JD's Lima Bean Challenge, An Experiment For All Food Groupies!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Before JD was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in December 2011, I used to add a little of my own dinner to his dinner bowl just about every night. A particular favorite was lima beans. He always knew when they were on the menu, and was even more eager for his dinner than usual those nights.

All that stopped after the IBD diagnosis, and it had been a long time since JD got lima beans in his dinner bowl. Not so much because there is any reason he couldn't have them, but I had just not been cooking them for myself much either since my family's schedules changed and family dinners are a rare occurrence here. And I had gotten out of the habit of giving JD some of whatever I was eating for dinner, since there is so little he's allowed to have. 

But last month, I cooked lima beans and gave JD about 2 tablespoons with his dinner. 

The next morning, his poop was the same as always.Ditto the evening poop. 

But on the morning of the second day after he'd eaten them, there were lima beans in JD's poop. 

Now, the fact that the lima beans had passed through undigested was not a surprise. That's par for the course, because dogs can't digest plant cellulose. (People aren't very good at it either.) 

But the fact that the lima beans showed up in the poop about 40 hours after he'd eaten them, and that he'd had 2 normal poops in between, did surprise me. 

I tried it again this past week, and same thing.

It seems to me that in the past, they would have appeared in the next morning's poop. But I don't really remember. 

I think maybe JD's food is taking much longer to pass through his system than is normal, due to the IBD, and maybe all the meds. 

But I thought it would be interesting and maybe informative to see how long it takes food to pass through a healthy dog's GI tract. So JD and I are looking for volunteers to participate in our Lima Bean Challenge experiment. 

The LB Challenge is open to all dogs over 8 months old who do not have any current digestive issues, who do not free feed (food is eaten at regular set mealtimes), and whose owners are willing & able to immediately inspect all poops from the time the dog eats the lima beans until said beans exit the premises.

Here's all you have to do. Over the next week, cook some lima beans (we use frozen baby limas). Set aside a small portion (1-2 tablespoons per dog) before adding butter, salt, or seasoning. Let them cool sufficiently and then add them to your dog's dinner. Make a note of the day and time that your dog ate the beans. 

Then watch the poop. Make a note of each subsequent poop (day & time) in which the beans do not appear. I do not think there will be more than one, if that, but that's the point of this experiment. And then when the beans do show up, post your data here. I'd like all results by next Sunday, June 29th, please.

Yes, this is very unscientific and maybe silly, but you will be helping me & JD, and we might all learn something besides. :)

Do I have any participants? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've never seen fresh lima beans, but I haven't looked for them, either. They do sell them in cans, but those might have salt added. 

I don't know which other cooked vegetables would show up intact in poop, other than corn, which I would never ask anyone to give their dog, lol. JD's had cooked peas, green beans, squash & carrots, and none of those came through whole. Raw carrots would, but I don't think that would tell us anything. 

[Deborah Brown]

OK, I'll see what I can find.  BTW, lima beans would come out whole for me too.  As a child, I swallowed them whole rather than biting into them.  :)

I may do a test run with a few blueberries, Those would be easy to spot.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks, Deb. I think the dogs would love the limas and you could add them to your home cooked food, maybe.

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

I will volunteer my two. Will get some Monday to Tuesday

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you, Lori! 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

We never eat Lima beans or we'd be up for the challenge!  Luna gets so many random baby offerings these days it would be hard to decipher her poop anyway lol.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL,  Luna must just be loving that baby! 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Yep. lol.  This is pretty much where Luna can be found while Sophie is eating (that or with her face IN the seat part of the high chair).  We call Luna the "clean up crew". ;)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So cute!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Maxi is in! I will pick some up when I go food shopping tomorrow!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks, Jill! 

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

I'll volunteer my pair in a couple of weeks if you're still wanting volunteers then - I get up so early on weekday mornings that their first poop of the day is in the dark, and their second poop is for the sitter (there's only so much I can ask of that poor woman) so it will have to be on a weekend and I'm out of town next weekend. The following weekend is a four-day one and would work well, so let me know. ;-)

I haven't had lima beans since I was a kid so I might just try it anyway to find out if I like them!