hello, apologies for the embarrassing thread title! We have just changed the Pig’s food, from James Wellbeloved which she has been on since we adopted her, to Millie’s wolfheart which has a much higher meat content. Apparently it is a better quality food as apparently Wellbeloved has a lot of salt? Anyway, I kept asking OH about her poos when he took her out because I want to know if the food is suiting her. But he asked ‘well what is it supposed to look like?’ And I don’t know! Obviously if it was runny that would be a bad sign, but colour? How hard? Is smaller better? You guys are probably the only ones that woudnt bat an eyelid discussing this, thank god for this forum
This is my new hobby! The colour varies with Maisy, sometimes quite orange others quite dark brown, not sure why as her diet does not vary that much. The most important thing for me is that it is not too runny, I have just posted a thread called 'Digestion & Wind' which might produce some interesting replies. Also, I find that when she has had a play with other dogs or a really good race around, it is more likely to be quite loose. And for a small dog (when she was smaller) she could produce surprisingly large ones, I was quite shocked. This is an interesting question, but probably only us lot on this forum would think so, I will follow this thread with baited breath.
Agreed. But also, there's a chart! The dog poop chart, otherwise known as the fecal scoring system. http://www.epi4dogs.com/poopchart.htm (warning: graphic poop pics inside)
Yes - and ‘2’ is perfect. But pups often have ‘3’ which is fine. We have a poo chart to fill in for the first 4 weeks the pup is with us, this helps you to see what may be causing soft poos. Fibre is helpful, I give Tatze pro-fibre. .
Goodness, a picture chart! That is exactly what is needed I can’t help but think that the test of ‘kickability’ is quite a risky one?
Hmm the Pig is mostly a 2 but I think sometimes a 4 on her old food. But that is supplemented with cowpats despite my best efforts. I shall keep vigilant and dedicate myself to kicking all the pig’s output from now on.
I'm currently working with a student on mathematical optimisation. I wonder if it's possible to .... well maybe not.
The first question after a walk: how were his poos? Snowie knows I always check his poos and politely waits before kicking dirt. Kickable, yes. Which I have done on one or two occasions to clear the mountain trail when no sticks around. Shoes remained clean (I hope!!). Of course would only kick Snowie’s poos, not just any dog’s!!
@blackandwhitedog beat me to it. I always get a laugh knowing that chart comes from the Nestle company. Remember the jingle, "Nestle makes the very best, chocccolate?" Of course they also own Nestle Purina which makes dog food. Seriously though, when Oban was sick I gave that chart to his Vet so we could both use the numbers and understand what the other was trying to describe more easily.
It’s comforting knowing that my husband and I are not the only crazy lab owners who talk frankly about our dog's poop. Our puppy will sometimes do what we call a "double deuce" (excuse me for being slightly crude but puppyhood has caused some brief insanity in my household) and he will poop a nice, big 2-3 pile on the chart, walk about 2 feet and make a second pile of poop that's a 4-5. The vet checked him for parasites and found none and he's been dewormed a few times to be safe. He'll do this at most once a day and all his other poops are completely normal and a 2-3 in consistency. Any ideas about what's going on?
A slightly looser second or third poop is pretty common. Sometimes it's excitement poop. My boy will do one when we start a walk and often a third when we get near the end of a walk and that last one is always softer. More jiggling around while he ran around? Who knows, but as you say, it is often a 4 or 5.
My vet explained the 4-5 second (or third) poo to me - made so much sense. The first poo has been in the bowel for a while. Most water is absorbed in the bowel, so the poo should be firm. The second poo was probably not in the bowel for long enough time to have the water absorbed, hence it’s softer and a 4-5. If it’s runny (diarrhea), it’s passed through the gastro-intestinal tract too quickly for much water absorption, hence the risk of dehydration. Same in humans: water is absorbed in the large bowel and then excreted by the kidneys in urine. If your dog (or you) has constipation, best first treatment is to drink fluids (like water) to help move the poo along.
