Good alternative to pigs trotters?

Our German Shepherd rescue loves pig trotters but they dont fully agree with him (v soft pale poo next day). He is pretty big so stuff like pigs ears are a bit of a waste

So I wondered what else folks feed? Or will his tummy get used to them if I keep offering them?

I expect they are so fatty, they go straight through him, so too speak.

Does he eat a raw diet regularly?

Trotters are quite high in bone content and that's the reason for the poo being like it is. Assuming you do raw feed, feed a boneless the meal before and after the trotter and it'll be fine.

no not on raw but does have stuff like this more or less weekly - we mostly feed Muhle Black Angus which is a cold pressed kibble, supplement with eggs/cheese etc (fwiw we have had him 2 months and he is about 2 years, so we dont really know his history)

With previous trotters he has had *really* firm poo, which I assumed was the bone working through - the last trotter was bigger than before and gone very quickly so I figured it was just a bit too rich for him

Markus Muhle is a very good product and does not actually require supplementation. However, variety in diet is good and cold pressed food is known to go well with raw.

The problem with pigs trotters is that if they are fatty it perhaps could cause pancreatitis in a susceptible dog. I would hazard a guess that it is the fat content that is causing the poo problem, not bone. Bone tends to make the poo white, chalky and hard. Years ago I gave my dogs pigs ears and they ended up with diarrhoea - didn't know they were fatty.

If you are giving the trotters just to supplement his diet then it might be better to use some other kind of raw food. There are two raw feeding shops at Hillsborough - Better4pets and Real Pet Grub. They will be able to advise if you call. An easy way to feed raw is to use complete formula such as Natural Instinct and Nutriment. Cookes have both of these products.

I feed cold pressed food to my dogs and replace three meals per week with raw food but they are small dogs so I use a complete meal in cubes. I only do this to give them a change and to add variety into the diet.

You could also perhaps consider trying a different flavour of cold pressed food - Markus Muhle has NaturNah which is chicken and turkey. More recently Zooplus have started to sell a new one - Red Deer Venison. This contains duck, venison, fish and other good things. Gentle sells chicken and fish varieties, Guru beef and duck (the duck being grain free). The choice is slowly increasing. They are great products - hope your dog continues to do well on Black Angus.

thanks for that ccit - feeding dogs seems quite a complex area once you decide to avoid the lower quality mass produced stuff

Our GSD did really well on Simpsons Salmon but moved him to Black Angus as the fat content of Simpsons is rather high and - as you say - pancreatitus can be a worry, hence the decision to consider alternative treats too

He is fed twice daily with 300gm of Black Angus (which is c2000 calories and the recommended amount for a 55kg dog, while he is only c35kg - but pretty active) I wonder if the trotter should be considered a meal substitute?

Anyone know how many calories in a trotter?

Sorry, I don't know the calorie content of pig trotter. I suppose it depends on the size of it. I would think that it qualifies as a meal substitute.

The modest fat content of the cold pressed foods is one of the reasons why I use them but the main reason is the fact that they are not extruded.

You asked for a substitute and as you are familiar with cold pressed food, perhaps you might want to consider a Field Trip Bone. These are a meal substitute and are useful for a day out (hence the name). I recently had some free ones from Guru and the dogs really enjoyed them. Will definitely send for some more. They are seriously crunchy and it took my dogs a good while to finish one off. Your GSD might enjoy one too. They are not cheap but perhaps ok for occasional use, instead of a meal.

In the summer I gave mine cold pressed lollipops. The food was softened with water then put into egg cups and frozen. Of course you would need a larger receptacle - maybe a cup or mug.

Our German Shepherd rescue loves pig trotters but they dont fully agree with him (v soft pale poo next day). He is pretty big so stuff like pigs ears are a bit of a waste

 

So I wondered what else folks feed? Or will his tummy get used to them if I keep offering them?

Pigs ears are a treat not a meal replacement, as are dried fish skin.

White poop is normally full of the bones the dogs have eaten. Our dogs poop is always firm if white. Its not often they have enough bone to make it totally white.

We feed proper raw diet. Occasionally in winter their food is topped up with high protein, good quality dried food. They are active dogs and they require more calories running around when its cold. Our dogs go in our outbuilding which is a bit like a house but they are outside working dogs, they don't come in the house.

Dogs don't need treats all the time. Our dogs never beg because they get fed at (dog) meal times. One dog does try it on and make noise when we are watching TV in the hope of getting a pigs ear to keep her quiet.

Don't worry about calories just judge how fat or thin your dog gets. If it getting thin, up its food. If its getting fat then drop its food a bit.

Did you find an alternative to pigs trotters? It has just occurred to me that frozen paddywack might be a suitable substitute as they are not too high in calories. I buy the Natures Menu ones from Cookes and give them frozen as it takes the dogs longer to chew through. The Sheffield raw feeding shops will probably sell them too. Perhaps antlers might also be worth considering. Tip for using those is to soak in water first.