While the poop talk may not be your favorite topic, it can be a chance to know your dog’s overall well-being. As a concerned dog parent – and as much as it grosses you out, you shouldn’t just pick up your dog’s poop and dispose of it. Instead, begin paying more attention as it helps communicate what is going on inside your dog’s body. With more keenness, you can track your dog’s health problems early enough to save your buddy potential long-term health effects.
What should your dog’s poop look like?
Well, poop analysis goes a long way from just checking its size and color. You should check for its content, shape, consistency and also, if possible, feel its texture from your collecting plastic bag. It is also recommendable to know how frequently your dog poops in a day to pinpoint any changes in their bowel movements.
A perfect poop should be a little firm but moist. Its shade can range depending on your dog’s diet. However, a healthy poop can range from golden brown to darker mahogany. This goes for the odor as well. Size can be variant, but it should always be proportional to the volume they consume. A good stool should also have no coating at all.
What should be a cause for alarm?
Straining during defecation
If your dog strains when passing stool, it might be time to get in touch with a veterinarian. Strenuous bowel movements might be signs of constipation, intestinal inflammation, impacted anal glands, or foreign body in fecal matter. All these can be easily treated with our variety of products at vetsend. Of course, after free veterinary advice.
Red streaks
This is a sign of blood in your dog’s stool. It could be indicative of bleeding in the large intestine due to worm infestation, inflammation of the colon or a foreign body stuck in the colon. White streaks could also be a sign of tapeworms while green poop may be signs of grass ingestion or a gall bladder disorder.
Mucus in stool
Unusual mucus in your dog’s poop could be a sign of parasites. It could also be a sign of bowel inflammation. A good way to detect this is when a trail is left behind when picking up your dog’s stool.
Diarrhea or watery stool
Loose dog stool can have a wide range of causes from ulcers to cancer, worm infestation, or polyps.
If you happen to observe any of these in your dog’s poop – or anything else unusual when there are no significant changes made to your dog’s diet, contacting a vet should be your go-to option.
