Hi all, In an addendum to my 'first visit to kennels' thread, one thing the kennel chap said was that Lily was a 'real poo machine'. Sorry to bring this up. I was a bit taken aback... what does everyone else's lab do? Lily does about 3 poos during the day and 1 during the night. 3 of the 4 of these are of substantial size and firm. Sorry again for the detail. Don't all dogs do this? :-\ Daft question coming up, but on the basis that what you put in must come out, is it her food? (I feed her Wainwright's Large Breed Puppy kibble + raw duck neck as a meal replacement occasionally, plus a carrot or fresh apple pieces, rawhide chew and training treats). I am thinking perhaps labs are not large breed so just trying her on the puppy kibble? Or should I be looking at Simpsons or something like that? I know dog food is a really emotive subject but I would like to know how other labs do as regards poo. (Sorry again!)
Re: How much and how many poos? When Harley was on 3 or 4 meals a day she would go about 4-5 times. Since going down to 2 meals, it is generally 2-3 times a day. Hope this helps.
Re: How much and how many poos? Meg is 14 and from what I can remember when she was a pup she used to go 3 times a day, then once we switched to 2 meals a day it was twice a day. And still is. Once in the morning and once in the evening.
Re: How much and how many poos? Whisky is 11 weeks old and gets 4 meals a day. He generally poos 20 minute to 30 minutes after every meal and once more during the night - so 5 poos per day and all are quite substantial :-[ :-[
Re: How much and how many poos? Cooper is five months old and he does 3 to 4 a day and he eats 3 meals a day of Fromm dry kibble for large breed puppies. He used to go at least 5 times a day but is now down to 4 at most. All of them are substantial. As long as they are "healthy" poos (not too soft) all seems to be normal for Lily. Don't worry, Lily is fine.
Re: How much and how many poos? Just to confuse........I've just changed 10 month old Molly onto a different brand of kibble. She is having the same a out of kibble but generating at least 50% more poo. It is back to the more expensive stuff
Re: How much and how many poos? Thanks for all the replies... Lily has 2 meals per day, plus a snack (carrot, etc.) per day. Poos are firm and 'normal' so it could be just her normal digestion. But it may be that the kibble is not the best quality and so perhaps I should think about a better quality one after reading this: [quote author=Mollly link=topic=7112.msg97540#msg97540 date=1406463563] Just to confuse........I've just changed 10 month old Molly onto a different brand of kibble. She is having the same a out of kibble but generating at least 50% more poo. It is back to the more expensive stuff [/quote] I might give it a try over a few weeks and see if it improves. Molly, which brand are you feeding? The old one and the new (but poo generating) one? Just out of interest
Re: How much and how many poos? Before we settled on Arden Grange Penny was originally on Beta Puppy. She would poo four times a day roughly. Then we switched her to Wainwrights and the poo amount reduced but she had really bad gas! Now on Arden Grange she does two poos a day, very firm and no gas! A lot of the cheaper dog foods are mainly fillers like carbohydrates which dogs can't digest very well. As a result you have to feed more therefore producing more faeces. The higher grade the food, the less that comes out the other end as more of it is digestible. Wainwrights is fairly good though so I still wouldn't be expecting that many poos a day from that. Perhaps it is that you are using large breed? As a rule labs generally aren't classes as a large breed so don't really need large breed food. They are supposed to be a medium sized breed. Large breeds are things like mastiffs and Great Danes.
Re: How much and how many poos? Yes I was thinking more meat content + less fillers = smaller quantity to feed and therefore less coming out the other end. I have been looking at Simpsons Premium Puppy 80/20 (which seems to tick all the boxes) if switching to the Wainwrights normal puppy kibble doesn't have any effect. Bit of a difference in price but you feed so much less, it works out to about 4p per day more. It is a bit of a minefield isn't it? Lily seems happy whatever I feed her; if it's edible, it's good ;D!!
Re: How much and how many poos? I was feeding RC Lab Retriver Junior. Now Skinners Field and Trial Junior, much cheaper because as it is for working dogs no VAT. I'm lucky, Molly seems to be one of those Labs that can eat anything (and everything). I'm going to put her on JWB Turkey and Rice Kibble. It did well for my last dog, so I thought I'd give it a try. It is not quite as expensive as RC
Re: How much and how many poos? I am very happy with the Simpsons, but didn't use the puppy. Lilly came on Asda Hero, cheap as chips and she had quite good firm poo but I think Hero was actually quite high in fibre. We tried a variety of other foods after that including Pro-plan, Bakers (yeah! ) Pedigree, Winolot, probably chappie, and she was always too loose, so for a while struck a happy medium between Hero, and Pro-plan. As a youngster she also got a mix of wet and dry food, so we were using 3 different products at each meal. I knew I wanted to change to a simpler regime, and at that point having the diagnosis of HD, also wanted to use a better quality of food. Took me AGES of deliberating and pricing up to decide, but opted for a grain-free premium food, although really I would like to feed Raw, but it wasn't just me feeding her so that was a no-go. Compared to the bog-standard cheaper brands, my experience would say poops changed from 4-5 bulky stools a day to 2-3 much firmer stools, with Orijin producing the most firm and smallest. As she was over 2yrs old at the time, I would definitely attribute it to food rather than just maturity.
Re: How much and how many poos? Albert who is 24 weeks, has 3-4 substantial poops a day. He is fed a high quality, completely grain free kibble, 3x daily, with Salmon as the protein, not meat. He also has a mix of apple, melon, strawbs, roast chicken, sausage, corned beef as training treats daily, and sardines and a raw egg on his kibble once a week. I also make a bone marrow broth/jelly which he has on the kibble 4-5 times a week, plus a raw beef rib, tripe stick and beef cheeks as chews! Poops are nearly always firm, except when he's had a tripe stick, then it's a bit softer but still cleans up "clean". I do sometimes think he's a poop machine though!
Re: How much and how many poos? My five GSPs fed on kibble went about 6 times a day! My two Labs, fed on kibble go twice a day
Re: How much and how many poos? Wow so it is all a bit of trial and error... I will go with my plan to switch to Simpsons if the Wainwright's Puppy doesn't do the trick. I love the sound of your dog's diet though: [quote author=teapot57 link=topic=7112.msg97660#msg97660 date=1406489907] He is fed a high quality, completely grain free kibble, 3x daily, with Salmon as the protein, not meat. He also has a mix of apple, melon, strawbs, roast chicken, sausage, corned beef as training treats daily, and sardines and a raw egg on his kibble once a week. I also make a bone marrow broth/jelly which he has on the kibble 4-5 times a week, plus a raw beef rib, tripe stick and beef cheeks as chews! [/quote] Do you just boil up marrow bones and cool the liquid for the marrow broth/jelly?
Re: How much and how many poos? Haley is 5.5 months and does 2-3 poos a day...first thing in the morning, sometimes just before dinner, and always during her evening walk
Re: How much and how many poos? Lucky you, Meg13, Lily won't do number 1s or 2s outside the garden :-\....
Re: How much and how many poos? Mine won't do either in the garden! Which means they often have to cross their legs!
Re: How much and how many poos? Oh my goodness, aren't they funny!?? But then it wouldn't be interesting if they were all the same...
Re: How much and how many poos? [quote author=amandamumma link=topic=7112.msg97670#msg97670 date=1406493085] Wow so it is all a bit of trial and error... I will go with my plan to switch to Simpsons if the Wainwright's Puppy doesn't do the trick. I love the sound of your dog's diet though: [quote author=teapot57 link=topic=7112.msg97660#msg97660 date=1406489907] He is fed a high quality, completely grain free kibble, 3x daily, with Salmon as the protein, not meat. He also has a mix of apple, melon, strawbs, roast chicken, sausage, corned beef as training treats daily, and sardines and a raw egg on his kibble once a week. I also make a bone marrow broth/jelly which he has on the kibble 4-5 times a week, plus a raw beef rib, tripe stick and beef cheeks as chews! [/quote] Do you just boil up marrow bones and cool the liquid for the marrow broth/jelly? [/quote] Sorry for late reply. Yes I put lots of bones in the slow cooker. cover completely with cold water, and cook for 24 hours. I add a bit of parsley and rosemary, plus carrot. Remove bones let cool then chill in fridge. Remove the top layer of fat, and you're left with a lovely jelly broth which I spoon over his kibble. I freeze some for the following week. I also do the same with a chicken carcass. He loves it. Jan
