Hey Woofa’s,

Today’s topic is a little crappy……yes pun intended.

My question to you is, ‘How Well Do You Know Your Dog’s Poo’?

It may be considered a gross topic but it’s really important to know your dog’s toilet behaviour as well as the quality of waste they are producing!!!!  EEekkk!!!

Your dog’s poo can give you a good indication on how healthy your dog is.

The quality of what goes in really produces the quality of what comes out!

Why is she talking about dog poo???

Earlier this week Dean came running inside to tell me that Billy had this long stringy piece hanging out of Billy’s bottom with poo on the end of it!!!!

I immediately became the ‘Poo Detective‘  –

• What colour was his poo?
• What texture was the stringy bit?
• How long was the stringy bit?
• Was it worm like?
• Was it grass?
• Was it hair, our hair or dog hair etc.

Long story short Dean pulled the stringy thing out of Billy’s bottom and after much thought we remembered he’d gotten into some ham rind.

It was the rind that he didn’t digest properly that was hanging out of his bum.  He’d snapped his poo off but the rind was still attached!!!!!!

This got me thinking about how important it is to know your dog’s poo!

So Let’s Talk Poo!!!

Here’s 5 Questions You Need to Ask About Your Dog’s Poo: –

1. Where does your Dog Poo?

This basically helps you to know where to look for your dog’s poo to pick it up and to check out it’s colour, quality and texture.

It also helps to know how often they are going, by how many poo’s are in that area.

2. How often does your Dog Poo?

Knowing your dog’s regular toilet habits is a step closer to understanding what’s going on with their digestion.

I know Billy generally goes twice per day, generally in the morning and then afternoon/evening time.

The person allocated to pick up the dog poo can probably answer this question best.  How many poo’s are they picking up per day, per week etc?

Is your dog going too much, or not enough times?

Is your dog trying to go but nothing is coming out??

3. What’s the quality of your Dog’s Poo?

Yes this actually means taking some time to check out your dog’s poo.  It may sound gross but it’s beneficial to you and your fur baby.

What you want to do is take notice of it’s texture, ideally play doh (not too hard not too soft) look is best.

What you don’t want is consistent stringy poo, sloppy poo, poo that’s too hard or no poo for days.

One off poo’s like this is okay, but again keep an eye on it.

It’s best to keep an eye out for what’s IN your dog’s poo.  Have they been chewing up toys and are the toy bits coming out in their poo etc?

We recently found red bits from the wheels of Billy’s toy skate board through his poo!!!!!  Needless to say we took it off him and he only gets it now when he can be supervised.

4. What’s the colour of your Dog’s Poo?

Ideally a  chocolate brown colour is best.

A grey, white, yellow or any other un-natural poo colour is not good.

Poo covered in mucus isn’t good either.

Check out the diagram below from PetMD.com, for more tips.

5. What does your Dog’s Poo smell like?

Yes I get it, all poo smells!!!!  I’m talking about an unusually strong smell, or strange smell that might be coming from your dog’s poo.

You know, something that just doesn’t smell right!  If you know your dog’s poo, you’ll know it when something smells ‘different’!

NOTE – Check out your dog’s bum hole as well!!  If it’s swollen or red, has dry skin or poo stuck to it,  is an indication something is not quite right.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

It means you should be keeping an eye on your dog’s poo.  Why?  So you can monitor when changes occur in their digestion.

By knowing the  texture, colour, quality and regularity of your dog’s poo it gives you an indication of their health.

Yes I’m suggesting at least once a week watch your dog go to the toilet!!!!

BOTTOM LINE is when in doubt about your dog’s poo take a photo of it and text it to your trusted vet, and they should let you know whether you should bring them in or not.

When was the last time you checked your dog’s pooh?  Have your fur kids had any ‘poo experiences’ you’d like to share with us?

Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for reading.

Cheers

J & B @Woofalicious Tales