Curious about what your dog's poop says about their health? It might not be a typical topic of conversation, but your pup's poop provides essential clues to their well-being. Just like a health report card, understanding what their stool means can help you catch early signs of digestive issues and ensure they stay happy and healthy by your side.
When deciding if your dog’s bowel motions are healthy, there are three critical elements to consider; colour, consistency and pooping behaviour.
A great starting point when looking at your dog's poop is to understand what a healthy dog poo looks like.
Ideally, it should be a uniform chocolate brown colour, and log-shaped. The stool should also be well-formed, and have a consistency that's neither too hard or too soft, so when picked up, it should hold its shape.
A healthy poop also has a mild odour, not excessively foul, which indicates proper digestion and nutrient absorption. These qualities reflect a well-functioning digestive system, ensuring your dog stays happy and healthy.
Most dogs will poop at least once daily. When dogs poop, they typically squat with their back legs, hunching over, holding their balance with their front legs. There should be minimal straining or movement in the posturing position.
Colour
Healthy dog poop should always be brown – variations in the shades of brown are acceptable, but any other changes in colour to your dog’s poop can be a sign of something more serious that may require veterinary attention.
Changes in colour can be related to digestive issues, either in the stomach or intestines, or issues with the other organs of the body involved in healthy digestion such as the pancreas or liver.
Changes in colour can also come from your dog’s diet, especially if you’re feeding food or treats that contain artificial colours, or if they’re eating fruits or vegetables with strong colours, such as beets.
See the table below to discover more about the all the colours that poop may be, and what this could mean for your dog’s health.
While variations in colour can occur from time to time, a consistent change in your dog’s poop colour lasting more than a few days, requires a veterinary check-up.
Black, tarry faeces or faeces with obvious blood are considered more urgent, where waiting a few days before booking a veterinary visit is not advised. If you notice these colours in your dogs poop, ensure you make an appointment with your dog’s veterinarian promptly.
Consistency
The consistency of your dog’s stool provides clues on how quickly the poop is moving through the GI tract, if the GI tract is irritated or inflamed, and if your dog is well hydrated.
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Consistency |
What does this mean? |
What should you do? |
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Hard and dry
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Usually a sign of dehydration or slow movement of the stool through the GI tract. Hard and dry stools can also occur in dogs who consume bones in their diet, as the fragments of bone cause a harder poop. |
Check your dog is getting enough fibre in their daily diet. Ensure your dog is remaining well hydrated. Visit your veterinarian if persists longer than 1-2 days. |
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Formed but soft
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Indicates the digestive tract is mildly irritated or inflamed. This is one step before diarrhoea. Often occurs due to minor tummy upsets such as a change in diet, or stress. |
Monitor for improvement – if no improvement in 1-2 days, or it progresses to diarrhoea, visit your veterinarian. |
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Diarrhoea
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Indicates the gut is very irritated or inflamed. Can occur with tummy upsets due to a change in diet, GI infections, parasites and dietary intolerances. |
Diarrhoea varies greatly from very mild, to severe watery diarrhoea. Your dog may be happy and eating, or may be visibly unwell. Diarrhoea can quickly lead to dehydration. It is always best to consult your veterinarian when your dog has diarrhoea. |
Beyond the physical consistency of your dog’s poop, you may also notice some coatings on the stool. If your dog’s poop has a greasy, or fatty coating, it could indicate issues with the pancreas, gall bladder or nutrient absorption. With colitis, or inflammation of the large bowel, a mucus or jelly coating can appear on the stool. It is advised to have a visit with your dog’s veterinarian if you notice any of these coatings, especially if they persist for more than 1-2 days.
A small amount of hair in the poop can be normal, however, if your dog consistently has large amounts of hair in their stools, a visit to the veterinarian is advised. Ingesting hair is usually associated with skin disease, where your dog may be grooming too much and ingesting excessive hair.
Pooping Behaviour
How your dog poops can provide a lot of clues as to whether there is an issue with your dog’s GI tract. Normally, when dogs poop, they assume a hunched over squat position, and pass a stool with minimal straining. For most dogs, this happens once to twice daily.
If your dog is trying to poop more frequently, this can be a sign of something being not quite right. Frequent attempts to defaecate can be associated with both constipation and colitis. Straining is also common with both constipation and colitis. With constipation, straining is due to the presence of hard dry faeces that are difficult to pass, and with colitis, straining is caused by an irritated large bowel that makes your dog feel as though they need to pass faeces, even when there may be none.
If your dog licks at their rear end during or after pooping, this may indicate pain or irritation. It commonly occurs with issues with the anal glands, or the skin around the anus.
If your dog passes more than two poops per day, they may have issues with digestion, where they are producing more faeces simply because they are not absorbing as much from their food. This can happen with gut disease, or if they are fed a diet that is not very digestible.
In some cases, changes to how your dog poops may have nothing to do with their GI tract at all! For example, dogs with osteoarthritis in their lower spine or hips may have difficulty holding the normal squat position to poop. As such, they avoid pooping, and over time have issues with constipation. Managing their arthritic pain is important so they can continue to poop in peace!
A crucial factor influencing your dog's stool quality is their diet. A diet rich in high-quality proteins, digestible carbohydrates, balanced soluble and insoluble fibres, essential fats, vitamins, and minerals is critical to maintaining optimal GI function.
Here's how different dietary components contribute:
At Prime100, we prioritise your dog's well-being through nutrition. Our diets are carefully formulated to support digestive health, ensuring that every meal contributes to producing the 'Perfect Prime Poo'. By using fresh, premium ingredients with purpose and focusing on single protein and limited ingredient diets, we help maintain your dog's GI health and overall vitality.
By recognising what constitutes normal stool and understanding how diet impacts stool quality, you can take proactive steps to support your dog's digestive wellness.
For a comprehensive overview of different stool types and their meanings, download our What does my dog's poop mean? guide to better understand your dog's digestive health and ensure they stay healthy.
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