I’ve switched my dog from a raw meat diet to Nutrivet dry food. I thought he’d have diarrhoea for at least a fortnight, but he didn't. I was advised to transition by mixing the meat with a bit of kibble, but his toilet habits went completely haywire and he seemed a bit lethargic, so I stopped. After doing some research, I found out that digestion times are different and you shouldn't actually do a transition when moving from raw to dry food. So now I just give him dry food—roughly 0.4 lbs in the morning and 0.4 lbs in the evening—except he’s not interested at all (he sniffs it, eats a tiny bit, and walks away). I have to leave him alone with it for him to eat; that works, but he takes his time and doesn't eat it straight away. Anyway, that’s not the main issue, as I suppose it’s normal since he’s used to meat and is now switching to something dry. My problem is that my dog’s stool consistency is very good (in my opinion), but the colour is telling me something is wrong, and I don't know what it means. Could you help me? It’s completely black. Oh, and I almost forgot—it smells absolutely foul, you can smell it from a mile off, it’s unbelievable. Thanks in advance!
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Yes, that's good news 🙂
He was probably just a bit out of sorts and needed a little time to recover.
Personally, while he's still growing, I prefer feeding several smaller meals for his digestion... (and even afterwards, especially as they start getting older).
Having owned breeds prone to bloat, I’ve kept the habit of splitting the daily ration.
At least two meals a day...
😁 I’ve got some real greedy ones here too with my Labradors and Goldens...
Great news! Just goes to show, they really know how to drive us round the bend 👌
Some dogs only want one meal a day; if that suits him, then why not? My male wolfdog often only eats in the evening, even though his dry food is out from the morning (mind you, my female is a right little glutton!)
Hi everyone,
First off, thanks to all of you for your replies. I’m just checking back in with an update: he was being stubborn for three days but now he’s eating his 1.1 lbs of dry food a day, whereas before he wouldn't eat a single bit without me forcing him 😁.
I just have one question: my dog switched to one meal a day when he was 6 months old, and now I’d like to get him back onto two meals, but he won't eat in the morning... yet in the evening when I put his bowl of dry food down, he wolfs the whole lot down. Does it really matter whether he has one or two meals a day? And how can I get him back onto two meals a day?
Regarding the black stools, perhaps there was some stomach trouble that’s causing a bit of discomfort, or has done recently? It might be making it hard to digest dry food...
Getting a vet’s opinion would be a good idea just to rule anything out (concerning the colour of the stools)...
You can have a dog on a fairly complete BARF diet for around £45 to £50 a month.
Oxane, my Labrador who weighs 31.5 kg (about 5 stone), has a menu that costs between £75 and £95 a month (high-quality, organic, from supermarkets, the butchers, the fishmongers... at the market, online, organic fruit and veg, organic oils) and offal (liver and all the rest, hearts, etc.).
I mostly use fresh produce and very little frozen food. I don't use raw-feeding co-ops or go directly to abattoirs.
She's my third raw-fed dog; once a dog has had a taste of real meat and fish, it's quite hard for them to go back to dry food (well, for mine anyway...).
Ah okay, so I don't need to worry too much as long as it doesn't go on for more than 3 or 4 days? He's just eaten about 3.5 oz after 30 minutes (that was all I'd put out for him).
Hi everyone,
I’m getting back to you because my dog has stopped eating his dry food. Whenever I tried mixing it with meat, he’d just pick the meat out! I’ve since changed brands to a grain-free one, and his stools are perfect—great colour and consistency—but he still won’t eat them. To see if he actually liked the new food, I had to resort to using the kibble as treats while giving him commands, and he does eat them then. I’ve tried mixing them with meat again, but once more, he just sorts through it.
At the moment, I’ve stopped giving in to his fussiness. Usually, if he skipped a meal and still wouldn't touch his food, I’d cave and give him some meat, but it’s now been a day and a half since he’s eaten anything and I don’t know what to do anymore. Is it possible that he’ll just never go back to dry food? I’m really worried that’s the case because if he still hasn't eaten by tomorrow morning, I feel like I'll have to make him some meat... unless I should keep letting him go hungry? Is that dangerous? By tomorrow morning, it will have been exactly two days since he last ate.
Thanks in advance.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. I reckon I’m just worrying too much, but it’s only normal after all – changing their dry food is a big transition. Cheers!
Oh, and about the dry food – he doesn’t actually crunch it, he just gulps it down. Sometimes he stops mid-meal and spits out what’s in his mouth, as if he can’t quite get it down. I was wondering if maybe the kibble size is too small? It’s as if he doesn't know how to eat dry food anymore...
