Adjusting to all home-cooked?

Veggies can be incredibly rich -- I have to adjust and adjust -- Kee's got a sometimes iffy tummy, they all do at times.  Let me know how you fixed it/what's in it.  You might want to take it and puree some of it and see if that's a help ...

Awwww, poor Pirate. Neither of my dogs ever have tummy troubles and going homecooked for Sassy didn't cause any problems. I was only using 2 ingredients though, so that probably helped. I hope this is just an adjustment issue for Pirate and he'll be fine after a few days.

Are you doing all the suggested supplements too? The oils and probiotics (if she suggested any) should be introduced gradually to avoid tummy upset.

What you are doing is good - another thing is that many times these recipes shoot for the upper level of calories and possibly he doesn't need as much food as your recipe suggests. Once he's back on track, reduce by a third and then send Mordanna a note and she'll work with you some more. Your consult includes any tweaking that needs to be done so don't hesitate to take advantage of that.

Poor Pirate! Tell that mohawked buccaneer that we'll get him stealing cookies in no time! 

It is a LOT of food - almost 2 cups per day - so I think just the sheer volume is getting to him too. She has been really great about working with me through email.

ETA: Callie, it's all run through the food processor. Pirate does NOT like lumps, in his food. Not even lumps of meat :)

Meg, I'd bet it is predominantly the oil causing at least the diarrhea.  When I was homecooking for Bear, the doc told me to add the oil gradually.  Even Bear, with the stomach of steel, had supersoft poop from the oil. 

 The safflower oil made Emma's face puff up. Oh, the issues of the dog.

I hope Pirate's belly is better, soon.

So I know what your doing is GREAT for Pirate...lucky puppy that he is. 

BUT I have to say...what is the difference in quickly switching from one food to another or dog food to home cooked??

Seem to me that even though you are switching to better food...you still should be doing it slowly and letting Pirate get "used to it",,, no???

That said..when I started feeding Gibby home cooked..it didn't bother him at all...and he does have a "funny tummy" which is why I was switching him to home cooked.  I did NOT add any oil to his food.

jennie_c_d

 The safflower oil made Emma's face puff up. Oh, the issues of the dog.

Sorry, that made me LOL! Poor Emma. His belly seems to be on the mend, hopefully tomorrow goes a little better. I'm thinking now about the new Cuz that he got for Easter. Right after breakfast he's been playing with it like crazy, so maybe he's running around too much after he eats...guess I'll have to put it up for a little while. Dang ;)

Dyan, he's gotten 1/3 home-cooked for a long time, but this is the first time I used a recipe that's balanced.

Did you touch base with Mordanna?

Maybe the change needs to be much more gradual.

Give Pirate some gentle rubs from me.  Feel better little guy.

Poor guy! Sometimes you use ingredients that are known to be easily tolerated, usually, but you get dogs that are sensitive to them anyway. I ran into that a lot with Ben, poor guy. Eggies are a wonderful food for sensitive tummies but they were a no-go for Ben. Same with yogurt - people would say, give him yogurt for that diarrhea, back before I had a good handle on what set him off, and I'd give him huge helpings of it. Dairy was another particular bad problem for him! 

Meg, I'm sure you told Mordanna about Pirate's seizure disorder and that you also have him on some herbals.  I just remembered after reading Becca's post that in Bear's situation, dairy was an absolute no-no in relation to the seizures.  Dairy may not affect Pirate in the same way, but thought I'd mention it.  Also, last summer for no obvious reason, Bear had a few days of diarrhea - we did bloodwork and the giardia test on him, to no avail.  He wanted to eat, but everything came out liquid.  Doc gave him an antibiotic shot and a probiotic paste that I had to give him for 3 days and he was better in about 2 days.  I know the main concern if he's losing his meals from both ends is dehydration and I'm sure you'll take him to the vet soon if you think he needs it. 

He had a little broth this afternoon and I was worried about dehydration, too. If he's still feeling puny in the AM I think we might go to the vet.