Dog Community

fiber and bulkier stools

Posted : 4/24/2006 5:16:36 PM

What kind of food can I add to Jake's meals to make his stools firmer. He has a sensitive stomach and goes soft sometimes. Also, is it a bad thing if I can see food inside his stools? He needs his anal glands squeezed often and I think maybe it's because his stools are not that firm. Sometimes they are firm and sometimes they are really soft.

I alternate and feed natural balance potatoe & duck wet one day and beef & potatoe wet the next. He also gets solid gold holistque blendz daily. I give him string beans, green peppers and cauliflower as treats along with his dog treats.

Michelle
Jake's mom (cocker spaniel)

glenmar

Posted : 4/24/2006 5:24:42 PM

Plain canned pumpkin should help firm things up and also eliminate some of the need for anal gland expression. If you are seeing food in his stool, then he's getting nothing out of what you're feeding. Dogs can't break down the cell walls in veggies so you either need to puree or cook them for them to get any benefit. I wouldn't switch food every day.....that might be keeping his tummy on edge. Rather try feeding one formula for several weeks and then switching to the other.

dyan

Posted : 4/24/2006 6:19:40 PM

When we switched Ollie to Eagle Pack it firmed up his stools a lot. You are feeding him good food, but maybe he just isn't doing that well on it,, maybe you need to try another food.

mudpuppy

Posted : 4/25/2006 9:32:53 AM

Raw veggies will go straight through a dog, so that may be the source of the food in the stool you see. You may want to try some other brands of food and see if that fixes the problem. Solid Gold holistique blend is mostly grain. Grain tends to go straight through dogs and make bulky, soft stools, unless the dog food company cheats and adds stool hardeners (many of the cheap grain-laden brands contain such ingredients). A high protein low carb low fiber food is what gives dogs firm stools.