Ask the Vet: Raw Diet, um, Results

Ever since I started feeding my dog a raw meaty bone-based diet, her poops have been smaller.  Is this normal?

My apologies to those of you who are trying to enjoy your lunch, but today is the day to talk about poo.  The answer is yes, that is normal.

Home-prepared or store-bought raw meaty bone-based diets are far more digestible than cooked commercial pet foods. One of the happy “side effects” of feeding a raw meaty bone-based diet is smaller, less odoriferous stools.  More digestible ingredients in = less waste out.  And if you notice that the stools are lighter colored than normal or even chalky, worry not.  That’s just the digested bone coming through.

Almost all kibble and canned dog and cat foods contain grains or other starches in the form of rice, oats, white potatoes, sweet potatoes or peas, which are less digestible for carnivorous species than meat and thus result in larger stools.  Many commercial cooked pet foods also contain soybean mill run (empty soy husks), peanut shells or beat pulp.  These fillers are nutritionally empty and pass through your pet pretty much undigested.

I highly recommend that you closely read all labels and avoid products containing these ingredients, even in “diet” foods.  If your pets are overweight, feed them smaller quantities of nutrient-dense foods rather than larger quantities of foods with fillers.

Got a question? Email Dr. Kassell!