude won’t gain weight.

[Kaiser2016]

or if I can only get acana then, I switch him to a singles blend, anything outside of those and his stools go to mud butt

I found Acana was too rich for Kaiser. He did well on the fish one but his breath.... Had I known it back then, I would have tried another brand of kibble. Regardless, we're on raw now and his poops are fab.

@Antman408 Too bad about the blowout. Definitely increase the food slowly.

 

[Sir.duke865]

@Kaiser2016 i use denta stix when I want duke to sit and be occupied for a min and not harass me,which might be why I’ve never noticed the breath. I haven’t tried many of the different acanas only the fish single, but it’s also a just in case can’t get oijen type of deal or nulo. our stores don’t all stock the same foods so if it’s sold out your screwed around here unless you switch, one store carries acana/ oijen another nulo so on and so forth and none carry the same as the others

 

[Antman408]

So everything’s clean now. He got a bath, power washed the crate. All blankets and toys have been washed. He’s acting fine now, wants to play and be a pest. I’m taking him off the Dyne and raw food and only feeding kibble. He ate 3 cups this morning.

His stool was fine up until I added the raw, dyne and magnesium and calcium supplements.

I’m just going to feed him kibble and increase the volume of kibble.

 

[Sir.duke865]

I don’t feed raw or supps and my guy seems all fine. If I could resist the temptation of cooking what I bought as dukes food I might consider it but I see food and wanna cook it and eat heck I can see duke eating now and something in me just says “you know it’s a good time to eat right “

 

[Kaiser2016]

His stool was fine up until I added the raw, dyne and magnesium and calcium supplements.

Gotta stop you again definitely no calcium supplements. I believe I read here that they cause uneven bone growth. The only reason everyone keeps mentioning high quality kibble is because that will have the correct minerals already in the kibble. I don't know at what age you could safely give it if you wanted to, but for sure not while they are growing puppies. Glucosamine or probiotics are considered to be fine supplements to give, but you have to ensure its good stuff.

 

[Antman408]

Gotta stop you again definitely no calcium supplements. I believe I read here that they cause uneven bone growth. The only reason everyone keeps mentioning high quality kibble is because that will have the correct minerals already in the kibble. I don't know at what age you could safely give it if you wanted to, but for sure not while they are growing puppies. Glucosamine or probiotics are considered to be fine supplements to give, but you have to ensure its good stuff.

Yeah, I’m just going to stick to kibble and cut out all the other stuff.

 

[Kaiser2016]

This thread actually has a lot of great tips. Sure it's for a 9 month old dog, but my dog is 19 months and I'm still figuring it all out.

Health Suppliments to start for 9 month old with no health issues?

Especially pay attention to the comment by @strykerdobe - he sums it all up right there!

 

[strykerdobe]

***STOP the extra Calcium***
You can cause bone growth issues!!! There is a reason if you feed a Large Breed Puppy food. It will have only a certain amount of Calcium in it.

Northwest Naturals is not a bad Raw. Is this the first time your feeding Raw to a dog?????????

They also just had a RECALL on their Chicken & Salmon 5# Chubs!
Company recalls raw chicken, salmon dog food for Listeria risk | Food Safety News


One thing I'm big into are Ingredients. Looking at the DYNE ingredients. Sorry I would never feed this. Too many questionable ingredients.
Right off the bat some that really stick out and I don't like and are . Soybean Oil, Sugar, Polysorbate 80, Propylene Glycol, Artificial Vanilla Flavor, FD&C Yellow #5

​

 

[WiglWerm]

Hmmm, guess I'm gonna disagree with everyone here and say with a choice between kibble and raw I would dump the kibble. High quality kibble? Why not spent that money on fresh clean proteins? As with any dietary choice you need to do your research but the number one reason for diarrhea when starting raw is: 1. Not enough bone when starting out 2. Sodium levels in meat too high. Dobermans have sensitive tummies no more than 100mg sodium, preferably no more than 75mg. I will agree mixing the two is not good. Different PH levels are needed to digest kibble vs/ raw. Here is a great article about ph levels in dogs and how varies foods affect it: Digesting Bones, Gastric Acidity, Salmonella in Dogs and Cats - Vets All Natural

 

[strykerdobe]

So everything’s clean now. He got a bath, power washed the crate. All blankets and toys have been washed. He’s acting fine now, wants to play and be a pest. I’m taking him off the Dyne and raw food and only feeding kibble. He ate 3 cups this morning.

His stool was fine up until I added the raw, dyne and magnesium and calcium supplements.

I’m just going to feed him kibble and increase the volume of kibble.

Also too much magnesium can cause issues!!!!!!!!!!! Stop all the extra supplements. Just feed the TOTW or there are better foods out there.
Or just feed the Raw which would be my choice. Not both for now.
Also if you can feed smaller amounts food but like 3x's a day. So for your pup if they say total amount per day is 4cups. Just divide that into 3 meals. The amounts on the bag are just a starting point. Each dog is different. ​

 

[Kaiser2016]

Hmmm, guess I'm gonna disagree with everyone here and say with a choice between kibble and raw I would dump the kibble. High quality kibble? Why not spent that money on fresh clean proteins?

You make a great point. It seems like the owner is already willing and able to raw feed, so maybe getting rid of the kibble is the best call. It's better value for money too. Thanks for the link.

From my experience, raw feeding might be the answer to get his stool solid again. It was the whole reason we switched Kaiser over from kibble.

 

[Antman408]

Only fed him dry kibble for dinner. 3 cups mixed with water. Had a normal poop, then about 5 minutes later massive diarrhea again.

I’ve stopped all raw food and supplements and he hasn’t had any of them since yesterday morning.

Anyone have any ideas? I’m bringing him and a sample of his stool to the vet in about an hour.

 

[GOD'S GRACE]

Good he's going to the Vet...and it might be as simple as his belly is just needing a day or two to settle down...Good Luck

 

[Sir.duke865]

After a switch if we get the mud butt it usually takes a couple days to clear up it’s never been a overnight thing for me but at the same time the vet can only help, so even if he says all clear it’s better safe then sorry I say

 

[Antman408]

After a switch if we get the mud butt it usually takes a couple days to clear up it’s never been a overnight thing for me but at the same time the vet can only help, so even if he says all clear it’s better safe then sorry I say

I explained the food to the vet and he looked at the poop and said it’s the change in diet more than likely, but they are going to do a fecal analysis.

 

[GOD'S GRACE]

As tuff as Dobes are and the fact that they can eat just about everything in sight, including the couch...their bellies are Finicky...if I've learned anything, it's been consistency and balance with their diet...

Just because you read "I'm doing this" or that doesn't mean "you can"..........

A lot has been said about raw diet vs kibble....before you change, YOU need to research diets, ask questions, get your kitchen set up, and have a plan ready to execute...it's takes commitment.

 

[Sir.duke865]

Each dobies diet is different pick what works best for you guys and a diet as @GOD'S GRACE basically put it that you can keep up FOREVER (but seriously tho) don’t wanna start a high dollar diet and later can’t maintain it or even a diet that takes a lot of prep and then your schedule change and limit your available time, not saying you couldn’t just something to think about.
For me kibble fits my schedule and works for my guy he could probably do just as good if not better on raw but it physically doesn’t fit my day, it takes more time and prep. So i bite the bullet and get my feelings hurt buying high price kibble.

 

[Antman408]

So, he had diarrhea all night. 3 times and I fed him this morning (just kibble) and he had a solid poop then 5 minutes later had diarrhea now he’s asleep on my lap but he’s shivering/shaking pretty good. I’ve given him plenty of water this morning over 2 cups mixed with his food. I’m not sure what’s going on, he had a dewormer medicine yesterday and a dhhp booster at the vet last night. I’m really worried.

I will be calling the vet as soon as they open.

 

[Sir.duke865]

The vaccines could be causing that I 100% know for a fact it did in my boy for like three weeks straight I was pissed about it considering he hadn’t been using the potty in the house at all until I took him and got him shots. Not saying that’s what’s going on with your guy but I KNOW it caused all the same type of things in my boy I almost hated my vet over this

 

[Sir.duke865]

Personally I’d Get him on a consistent diet pretty much a kiss diet nothing complex at all and see if they can space out his vaccines as much as possible you may be chasing your tail changing his diet up at the same time as their giving shots