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Ever heard of feeding a little pumpkin?

Donald Duck

Well-known member
Huey's poop has been really loose ever since we started feeding him the canned Innova Evo, my mother in law suggested adding 1/2 a teaspoon of canned pumpkin (not the pie filler, actual pumpkin) to his food, apparently it worked for her Cockapoo. Anyone ever heard of this?
 
You can used the canned plain pumpkin as well, or really any squash like butternut etc.

There's lots of fibre in pumpkin and other hard squashes and that often helps firm up poops. You can add some every day if you want and you can give a tablespoon or two even -- the veg is good for dogs anyway.
 
With a puppy so young, I would talk to the vet first.

Changing a puppy's food needs to be done gradually, and introducing anything new could make it worse.

It isn't good for puppies to have diarrhea, they can get dehydrated and go downhill very easily. I would probably talk to the vet and find out what to do.
 
Oops forgot he is so young. If the diarrhea continues more than a day I'd call the vet. Often they will advise withholding food for 12 or 24 hours, then feeding plain rice and a bit of chicken and you can add a little pumpkin to that. But runs can be serious in a puppy so keep an eye on it and ring the vet for advice if he still has them after 24 hours, before trying home remedies.

With adults there's less concern about illness and dehydration.
 
I'd check with the vet first, given his age, to rule out anything serioius. Pumpkin is a great supplement--we give it daily on their food and use it in their Kongs and then freeze them. They love it!
 
Karlin said:
Freezing it in kongs is a great idea!

I snap a treat in half and stuff it in there and then smear a bit of pumpkin over the opening to freeze it "shut" Keeps them busy longer. ;)
 
Huey's poop has been really loose ever since we started feeding him the canned Innova Evo, my mother in law suggested adding 1/2 a teaspoon of canned pumpkin (not the pie filler, actual pumpkin) to his food, apparently it worked for her Cockapoo. Anyone ever heard of this?

i'm not sure you're saying he has diarrhea or the runs, or if you're saying his stools on canned food are looser and less firm that they were on kibble. if it's the former, a lot of people recommended pumpkin to me when zack had colitis, he liked it but some people had cautioned not to give too much, and i didn't use it very much because i didn't know what was going on with him and was afraid to add something that might further confuse the picture (some people said pumpkin can have the opposite of a firming effect, it depends on the dog). Later, long after that colitis episode was over, i gave it to him for a more brief mild episode of loose stool and he didn't want it.

if it's just a looser mushier stool from eating canned food, and not actually a bout of diarrhea, it may be that that's just the effect canned food has on dogs, probably most dogs, because i hear people say that all the time, it's a normal effect which is to be expected. If the stool is watery or not formed, but more of a puddle, that is not the normal effect of canned food. It may be a reaction to a new food, or something else, but is not normal. If the stool is pretty much formed and looks like a regular poop but is very soft and tends to squish when you try to pick it up, that is probably just the normal inevitable permanent effect of canned food.

Maybe adding a source of fiber like pumpkin could help with that. If you try it and it works, please share.
 
Judy - your assessment was correct, Huey's poop has been looser ever since we started to feed him the canned food (we switched only because he was under weight and refused to eat any dry food).

I always prepare Huey's food for the entire day the night before so I've been mixing about a teaspoon in and the pumpkin has really worked! I don't want to get too graphic, let's just say it's a lot more firm than before!
:lol: :lol:
 
I made King a while back some "doggie brownies" which were made from pumkin and he loved them...plus the Nutro Desserts one is pumkin which he adored too...but I'm not surprised because King will eat just bout anything I give him..which I make sure first that it is doggie safe b4 hand
 
The vet says Luke needs more fiber in his diet. To get him up to 8-10% fiber. It sounds like pumpkin would help. Luke is 4 years old this month and weighs 20 pounds.

Question: How much pumpkin do I give him per day?
 
Charleen said:
The vet says Luke needs more fiber in his diet. To get him up to 8-10% fiber. It sounds like pumpkin would help. Luke is 4 years old this month and weighs 20 pounds.

Question: How much pumpkin do I give him per day?

I give ours a glop per meal--a tablespoon or so. Curious as to why the vet said more fiber?
 
Luke has been scooting on his butt alot. The vet has expressed his anal glands twice since June. The vet said that if I got Luke's fiber intake up to 8-10% he would have firmer stools. That pushs on the anal glands and keeps them from filling up.

I was looking for a food solution to add more fiber. The only dog food's with 8-10% fiber are the diet ones and Luke isn't overweight.

The pumpkin will help a lot, it's great!
 
I was worried because Huey kept on scooting even after he had his anal glands expressed and the vet said he probably just enjoys doing it. The pumpkin definately works for us, hope you find it effective also!

Huey just lovves to scoot!!!!
IMG_2286.jpg
 
I feed all three of my dogs pumpkin with both daily meals. A dollop mixed with their dry food (with a little water) so it makes it really mushy.

I actually gave a co-worker a can of pumpkin the other night to start feeding her overwgt. dog. She said he wouldn't eat it w/out something else on it - well guess what? He loved it! She laughed and laughed at work last night. She thought for sure she'd have to bake it in a pie for him!

Sheri
 
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