New dog owner--need advice

egeria · ‎10-09-2010

We rescued a 2 yr old Minpin/Chi mix two weeks ago (my first pet!) and are trying to potty train him. I have been reading that a high quality pet food will prevent him from "going" as often as he does now (3-4 times a day). Can anyone verify this from personal experience and/or recommend a brand to try? We have been feeding him Nutri Source twice a day, which is what the shelter was giving him. Thanks for any suggestions.

CamilleP · ‎03-09-2010

If you are speaking about defecating as "going" then yes, a higher quality food with more digestibility will produce less frequent bowel movements. I don't recognize the brand of food you are currently using, but your best gauge of the quality of the food is to read the ingredient list. If the first ingredients are plant materials and full of fiber, that will fill the dog's intestines with un-digestible waste instead of healthy nutrients, and he will have to get rid of it and eat a lot more food just to meet his caloric needs. I would suggest visiting some of the independent pet nutrition websites to investigate the food you are feeding. One good clue as to whether that brand is any good or not is to look for the AAFCO label. If it has actually been proven to meet or exceed AAFCO standards in real feeding trials, then it isn't complete junk. These are the most basic standards of adequacy of course, and many pet owners look for the ingredients to be organic or human-grade certified, for instance, but if a food at least passes AAFCO testing, odds are you won't be causing malnutrition by feeding it. There are actually foods sold that do not meet these standards, so that's why I'm mentioning it. Hope this helps.

egeria · ‎10-09-2010

Thanks, CamilleP. Your reply was a good reminder of things I had read about but forgotten. I appreciate it!

Cheryl A Sophie · ‎07-21-2010

Sophie is my first dog. A little white/tan terrier mix. She was rescued from a high kill shelter by the group I volunteer with. I feed her raw frozen patties from Stella and Chewy's or Instinct in the morning, and give instinct kibble at night. In between her snacks are our apple, carrots, broccoli, nectarine, or other fruit raw veggie. She also loves Kale. Poops her first outing of the day, 10 am and 1 or two more times.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I think it is more important to feed something that is the most nutritious than to worry about feeding to decrease the amount of stool produced.

terrier3 · ‎03-10-2010

My wire fox terrier eats Rachael Ray's Just Six - from the grocery store.

It's made in the USA, the profits go to shelters, and it has just six ingredients - lamb meal, brown rice, ground rice, beet pulp, poultry fat and natural chicken flavor.

He weighs 18 pounds and has 1 and a half cups a day.

That's it.

His stools (twice a day) are dry and small.

He is an ex-show dog and was fed very expensive dry food, which is only available where he lived in Canada. They gave me a bag (which I had to smuggle over the border) and I mixed it with his new food, gradually adding more of RRs Just Six.

I think it's important NOT to feed your dog people food or treats...they aren't necessary and lead to overweight.

egeria · ‎10-09-2010

Thanks to all who replied.

Twoaces · ‎05-02-2011

congratulations on your new pet! In addition to the good nutrition suggestions, I would add that time may help with this. We have had many older rescues, and often their digestive sustems may take a few weeks to calm down. They have been under stresses caused by the changes in their lives. You might want to add a probiotic to food to help with digestion for awhile. check with your vet. And may you have a long, loving relationship with this lucky dog!

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

Google 5 Star Dog Food for a list of the best. Re potty training your dog, you must be consistent. In the beginning, i would take them out frequently during the day and evening. Now, the female swats the slider to let me know she has to go out, or she begins moving around hurriedly, looking at me. You will learn the "signs" at some point. I have two small terriers. I can take them both out, he does everything immediately, she looks around, dawdles, so I keep moving her saying "potty," not that you have to say this, lol, and then she will begin sniffing until she does something.