Maybe dumb questions? Need answers (long)
 

Some of you may know this, but I am having troubles with Lexie pooping in her kennel every time she is in there. Here is my question:

Could it have something to do with her food?

I am feeding her Innova Evo (Beau has food allergies to grains, not sure which ones though). She seems to have pretty big poops for a puppy, they are EXTREMELY greasy, and the smell clears the whole house if she poops in the house or her kennel.

WARNING: VIEWER DISCRESSION IS ADVISED!!

When Lexie poos she has one normal consistency poo then a little squirt of nasty poop afterwards. Is this a sign of bad dog food? I thought at first it was because we switched her from the food her breeder had her one a little quickly because of how bad the quality was (Beniful) but her stool never really hardened in that last squirt.

Beau's poops aren't AS stinky as Lexie's, I mean I realize that poop shouldn't smell good, but the smell is like nothing I've smelt before...EVER. I can't ask my vet about it because she would just suggest Science Diet :thumbdown

I don't have a great variety of dog foods available to me but here are my choices (in case on is better than the Innova that she is one now):

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Eagle Pack, Innova Evo, California Natural, Nature's Variety, Wellness, and Solid Gold.

I don't really have time to homecook...I wish I did...

My other question is, would it help if I got her to sleep in her kennel? She really doesn't like it in there, I've tried it before, but if I was persistent and made her sleep there then maybe she wouldn't poop since it was her "sleeping spot". Does this make sense?

aww poor thing... my guess is her food... they have such sensitive little tummies... i would go with the wellness.. i hear a lot of people on here recommend that for allergies... try a lamb or fish variety... her poop should NOT smell THAT bad at all... i mean... ya... they dont' smell like roses... but it shouldn't clear the house and the end should not be squirty.... give it a try... see if someone on here wil send you a wellness sample... i dont' feed it or i would send you some.. but i know many people on here are more than willing to send a sample :)

what works for one dog may not work for another. So maybe the Innova Evo doesn't agree with Lexie but it does for Beau. Try switching her food. I feed wellness and solid gold wee bits.

as for the pooping in the crate, make the crate very small. only enough room to go in and lay down. When morgan was a puppy, i put a divider up in her crate and only gave her a space that was 1 foot by 1 1/2 feet. no room to poop and sleep. making her sleeping the crate too should lessen her need to poop in it. i never had to deal with pooping the crate.

I would also suggest switching her food. All of the foods you listed are premium, high-quality food so you can try any of those and see which one works best.

Also, have you thought about raw? Nature's Variety makes little medallions that are frozen... you just thaw and feed. I don't feed raw personally but I've read from other members that do feed raw, and apparently it makes them poop less (their bodies absorb almost everything).

Sorry I'm not much help.

I think Innova Evo is pretty high in protein and some dogs just can't handle that much protein. How long has she been on the Evo? Since she was on a poor quality dog food before, it might take her system a little longer to adjust to a quality food. Are you giving her any treats? I feed Chicken Soup Puppy and Canidae. The Solid Gold is also very good.

No treats. She doesn't like them. She has been on Evo since we got her, over 2 months ago.

I am thinking about homecooking for the morning then leaving dry out for dinner and grazing...does this sound okay?

Sadie was on wellness when we got her...(Puppy wellness) The canned made her go less... the vet said it was cause it had more liquid in it so she would pee more. she had both canned and kibble...

Her poop didn't stink bad. She would go and we wouldn't know if we didn't see it. It was about the size of my pinkie, and hardish. Not a big deal at all. Give that a try and see if it helps. It's a good food.;)

Thanks Everyone!!

I feed california natural, Its a very good food:thumbup: and its small to med kibble:) good luck to you.

Sounds like the super high protein isn't agreeing with her. That food is good for some cases (like allergies and working dogs) but for the normal household pet it is just too much protein.

You could try the Innova puppy formula, that's what I use and really like it. There are also tons of other great foods out there that are a little gentler than the Evo.

Greasy, foul-smelling poops can simply be sign that there is too much fat in the diet. Evo has 22% fat in the kibble (which works for some) and that is quite high compared to others - it just may be too high for her, and she may not be able to absorb all of it; hence, stinky, foul, greasy, bulky poos.

You may consider EVO reduced fat (EVO RF) or regular Innova, or a different line that has more standard fat levels. I don't think it's the protein content, personally - or I think you'd see symptoms on both ends of the system, so to speak.

talk to your vet?
 

My first thought is that there could be a bacteria or problem of that kind- why not talk to your vet? if she says something you don't agree with -you don't need to listen to her/him, and then keep trying for help on YT?:)

I feed raw to Lacy and one of my cats. The other cat gets one raw medallion in the morning and canned food in the evening. About a year ago I was feeding the cats Innova Evo Dry for a little while and both did fine at first but started having diarrhea a few weeks later. But they have no issues on the canned Evo. I'm all for grain-free foods, but I think they should be fed in a moist form (either raw or canned).