Hello,

My Boxer has had a runny bum for past few days. He has had colitis before so I thought it may be this again. I went down the route of starving him for 24hrs then gave him chicken and rice for a couple of days but it was still quite bad yesterday and there was a little bit of what I thought might be blood in his poo so I took him to the vets first thing this morning. She has given me Prokalin and we had a good chat about his food routine as he has had runny poo quite a bit in the past.

When Nero was a pup he didn't settle on any type of food I tried him on and after much research and thought I changed him to a raw diet. He absolutely loves his food now and looks really healthy and handsome. When I told the vet that he eats chicken wings and lamb ribs etc she was less than impressed. In fact I felt awful. She told me how people shouldn't feed bones as they splinter and that she would never feed her dogs bones. I tried explaining that I had done lots of research and that the bones were raw so were ok to feed to him but I felt like it was my fault he has a poorly tummy. She's a nice vet and I don't think she meant to make me feel bad but I was packed off with different types of samples of Royal Canin for sensitive tummies and hypoallergenic dogs and now I don't know what to do.

Do I try and give him these new foods that I've been advised to try or stick with the raw that he's got used to and just put the runny tummy down to a dirty puddle or something?

I want him to enjoy food but I also want him to be comfortable and healthy! He does have a runny poo every now and then but I have heard that Boxers are known to have sensitive tummies so I put it down to that. He is always bouncy and happy so it doesn't seem to bother him when he isn't quite so firm!

I'm really not sure on what to do. Any advice welcome?

Thanks
Rosie

I can't tell from your post but first thing when you find a food that works stick to it , if they are a bit sensitive chopping and changing the food would be a major trigger.

I have found some of the fish based foods, Wafcol Salmon and Potato,  AG fish and Potato are all quite good foods for sensitive dogs.

hi rosie, i feed my dogs on raw meat, bones etc, but i do avoid lamb and pork as this has upset my dogs tummies. Just thought i would share that with you in case it is the lamb that is causing the problem :) x

I would certainly try to keep off the fattier meats and see if this helps with the runny bum, some dogs find it hard to assimilate too much fat.

I did mess around with his food a bit too much when he was young and I realised that the more I chopped and changed it the fussier he got but he seemed to stick with something for a few weeks then go off it completely like he was bored of it. This is when I then started looking at raw as it meant I could give him a variety of foods and he seemed to enjoy it all hence why he has been on that for about 9 months now.

He doesn't have pork as that tends to make him sick but on the whole he is fine apart from the odd runny bum as I said. Do I just accept that he has the odd bout of loose poo or do I start trying to find the cause of it?

I simply felt awful with the look the vet gave me this morning when I said I fed raw but I'm reluctant to start trying the Royal Canin foods if it's going to make him stop eating like he did as a puppy but I want him to be healthy! Oh I don't know what to do!

If it is really the odd runny bum which can be pinned to a particular over indulgence of a rich item, then like with ourselves it isn't a huge issue.

Stick to what suits him and tell the vet he just loves the expensive, vet supplied kibble - which you buy cheaper elsewhere...keeps everyone happy  :-)
You said it yourself ..a happy handsome boy on Raw.

You'll be ok.

I would stick to what suits him I agree with brainless if its just an occasional runny tum like us its probably just one of those things. Maybe think about what meat you give him form day to day and see how his poo's change it may just be some meatshe is more sensitive to than others.
Does he have offal / Liver in particular can affect some dogs. I would give him chicken for a couple of days and then build up form their.
Mine are raw fed and I certainly find it suits my to brilliantly and if you have a happy healthy boy I would keep away from manufactured food and to an extent ignore the comments from  your vet it is a subject like vaccinations that gets people going.Everything has its risks

I have tried him on liver and kidneys a couple of occasions but it gave him the squits everytime even in tiny amounts so I've stayed away from them. He's good with eggs, yoghurt, veg, chicken, lamb and beef and some types of fish so that gives him quite a variety.

I read somewhere that beef can be a common theme with colitis so I might cut his beef mince out for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. Maybe if I just keep trying to omit certain foods instead of introducing new ones and seeing if it makes a difference.

Does that make sense?

Sometimes eggs, being raw can cause upset stomachs, likewise for chicken too. That is just from reading on here about others who have posted saying their dogs can't touch certain foods. I think it'll be trial and error with raw foods, take one thing out for a period of time, note down his bowel movements and anything else he may of sniffed or picked up on a walk, create a diary and see where that takes you.

Agree with you my cocker seems also to get a runny tum in humid weather, he's ok in hot or cold but this stcky heat seems to upset him a bit, and drinking pond water!!

> but i do avoid lamb and pork as this has upset my dogs tummies.

ditto to that Gemini05.  I've been looking up and speaking to a lot of people who feed raw recently as it's something I'm considering myself,and the one thing that crops up is to avoid lamb or pork particularly as it's harder to digest apparently.  Although some have fed their dogs the two without any problems too!

mine have the lamb mince and bones with no problems but pork is something I steer clear of.