The Mystery of the Ghost Pooping Sheltie

[Ann]

What about asking the vet about giving Benson slippery elm Margi? I know it works for both diarrhea and constipation. While he’s not constipated it does coat their GI system with a slippery coating so this might help ease some of the pushing for him.
I usually buy at a health food store but Amazon does have it.

I swear by slippery elm. You can probably get it in a health food store there although I order it from Amazon here. I use it for gastro issues, respiratory stuff like coughing, it's good for so many things. It doesn't interact with other meds. I would give it to him once or twice a day for now. I'd also be adding some pumpkin in his food to give him some fiber.

Also, avoid feeding him rice...it's binding and I'd only use it for diarrhea. If his stomach is upset, give him some baby food from the little jars mixed with pumpkin, but not rice if he's constipated.

I hope he's better this morning!!

 

[Margi]

I swear by slippery elm. You can probably get it in a health food store there although I order it from Amazon here. I use it for gastro issues, respiratory stuff like coughing, it's good for so many things. It doesn't interact with other meds. I would give it to him once or twice a day for now. I'd also be adding some pumpkin in his food to give him some fiber.

Also, avoid feeding him rice...it's binding and I'd only use it for diarrhea. If his stomach is upset, give him some baby food from the little jars mixed with pumpkin, but not rice if he's constipated.

I hope he's better this morning!!

By 10:30 pm he was just exhausted from straining so we all fell asleep. At 4am I thought I heard something...He was pacing the house and finally moving the really hard poops. I've never been so glad a dog pooped in the house! We went out and he had a few more, but soft at least! We all fell asleep on the couch after that. He still wasn't feeling good though. Very subdued. I gave him his metacam this morning and that seemed to kick in and he feels better. I wish I had read no rice before feeding him a bit of pumpkin, rice, and bone broth containing the miralax! I am holding my breath that the broth stays down so the miralax gets in there. I ordered the slippery elm right now, thanks for the tip. Won't be here till Monday though.
I shot the doc another email asking for help as to what to do in the long run. He/We can't keep doing this every few days. I actually asked the doc about liquid diet or baby food. If you've tried it and it works I'm willing to do that. Or I could make a dog food smoothie in the blender using his raw beef mix (no bone).

 

[Piper's mom]

By 10:30 pm he was just exhausted from straining so we all fell asleep. At 4am I thought I heard something...He was pacing the house and finally moving the really hard poops. I've never been so glad a dog pooped in the house! We went out and he had a few more, but soft at least! We all fell asleep on the couch after that. He still wasn't feeling good though. Very subdued. I gave him his metacam this morning and that seemed to kick in and he feels better. I wish I had read no rice before feeding him a bit of pumpkin, rice, and bone broth containing the miralax! I am holding my breath that the broth stays down so the miralax gets in there. I ordered the slippery elm right now, thanks for the tip. Won't be here till Monday though.
I shot the doc another email asking for help as to what to do in the long run. He/We can't keep doing this every few days. I actually asked the doc about liquid diet or baby food. If you've tried it and it works I'm willing to do that. Or I could make a dog food smoothie in the blender using his raw beef mix (no bone).

Yay Benson!
I wouldn’t go all liquid diet too quickly because that could cause diarrhea which could be equally upsetting to Benson. I would try increasing his fibre by adding the pumpkin, maybe some puréed celery (high in fibre) or other high fibre veggies. Add some slippery elm as well as extra water or bone broth.
Do you have a health food store nearby? You could find slippery elm there. Or possibly a pharmacy where they sell vitamins and supplements (I usually buy the capsules which I then open and mix with whatever I’m mixing it with). Best to mix it and then let it sit for a few minutes until it thickens up.
Here’s a good article on using slippery elm, makes mention of the things Ann mentioned as well as dosing amounts.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/the-soothing-qualities-of-slippery-elm/

 

[Ann]

Thank goodness, Margi! I'm so glad he was able to pass some poop. Usually after the first time, the stopper is out, so to speak. Let's hope that's the case.

That's a great article about slippery elm, Lisa, thanks for posting it! My holistic vet turned me on to it way back when Checkers had a throat issue and I've used it ever since. It's good for so many things! I like the one I posted that's made for dogs because it's a liquid with dropper and all you do is squirt .5 into their mouth, no mixing required. Mine all like the taste, too.

As for diet, I don't know what you're feeding regularly but you might try him for now on one of the freeze-dried foods like Grandma Lucy's Artisian or even something fresh like FreshPet which you can find in the supermarket cold case. That's done wonders for Checkers' gastro issues and it's what I put Ruffles on after her gallbladder surgery with my vet's blessing. They make a sensitive stomach roll that's excellent and you can mash it up and mix it with some water to feed it.

I hope Benson continues to improve and you can get some rest!

 

[Margi]

Thank goodness, Margi! I'm so glad he was able to pass some poop. Usually after the first time, the stopper is out, so to speak. Let's hope that's the case.
As for diet, I don't know what you're feeding regularly but you might try him for now on one of the freeze-dried foods like Grandma Lucy's Artisian or even something fresh like FreshPet which you can find in the supermarket cold case. That's done wonders for Checkers' gastro issues and it's what I put Ruffles on after her gallbladder surgery with my vet's blessing. They make a sensitive stomach roll that's excellent and you can mash it up and mix it with some water to feed it.

I feed a raw ground food mix for their breakfast made by a lady up in Phoenix, they deliver down here once a month. She got on the raw food band wagon long ago too, but unlike me, she saw an niche opening for a home based business--and got an industrial grinder and started making her own food and then selling it. So that mix is ground muscle meat, offal and veggies. For dinner I usually feed them their raw meaty bone and thats been a major part of the problem I think. I am praying that all undigested bone has passed thru! If you're curious this is her order page:https://freshrawdogfood.com/product-category/az/simple-recipes-az/ I completely forgot I have 5 bags of freeze dried dog food stashed in the back of the pantry for emergencies--I may have to open one up and try it!

It's hard even for me to keep in mind that he isn't constipated in the traditional sense, so I was really PO'd at myself for giving him rice when binding is the LAST thing he needs right now...I'm looking for a soft consistency he can easily get past the narrowed part of the colon. Hopefully without being total runs! I'm gonna give him his breakfast tonight because that's all soft like canned food. I'm thawing out the cooked turkey breast I keep on hand for just such an occasion. Turkey and pumpkin may be a good combo, too

Doc did reply and say to take him off all meds and keep him on a soft diet. But what is a soft diet? I know she knows he eats raw, but I think people just revert to the advice they would normally give, which would be for kibble fed dogs.

Well at least he is unblocked for now, but he's still kinda off his game as he isn't begging for food 24/7. I guess the poor guy...and as I type this here he is to demand the game of Go find it, because its 5:00! That makes me very happy. Soft treats only tonight!!

 

[Sharon7]

Wow talk about going through the ringer! I feel for you both. Baby food would definitely qualify as soft diet, but those little jars don't have many calories. You don't want to bulk up his diet with too much fiber at this point, because that will cause a bigger amount of stool which is harder for him to pass. "Low residue" might be best for now, with the miralax.

 

[Ann]

Margi, don't beat yourself up about the rice. It's a natural go-to for an upset stomach and, as you said, he doesn't have typical constipation. The ground turkey you have with pumpkin sounds perfect. That's exactly what Dr. Karen Becker who writes the holistic columns for Mercola recommends, and she's a dedicated raw food proponent.

To me, "soft food" is canned wet food which is why I suggested the FreshPet. You can buy the roll and mash it up with a fork and it's much closer to raw since it's fresh than what's in the cans. I would definitely keep him off bones until he's recovered. I always think when there's a gastro issue about feeding a "light" diet like we would eat if we were sick. But there's no chicken soup and jello for dogs! If you do want to give him something that's a grain, I'd start him on some plain toast once he's a bit better.

It sounds like he's improving though....that's good to hear! Hang in there!

 

[Piper's mom]

I can understand why you’d think rice…it makes sense.
I’d just do his raw blend without any bone. The articles I’ve read regarding this do mention increasing the fibre to create a softer poop but if your mix already has veggies in it then I’d just add water to it. Make it like more of a slurry. Water alone will make his poop softer and help him pass it easier.
Good luck! And I’m happy to hear he wanted to play the game!

 

[Margi]

Wow talk about going through the ringer! I feel for you both. Baby food would definitely qualify as soft diet, but those little jars don't have many calories. You don't want to bulk up his diet with too much fiber at this point, because that will cause a bigger amount of stool which is harder for him to pass. "Low residue" might be best for now, with the miralax.

Exactly what I'm trying to get! Oh and she said stop all meds but didn't say if that include the Miralax. Mind you I'm not bitching about her and I am SOOOOO glad I spent the extra what 400 dollars to go her instead of a low cost clinic. She emails me on the freakin weekend! No clinic would follow up like that.

Margi, don't beat yourself up about the rice. It's a natural go-to for an upset stomach and, as you said, he doesn't have typical constipation. The ground turkey you have with pumpkin sounds perfect. That's exactly what Dr. Karen Becker who writes the holistic columns for Mercola recommends, and she's a dedicated raw food proponent.

To me, "soft food" is canned wet food which is why I suggested the FreshPet. You can buy the roll and mash it up with a fork and it's much closer to raw since it's fresh than what's in the cans. I would definitely keep him off bones until he's recovered. I always think when there's a gastro issue about feeding a "light" diet like we would eat if we were sick. But there's no chicken soup and jello for dogs! If you do want to give him something that's a grain, I'd start him on some plain toast once he's a bit better.

I love Dr Becker's videos! I found her long after I started raw back in 2000, but she is so good. When folks ask about raw, instead of trying to explain it, I send them the links to her 4 vids on the topic. Saves me lots of time and people listen to a doctor
The beef mix in the fridge is actually very much like freshpet, or fresh pet is like her mixes! No grains allowed. Well cookies I make have oat flour I grind for them. Yeah they spoiled

 

[Margi]

I can understand why you’d think rice…it makes sense.
I’d just do his raw blend without any bone. The articles I’ve read regarding this do mention increasing the fibre to create a softer poop but if your mix already has veggies in it then I’d just add water to it. Make it like more of a slurry. Water alone will make his poop softer and help him pass it easier.
Good luck! And I’m happy to hear he wanted to play the game!

You think some bone broth on the beef blend? Heh harkening back to our what to feed Finnie talks The chicken grind (80-20) I have is pretty coarse and I think that was a bad choice in hindsight. Just cuz it was ground didn't mean it would go thru. Slurry is a good word.