MY69RS

AHHHH..... I just took mine out for lunch now she got it... Im gonna wait a couple days and see what happens keep an eye on things.

Dobemom2b

I would suggest the food with the least # of ingredients you can find. Preferably with a meat he has never eaten. You know he is doing ok with rice so I would choose rice as the grain if you use a food with grain.

If you limit ingredients you can slowly test other things once stool is back to normal for a reaction.

Obviously you would not want to give too much of any new meat/grain/food to him but slowly test with small amount of a single thing for at least a week with no other changes. Over time you can add more watching ingredient labels and find food allergies.

Be careful with treats also, they can mess up the whole system.

On the people food association, its fairly simple to avoid.
Never ever ever feed or treat when you eat.

If you give food from the microwave or fridge put it into his bowl on the counter and leave the room if you have to (or at least make them leave it), your goal is to break the association of fridge(microwave)=food.

Always feed them in the same place, either in the crate or kitchen or what ever but in the same place.

Once they stop associating food with the ding of the microwave (think "Pavlov's dog") you can tune the 'place' behavior to train them to wait at a specific place for you to bring their food. This is also where you don't just give it to them but make them earn it. Have them sit and wait till it is on the floor and you release them to eat. Jumping, trying to stick a nose in the bowl, trying to slap it from your hand, fidgiting, breaking sits are all tied into one neat little bundle at a time when the dog is highly motivated. In the begfining you may want to use a short lead and an eye bolt into the floor or frame so they have to at least sit while your there rather than trying to keep dragging them to the right spot. If they break the wait or what ever command you use before you release them, pick it back up. When it's started with a dog who has never had to do that most put them into a sit. They get half way down with the bowl and the dog stands trying to get it. Simply don't put it down. Give them the sit or down command (which works better for this boy) and try it again until successful. Once they have the idea working lengthen the time they have to wait before allowed to eat. Always make sure you give a release command, I think it's a valuable command that communicates success. By now the dog should know just where to sit and how to wait. Some add a command to get them there like 'dinner time'.

If you want you can push it further once you have a good leave-it.
A service dog should be able to be taken into any resturant and ignore food already on the ground, should not watch you like they are trying to mind meld you into dropping something thier way and in fact should not even eat food dropped on thier head.

The average person is happy with a dog that goes where they are supposed to and sits politely till its placed and they are released.

On bacterial overgrowth yogurt can help as can pro biotics. My vet also suggests tylan as its not processed by the body when given orally, but does affect the bacteria count in the digestive system.

I spent till almost a yr old getting this boys stool normal the majority of the time. He is on a very restricted diet and he can have only specific treats. Even at that I get a day of cow patty stools every 2 wks average with no food changes.

JagerMonster

Wow that is great information!! Thank-you Dobemom2b!!! Well hopefully I won't get attacked here but after actually a long deliberation with my husband we are going to go Raw. So all of your thoughts are greatly appreciated with dealing with associations...I actually copied and printed it for my fridge!! So this week it is just boiled chicken and rice and we will begin to introduce the Raw diet after more research on our part for quantity, quality, etc etc. I am not going into this recklessly....

MY69RS

Thanks guys I will use the info. There is no way im gonna go raw i dont have time to cook for myself and they already eat better than me!!!!

JagerMonster

Too funny, but I LOVE to cook as matter of fact I think I was a chef in a former life...but there isnt any cooking involved in a RAW diet....read a lot today. I can't believe they eat raw chicken bones and all!!

trey lee

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Linda H

There is a raw group on yahoo you might want to join. Raw is not something to be taken lightly and you need to know how to prepare a balanced diet for a growing doberman puppy.
You can also give buttermilk as a probiotic by the way.

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natdobe

I agree that if you're going raw, please do LOTS of research before diving in. I wish you the best on your new journey.

JagerMonster

oh yes, first research then switch the diet.

Do you use the BARF or RAW method? As I understand it BARF incorporates grains and RAW does not? Do any have a preference and why?

DLS

I will be very interested in how your pup does with the change of diet. Please keep a 'food' and 'stool' journal and let us know how it goes.

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