# Pumpkin?



## jabojenny

Hi Everyone,
I have a pumpkin question for you. Timmy has been eating a combination of dry Blue Buffalo Wilderness™ Duck Recipe and canned Nature's Variety Instinct Grain Free Chicken Formula mixed together. Timmy has had a tendency of developing loose stools, not all the time, but enough to be a pain if you know what I mean. He's been seen by the vet previously, brought stool samples which turned out to be negative and was subsequently put on antibiotics. Recently however, during another bout of pudding poops, I have been adding canned pumpkin to his feeding regiment and he's been fine. So my question is, do I continue adding pumpkin to his meals, or do I need to look into the possibility of finding a new food which allows me to stop adding pumpkin? I don't mind adding pumpkin, but was curious who all out there adds pumpkin consistently to their dog's diet? Obviously I'd rather keep using the food I'm using and adding the pumpkin and not have to call my vet but let me know if you think there are any red flags I could be overlooking and if I should follow up with my vet even though we're back to normal at this point.


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## krandall

Pumpkin certainly isn't bad for him, but I'd prefer to find a food that didn't bother my dog's tummy to start with. I like to keep the pumpkin in reserve for if there IS a problem of some sort.


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## TilliesMom

hmmmmm, if he is having loose stools a lot I would look into a change of food, although I know you said you didn't want to do that, BUT you really don't want to be giving him something that isn't agreeing with his body all the time...


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## Rita Nelson

Several months ago I started giving Tucker wet food mixed with kibble. I started adding the wet slowly until I had a mixture of half wet and half day. After a day or so he started having pudding poops. I realized that mix was too rich for Tucker so I reduced the amount of wet to 1/4 of the total mixture. He's doing well on that now. You could try that approach and see how Timmy does. I agree with Karen to use pumpkin only when you need it for diarrhea or constipation.


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## Missy

pumpkin is fine. my boys get it every meal, but that is because I feed raw and they need some fiber. 

can I ask why you are feeding timmy a duck kibble? and why grain free? If he does not have allergies you may want to try a good kibble with a more common protein source. usually duck is an alternative IF you discover allergies. Really no need to use exotic proteins unless there is a problem. I would try natures variety prairie kibble for a pup as young as timmy. I would not try their instinct kibble it is very rich.


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## jabojenny

Missy said:


> can I ask why you are feeding timmy a duck kibble? and why grain free? If he does not have allergies you may want to try a good kibble with a more common protein source. usually duck is an alternative IF you discover allergies. Really no need to use exotic proteins unless there is a problem. I would try natures variety prairie kibble for a pup as young as timmy. I would not try their instinct kibble it is very rich.


My breeder was feeding him Taste of the Wild Dry Wetlands, which is duck and grain free. He's never had puppy food. I had a hard time finding Taste of the Wild so I decided to switch to another dry food that was similar. He started out on dry food only and I added canned food, which also was grain free, duck. That was my thinking. I give him about one tablespoon of pumpkin twice a day. He likes what he's eating and I figured if I could get him a little more regular with the pumpkin and keeping him on his current food why change? I've always had cats and never really had to worry about what they ate in regards to tummy trouble and now they are both on prescription food so I have no choice... so much to think about!


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## The Laughing Magpie

If you do not want to change the food feed less of the canned, wet food has a higher water content. I feed dry and a spoonful of wet and mix it in and spread it out in the dish so it takes longer to eat. Just feed a bit less of the wet could make a difference on Timmy's stools.


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## davetgabby

You can feed pumpkin daily long term but that's not going to solve the problem if you don't. I'd go with one food , preferably canned. You can rotate every so often. But stick to common sources of protein. Save the more exotic in case alergies develope to one.


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## jabojenny

The Laughing Magpie said:


> If you do not want to change the food feed less of the canned, wet food has a higher water content. I feed dry and a spoonful of wet and mix it in and spread it out in the dish so it takes longer to eat. Just feed a bit less of the wet could make a difference on Timmy's stools.





davetgabby said:


> You can feed pumpkin daily long term but that's not going to solve the problem if you don't. I'd go with one food , preferably canned. You can rotate every so often. But stick to common sources of protein. Save the more exotic in case alergies develope to one.


Thanks everyone for your advice!  Hmmmmm, okay, I prefer to feed my cats canned food and it's proven to be a great choice, they lost a ton of weight, it seems to be a big "no no" to feed cats dry food because of the carbs. One reason I tried to get Timmy started on canned food was because of my experience with canned cat food. I think I'm going to keep the brand and switch to chicken (gradually). I will start going heavier on the dry and stop with the pumpkin. If that does the trick I'll gradually add canned food until we're half and half again.

I'm so envious of you guys that cook for your dogs, but if I did that for Timmy my family would be even more jealous of him since I don't cook for them half the time! Good thing my 16 year old DD loves to cook and is quite good at it or we would never have a home cooked meal. Timmy is referred to as "The Prince." ound:


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## davetgabby

yeah Jen, cats for sure shouldn't be on kibble. I forget which veterinary society even stated this. And it's almost as true with dogs. It's not only the carbs that the cats don't need, it's the lack of water in kibble which leads to urinary problems for some. Dogs are not quite as bad ,but some dogs don't drink enough water on the side., and can have the same issues. Kibble is just so inferior to canned. Better still , get home cooking, but don't forget the humans. LOL.


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## Diann

Rita Nelson said:


> "...I agree with Karen to use pumpkin only when you need it for diarrhea or constipation.


Pumpkin is good for BOTH diarrhea or constipation? What is its purpose then if it fixes both ends of the spectrum. Lucy is having a bad bout of diarrhea and I have given her some pumpkin. I sure hope it works. She has an appt. with the vet tomorrow. She's had loose stools, lots of mucus since Saturday but it has gotten much worse today. It's mostly watery slime. A woman that raises Havs and gooms my Charlie gave me some good advice to help with the butt baths. She said to put her bottom/leg hair in pony tails so I did that, one on each side of her body and then her tail too. It was so nice to not have to gingerly pick her up and carry to sink each time we came in.

Thanks in advance for the answer about the pumpkin.


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## Beau's mom

Fiber is an intestinal "miracle drug." It works the same way in humans. If excess liquid is the problem, it absorbs it and gives it bulk. If the problem is too much bulk, it "joins the party" and moves things along. It's why people take OTC "bulk" laxatives like_ FiberCon, Miralax, Metamucil, Konsyl_, etc. They are little more than fiber in a pill or powder. Pumpkin works the same way.


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## krandall

Diann said:


> Pumpkin is good for BOTH diarrhea or constipation? What is its purpose then if it fixes both ends of the spectrum. Lucy is having a bad bout of diarrhea and I have given her some pumpkin. I sure hope it works. She has an appt. with the vet tomorrow. She's had loose stools, lots of mucus since Saturday but it has gotten much worse today. It's mostly watery slime. A woman that raises Havs and gooms my Charlie gave me some good advice to help with the butt baths. She said to put her bottom/leg hair in pony tails so I did that, one on each side of her body and then her tail too. It was so nice to not have to gingerly pick her up and carry to sink each time we came in.
> 
> Thanks in advance for the answer about the pumpkin.


I don't know why it works for both, but it does.

I don't think it will solve the problem if there's a real illness that is causing the problem. (though it can help) But it helps RIGHT away if the problem is caused by a change of food or water or stress. If that's not enough, you can go to a chicken, rice and pumpkin diet for a few days. (for diarrhea, NOT constipation!!!)

Lucy's sounds like it's beyond that, though, so I think taking her to the vet is a really good idea.


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## emichel

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but is sweet potato a subsititute for pumpkin? Will it have a similar result? I almost always have sweet potatoes on hand.
-- Eileen


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## mcc.christina

Coincidentally Eloise has had loose stools since yesterday. Somebody called them puddle poops haha and that is exactly what it is. Her diet has not changed, I am thinking she might have ate something outside that I didn't catch.

If it doesn't let up tomorrow, I will call vet and maybe try pumpkin.


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## krandall

emichel said:


> I don't mean to hijack the thread, but is sweet potato a subsititute for pumpkin? Will it have a similar result? I almost always have sweet potatoes on hand.
> -- Eileen


I don't know whether you can use sweet potato in place of pumpkin, but I do know that canned squash works the same way.


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## davetgabby

emichel said:


> I don't mean to hijack the thread, but is sweet potato a subsititute for pumpkin? Will it have a similar result? I almost always have sweet potatoes on hand.
> -- Eileen


According to Sabine yes. But she mentioned , it always depends on the dog too.


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## Tuss

I'm also having a "pudding poop' issue this week. I'm back on the pumpkin, but i hate that it turns her beard orange, so no way i'm going to stay on it long term. 

The fibre and pectins in pumpkin gel up the stool and help thicken it, thus slowing it down. For constipation it bulks the stool and brings some moisture in to help it move thru. Therefore works for either. 

I would experiment with other foods, but transition them slowly. I think that was my problem this week, i'm switching to adult formula from puppy and was doing it gradually, but maybe not gradually enough! 

4 bum baths in the past 24 hours and 1 load of laundry of doggie blankets isn't fun (not to mention the mess on my deck and backyard I have to clean up with the hose, but that's a project for after work).


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