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? 

[Vivian & Mojo]

I have given him corn

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Vivian, the DK gremlins destroyed the rest of your post! come back and re-post it! 

[Vivian & Mojo]

I have given him corn once and it came out whole in his poop.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Corn would have been better for a "test", but it's not something I'd ask you guys to give your dogs. :) 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Its been over 3 days (almost 4) since Lucy ate her Lima Beans. Everything's appeared normal in her poos, so it looks like she digested them. This was a fun exercise, especially the part of me yelling across the dog park, "DON'T FORGET THE LIMA BEAN CHALLENGE!!", while DH waited for Oscar to poo... LOL!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, I love your enthusiasm! 

Thanks for participating!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

this made me LOL..We gave our 2 the beans around 4 pm today..Im so excited to see the results!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Me too! 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

BREAKING NEWS! Lima Beans have been spotted. I repeat, Lima Beans have been spotted!

At approximately 17:00 hours Sophie Bear took a big poo. At first, said poo came out normal, but just when I thought all hope was lost, out emerged a lighter coloured, slightly slimier poop. Upon further inspection I can confirm that there were several beans embedded in the poo.  The lima beans were rather pale, but otherwise completely intact.  I can also report that although Winston's poop has completely firmed up, no lima beans survived the ordeal.   Interestingly, and possibly slightly concerning, Sophie was only dished the one serving of beans, and it took a full 72 hours for the missing beans to be uncovered.  As no further lima beans will be dished out on the premises, I think it is safe to say this case is closed. :-)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Great job, Detective! LOL

I don't think you should be concerned about it taking 72 hours for the evidence to appear. It's a bit longer than some of the others recorded, but not enough to worry about.  

[Stella]

I didn't have butter beans handy, so I fed Hartley dehydrated sweet potato because I knew I could see it in his poop! I fed it as a treat yesterday afternoon, and by this afternoon there were orange chunks in his poop! So, it passed in pretty much 24 hours!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This seems more like what I expected with the lima beans, too. It's really a mystery to me.