You can learn a lot about your dog's health and nutrition by what I call "Poop Patrol". I'm serious. Don't wait until the vet asks for a fecal sample. Learn by observation about dog digestion, causes of diarrhea, constipation in dogs and more.
General Guidelines
In general, the cheaper the dog food, the bigger the feces. Not only is it full of fillers, there are additives in highly processed dog food to firm up the stool so your dog may strain a bit more too.
If the smell gags you, your dog needs a new food plan. If it turns moldy instead of decomposing, a diet change is in order. If you spot flecks of bright colors, encourage your children to put away the crayons. You should watch your dog poop often, especially when changing foods, adding foods or treats, or after the disappearance of any small toys.
Distance Observation
If the whole idea makes you feel uncomfortable or even a little nauseous, start with observation from a distance. With this method you can look for:
- Straining - Constipation in dogs or a blockage
- Runny poop - Soft is okay but runny or liquid needs attention. This can be a sign of dog digestion problems or food allergies. Fast the dog for a day or feed brown rice with a little meat.
- Hangers - This describes either constipation or a foreign object like string that can be backed up into the intestines and need snipping off with scissors to avoid internal damage by pulling.
- Stinky poop - If you can smell it from a distance, seriously consider a change of menu.
Close-up Inspection
While being a close-up fecal detective may not be on you list of fun things to do - do it anyway. After all, your dog can't tell you what's bothering him and the vet probably won't have enough information to give you a positive diagnosis.
Here are a few things to look and smell for:
- Smelly poop - Yes I'm mentioning it again because I can't believe how much I've learned this way. If it stinks, imagine how your dog's tummy felt before it came out.
- Mucus on dog stool - Is an attempt to rid the body of toxins so do daily checks to be sure it disappears.
- Size - Yes size. If your dog has big poop, there's a LOT of filler in his or her food.
- Rocky turds - These dense, usually small poops, indicate probable straining and show lack of good fiber. Get some fresh pulverized veggies or plain canned pumpkin in the food bowl.
- Identifiable food - Like whole corn kernels, shows a total lack of dog digestion, so omit these things from your dog's diet.
- Foreign objects - Bits of paper or plastic mean your dog is sneaking things that can really hurt him. I was serious about flecks of color. Every dog or cat I've had that was exposed to crayons, ate them at least once. Smell a Crayola sometime. They smell great.
- Signs of life - If anything is moving, keep watching. It could be worms.
- Grain of rice - Is what tapeworms look like in dog poop before they stretch out. If you observe this, get a stick or something to poke at it and make it move. It could be time for a natural dewormer.
To sum it up, I have learned a lot about dog health through feces. Little did I know when I changed my dogs' diet 18 months ago that I would also change the look and smell of my yard. When my five large dogs were on inexpensive dog kibble, the yard smelled awful. No one wanted to venture out back and I hated cleanup time. Ten poops a day add up quickly.
Lo and behold when my dogs began eating raw meat, raw vegetables and cooked whole grains, their feces stopped smelling, were half the size and disappeared by decomposing within seven days. Now I can sit out back, breathe in the fresh air and enjoy watching my healthy happy dogs.
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