One of the most common things I hear from raw feeders is that their dogs poop is white and crumbly. While this is super easy to clean up, it is not a good thing. This is a solid indication that your dog is getting too much bone! The problem with too much bone is that number one, they are going to be getting too much calcium, which can interfere with the uptake of other important nutrients. The other problem with too much bone is that your dog is not likely getting enough MEAT. Dogs must have lean meat in their diet! Much of the nutrients that a raw food diet is supposed to provide comes from lean muscle meat. Dogs also need high levels of protein in order to maintain proper organ function, protein in large is provided by lean meat in the diet. So if your dog is having white, crumbly stools, decrease the amount of meaty bones and add more lean meat to the diet. If you are feeding a commercially prepared diet, make sure that there is no more than 50% carcass and/or necks in the blend. Carcasses and necks are often used in commercial raw food diets and are a great source of many nutrients but should only be about half of what is in a food to leave room for lean meat and organs.
Another common one I hear is that dog's stools are rather large and smelly, much like what you would see when feeding kibble. This is caused by too much fat. While fat is a very important source of energy and a building block for cells, too much can cause many issues such as pancreatitis, increased cell permeability and unhealthy weight gain to name a few. According to Steve Brown's nutritional database for an ancestral diet, calories from fat should be about half of the diet. It is important to note that one gram of fat is equal to 9 calories vs one gram of protein being equal to 4 calories. So when you are looking at an analysis of a raw food, the percentage of fat should be 1/2 to 2/3 the percentage of protein. If you have a higher percentage of fat than protein, your dog is getting WAY too many calories from fat. It is also important to note that fat does not provide vitamins and minerals, so if your dog is getting the majority of their calories from fat you are risking nutrition deficiency. If you don't have an analysis to reference for what you are feeding, a good rule of thumb is to be using meats that are 85% lean, this will provide a good balance of fat and lean muscle meat.
If your dog has dark, loose stool it is often caused by too much organ meat. Organs are an absolutely essential part of a raw food diet as they provide many vital nutrients. Typically the most nutrient dense organs that are common in a raw food diet are liver, kidney and spleen. These should not exceed 10% of the overall diet or you can cause hypervitaminosis (which is just a fancy way of saying that the dog is getting too many vitamins) this will cause digestive upset and an imbalance of nutrients. This symptom is typically less likely to be ignored as the other two as it is very apparent that something is wrong with the diet when dogs are getting too much organ meat.
The above are guidelines to help you identify where your raw food diet may be lacking or where it may have too much of something. Pay attention to these things, the reason we all feed a raw food diet is that we want what is best for our pets. Not all raw food diets are created equal and while it is not rocket science to feed a dog, you do have to ensure that you are providing the right components in the right amounts.
Kristi Malone
403-771-7950
