Changing from dry food due to how often she wants out.

[deka]

Wrote in past about possibly going on raw diet, didn't at time as she was under 1 year old as well as the only suppliers I saw being very expensive.

Noticed a few things about her recently, was away on holiday and was running low on dog food and didn't want to buy a large amount for 2 days or so, and so relatives gave me a tin of wet food and I mixed that in with some veg and leftover fish (battered fish not fresh) after she ate it she was calmer that day and didn't want out during night for wee as she normally does,. the next day I did the same and she was great.

Took her home and she was back to her normal routine of wanting out every hour or so and once during night.

She just got spayed and she didn't want out during night at all, wasn't really thirsty and when she pooped it was once/twice a day and very small amounts and solid.

She also didn't want out to go wee really, maybe once/twice in day and the second she did it she came back in.

I was giving her a chicken breast chopped up and spread out over 2 meals a day, though she did have the odd small treat.

Decided as its been a week to put her back on dry food yesterday morning instantly she wanted to drink more, and go out more i.e rather than maybe 1 bowl max of water a day she drank 2 in morning alone and wanted out about 4 times by 1pm (not including the time I took her out after we woke) she was also very cranky and hyper and did a poop at lunchtime, and a large poop in evening.

And she wanted out during night and early at 7am despite sleeping in to at least 8 if not 9 in previous days and again a hour later and both times she did a huge poop, barely 10 minutes passed and she wanted out again.

She is getting checked at vets for potential other issues as they can't find anything wrong with her urine samples but this just seems strange to me.

I don't feed her cheap dry food, nor the most expensive its about £25 for 12kg and up until 2 months ago she was getting the expensive stuff as I got it half price so £25 (meant to be £50) for 12kg

Just interesting to notice.

 

[excuseme]

What breed and size is your dog, (just wondering what sort of amount she would require per week).
A good quality kibble requires much less to be fed and if you feed a grain free type the poo's would be much less.
The raw product produces much smaller and firm poo's as much more of the product can be digested, therefore less wast at the bottom end.
A nice little book to help you understand about Raw feeding is; "Honey's Natural Feeding Handbook for Dogs". This little book is easy to read and understand. I just love it and still check up on things even after feeding raw for over 40 years. My old vet used to sell it in his waiting room, (he was a raw feeder himself).
These little books can be purchased from Ebay and Amazon for about £3, used but as new.
I always recommend it.
PS, What make of dry product do you use?

.

 

[deka]

Shes a BC 14 months old and weighs 15kg.

Currently on Arkwrights, was on Ava puppy before for almost 3 months and Royal Canin for 2 weeks and before that a few other expensive brands.

She used to get 4 handfuls of dry food until she was 8 months old but she was a little bit underweight so I put her up to 6 a day and shes the right weight now.

 

[excuseme]

Unfortunately when buying our dog food "expensive" does not mean good quality or value for money!
Royal Canin puppy ingredients;
Poultry protein, (what ever that may be). I have seen feathers mentioned in their ingredients before.
Rice, wheat, maize, Beet pulp. (all cheap fillers and difficult for dogs to digest).
Ava puppy;
Chicken, (I wonder what part's and quality !!) could be anything even feathers.
Chicken meal, (probably processed waste)
A small quantity of fresh chicken!
Remainder; Rice, Maize, Beet. (all fillers)
Arkwrights;
Cereals, That means junk and cheap fillers!
meat/animal derivatives.

None of the above are quality products, it's no wonder that your dog is having to drink so much and poo so much.

Your suggestion of raw in the past is a good decision.

If you want to stay on a kibble I suggest "Millies Wolfheart", a british made product and Grain Free. NO bulky fillers here.(purchased online, price includes delivery)
For an easy changeover I would suggest that you start with their lowest Protein; "Forerunner" or "Allert". Poo's are firm and easy to pick up.

If you want to add some fresh animal product, you can give some whole raw economy supermarket chicken wings each day, (perfectly safe I promise).
Packets of economy mince or chicken joints can also be found in most supermarket frozen meat sections, (these may be cheaper than actual Dog food mince, I have never compared prices!) and can be added to daily rations.

"Natures Menu". Frozen dog food, can be purchased from most pet stores these days that have a freezer. They have lovely clean convenient products and a huge variety.

There are many suppliers of the raw product online, freezer space would be required.

 

[deka]

So she has had 4 poops today so far each bigger than the single one/two she has done in previous days.

I wouldn't say I have cracked the reason for why she wants out so much to wee as she probably does have problems going but its just interesting that before I started adding dry food back in she went from only wanting to wee 2-3 times a day maximum to back to one after another i.e she does it, even twice when taking her outside then she comes back in and wants out again shortly after.

I don't know if its coincidence either that she was calm when she was on the chicken for a week, I mean she was playful but not hyper, now shes back on the dry food she is hyper to point of being restless.

 

[deka]

So after a little testing, last night gave her a pouch of wet food yes I know not the best food just wanted to see if it was any different, and another in morning then evening meal today was boiled chicken.

She had 2 big poops in morning though mostly solid, and a small one in afternoon and none since but still wants to wee a lot, again often can be 2-3 times in a row.

It's the weeing that bothers me more than the poops as the poops are at least at predictable time frames i.e after waking, 30-60 minutes later, lunchtime, late afternoon/dinner time and sometimes one before bed.

 

[Feverfew]

I haven't read the full detail, but it would seem that the kibble is making her drink more and she is therefore weeing more often. If I feed kibble, I always soak it in cold water for an hour - when you see what that does, imagine it happening in a dog's belly! So definitely soak any dried kibble you feed her.

I agree there is some very poor quality food out there, and price is not always an indicator of quality - more often, it's just good marketing (think if Heineken lager, no better than any other but apparently 'the best in the world' and therefore more expensive!)

A good quality raw diet is one option, of course - I fed Nature's Menu for many years, and only stopped recently because of the amount of non- recyclable waste it produces, including polystyrene boxes and plastic tubs.

I switched to tinned food, Lukullus for one dog and Hills Z/D for the other as she has liver and digestive problems. The poos are bigger and softer than they were in raw, especially for the Lukullus, but not unacceptably so, and it's a good compromise for the good of the planet.

It's really a question of balancing cost, convenience and quality, and only you can make that decision.

 

[deka]

Well I put her back on cooked food a few days ago and she still wants out a lot of wees so that part of my theory is out of window, that being said she doesn't want out during the night at all anymore and sleeps till 8am each day.

Next week is her Xray to see if she has problems with her tubes can't come quick enough IMO.