Homecooking? Pooping blood and mucus???
 

Hi there, I am hoping someone will have some words of wisdom for my Teddy bear. I have been homecooking for him and my Golden on and off now for a while but still feel like I don't know what I'm doing every day when I make them something to eat.

I started when all the recalls started and had to feed with Honest kitchen while we traveled from Alaska to Georgia and then in a hotel for 3 days after the trip so cooking was impossible. So they were on the honest kitchen for about 2 months. Once in Ga I couldn't find good food for them so we went through one bag of Wellness. They didn't care for it and so when we finished it I went back to homecooking.

It's really what I want to do for them but am scared that I am not doing something right. Now I feel proven by the fact that Teddy bear is pooping mucus and blood and throwing up the food he ate late last night which doesn't even look at all digested.

We were traveling again last week and needed a traveling food again so bought some Canidea...well they don't care for it and now with the rumors I can't give it to them anyway...

I have read through some other threads and think I will go and get him some kaeopectate, chicken baby food and maybe som yogart and some Pedialyte.

I think some rest should help his tummy but my big question is what am I doing wrong on the food.

Last night I made sweet potato, eggs (too late to cook chicken and pick from bone), green beans, pumpkin, alittle cottage cheese and the ground up egg shells of the eggs I cooked.

The night before was similar but with chicken and no cottage cheese.

These are the first few meals where I have not used rice or any kind of grain. I thought I would try to do away with the grain as it is supposed to not be great for them anyway.

I know this post is a little back and forth :rolleyes: but any help in the poopy or food areas would be helpful. :confused:

Thanks,
Kim

I'm going to say that I would take him to a vet to get checked out before you travel again. I thought bloody, mucousy poop was a red flag, but I'm new to this too. Hopefully someone else can tell you for sure

Poor baby! Best wishes....I haven't been brave enough to go 100% homecooked myself yet.

Do a search for coccidia or giardia and see if any of those symptoms apply. I also read that it could be caused by irritated bowels or colitis.

I'm mainly just bumping this until someone who knows more answers.

Thank you.

As we speak I am reading through posts I have found on the search. Have read a bunch already about both of those. Teddy had a bout with coccidia when he was little but hasn't had any trouble since. He's over a year old now, I'm not sure if age has much to do with it but was gathering from other posts I have read that it might.

I really am leaning more in the direction of cooking having more to do with it than anything. I don't know for sure though and would love to hear from some that have better experience cooking for thier babies.

I wonder if anyone could tell me how long will it take his tummy to clear up if the food is the cause. At what point should I say it isn't the food and he needs to go to the vet? I know how fast our little ones go downhill and would not let him get too sick before taking him but don't want to rush to an after hours vet on Sunday if it is just the food.

Kim :confused:

Okay, if he's not a little puppy I feel better. Still..poor baby. Hope he's feeling better soon.

Thank you for helping out! :) Just wish I could get some others to chime in too...

The constant change in diet that you're doing could very well be what's causing the blood poop and mucous...I have done that to Miko before and regretted it greatly. I homecook for him all the time, but a few months ago, I ran out of his food, so I gave him a little bit of kibble to hold him over until I made his food, and he had blood, mucousy stools. He didn't have coccidia or anything like that...It was the abrupt change in diet that caused it...

As far as the homecooking goes...I find it much easier to cook just once every 3-4 weeks and freeze in 2 day portions in freezer bags...
I recommend you go to the library or to a bookstore and get Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Health. He explains homecooking very thoroughly and will help get you on the right track.
This is what I'm feeding Emma right now:
Ground chicken
Rolled oats
Carrots
Celery
with added supplements like nutritional yeast, kelp, calcium (in form of eggshells), vitamin e, fish oil, vitamin b-complex...
I make enough to last 3-4 weeks and then the next recipe, I change the protein source, the grain, and the veggies...
Like next time, I'll use:
Lean Ground Turkey
Brown Rice
Sweet potato
zucchini
Hope this helps :)

Thank you. I have probably gotten a little off gaurd when it comes to switching food slowly as with all the changes he never seemed to be affected. Never even a soft poopy from a food change until today. :confused: I am confused but still hoping that there was something about last nights food that just didn't sit well instead of it being something else.

Miko was the same way before..I could change his diet and his stool would be fine, but then all of a sudden after being on homecooked for so long and giving him something totally different, his body reacted that way.

Oh, I also wanted to mention that sometimes dogs can get upset tummies and pancreatitis from whole eggs...That's why when Miko's tummy isn't feeling well, I'll use egg white instead of the whole egg.

Thank you so much! I was hoping to hear from you as I know that you are a homecooker and always seem to know what you are doing. LOL

I will go online now and look for that book.

I do have a question about the supplements, it sounds very complicated to get all of that together and know the right mixture etc...Do you think I could use the missing link and have the same effect? I have just ordered some and was going to start adding that slowly as they seemed to get upset tummies the last time we used it and introduced it too fast.

All of that being said, I still have a sick baby today and wondered if you think there was anything in what I fed them last night that could be a problem and how long should I give him for his tummy to settle before I decide he needs to be seen?

Also, should I feed him anything today or just maybe some Kaeopectate and pedialyte? Boiled chicken and rice? I just read somewhere on here that boiled chicken really isn't good for them?

Thank you, Thank you!

Thank you again! Eggs really aren't his favorite anyway but I was just too tired yesterday to deal with the chicken. I thought whole egg was fine as long as it was cooked but I think we'll steer clear of them at least for a while incase that was it. Next time I'll try just the whites.

I doubt seriously if the real food would have such a bad affect unless it's the egg shells. Switch to bone meal instead.
Switching a dog from dog food to real food back to dog food and again to real food isn't a good idea but there again I don't think it would have such a serious affect.
I'd let their tummies rest and keep fresh bottled water down (never tap water) and maybe give them some cooked oatmeal and scrambled eggs. If this continues then they must have eaten or drank something you aren't aware of that's made them sick, and I'd take them to the Vet. if it persists, but don't let the Vet. talk you into putting them on ANY kibble! Make sure he gets the correct diagnosis before prescribing any medications too!! That is VERY important!

The missing link is not going to be enough, in my opinion as a good supplement long-term for homecooking. Calcium needs to be added to their diets, eggshell form is fine, but you need to know how much you're supposed to add. That book will give you a good guideline. I know it sounds complicated at first, but once you get all the supplements it's really easy.

The book tells you which ones you should use...

It will have you mix up Healthy Powder mix in a large batch...So in the future when you cook for your furbaby, all you have to do is go to your little jar where you have already mixed up the various supplements, and you will add X amount of healthy powder mix to the recipe. It's really simple after the first time. The only other things besides the healthy powder mix that you might want to add are vitamin e, fish oil, and vitamin b-complex. But like I said, once you buy the supplements, it will become second nature.