Poo: Hard? Formed? Soft? Mushy?

[Feisty49]

I'd like to know if your pups consistently have what could be called normal poo. You know.. the poo that drops out, turd by turd, is dry looking and can be easily picked up either with a scooper or a bag. The type of poo that the dogs of all my friends (non-Greyhounds) have all the time.

 

Annie Bella has never had terrifically-formed poo. I was very happy when Iams Proactive took her from mushy to formed turds, albeit not particularly hard. Well, the first poo of the day is formed but deteriorates as the day goes on (she usually has 3 poops a day). In the past couple of weeks, though, her poo has gotten less formed and mushy. (It's been checked for nasties and it is clean.) So I am at a loss and really frustrated because it is impossible to adequately pick up mushy poo. She's also not liking Iams much at all any more but I don't want to start the cycle of switching food. Been there, done that back when I adopted her. Frankly, not even a bland diet of chicken/rice to help with the diarrhea she had back then ever gave her formed poo. It was the Iams that made me satisfied.

 

In chatting with a couple of Greyhound acquaintances, they said, separately, that their pups' poo is never firm and also gets a bit mushy as the day goes on -- and they said it as if they didn't want anybody to know.

 

So what about your pups?

[Beachbum1]

With Taylor, after 4 months, firm poops have been a rarity.

Sometimes they are firm first thing in the morning, sometimes at night.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason. That's with a couple of changes of food, too, with plenty of time to get used to it.

VERY rarely has he ever had a "normal" poop. They are somewhat formed, but not firm.

Luckily, I have a yard he poops in, and I pickup what I can with a bag, and just hit the rest with a hose.

[BatterseaBrindl]

I've been lucky with my three and never had the Dig D.

When they were on Kirkland Lamb & Rice it was almost always formed, but soft... but usually pick-upable.

 

However, we made the switch to Raw almost 4 weeks ago, and WOW!

Always formed, shiny, bounceable poop!

And much much less of it.

[buddibear]

You are what you eat! All my dogs eat Proplan shreaded Chic and each outpoot id different. I wish they all had the system of my Standard Poodle. 3 times a day they bounce off the landing. I could take up golf.

[Hubcitypam]

There are different kinds of Iams...chicken, lamb, Healthy Naturals...I used to swith Rex around without transitioning and never had a problem. Mine have all had good poo on Iams, but as Buddy is on a diet he is eating different food now and his poops are not quite as firm, but still formed.

[Feisty49]

There are different kinds of Iams...chicken, lamb, Healthy Naturals...I used to swith Rex around without transitioning and never had a problem. Mine have all had good poo on Iams, but as Buddy is on a diet he is eating different food now and his poops are not quite as firm, but still formed.

 

Annie Bella has been on the "green" Iams -- Proactive Minichunks. It was recommended by many here and it did do a good job for a few months. The first-morning poo is usually formed but real soft and is done in our backyard. One of her poos is usually done on the lawns of neighbors (when we take our first-morning walk) and I *hate* leaving behind even a little mess, so I end up by pulling up grass and sod to get all the poo.

[mychip1]

Our EZ had soft poo until we went through a few different types of food. He is on the Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish.

 

JJ's poo gets softer if he does two or three poos within a few hours.

 

If Dustin's get soft, then we have trouble...that's a sign of bigger issues with him....but he as tummy troubles that will lead to bloody D, etc...so he eats only prescription food.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Firmest poop is first thing in the morning, or the first one after I get home from work. That's the "aged" stuff that's had time to firm up. Subsequent output will be softer, although it's generally still grab-able with a bag.

 

My guys are on the green-bag Iams. We've tried more expensive--including one that's about $2/pound, salmon-and-sweet potato. None of them produced output as good as the Iams does, and everyone's skin and coat has stayed nice on the Iams. (I changed to the Iams about two-and-a-half bags ago, figuring it probably wouldn't be any worse than the expensive stuff. It's been better--although not great--for Sam. Silver's first poop is generally bouncy.)

 

I can't feed raw. If you wave a bit of raw (i.e., a turkey neck) in Sam's direction, the boy's output will turn absolutely liquid and he'll will lose an enormous amount of weight before things turn around. Sam's battling almost constant clostridium, though, as well as whipworms (we think) and maybe some other critters--as well as old age and lots of meds--so I'm never surprised by what he's doing.

 

When the poop is so soft I can't pick it up, I start carrying cheap paper plates. I scoot a plate under the offending butt, then stuff the mess into a bag. The first time I did that to Sam, he stopped, stood up, turned around and looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. He's gotten used to it now. The paper plate trick is only a problem on really windy days, when the plate won't stay put. Or on Sam's worst days, when I need a bowl instead of a plate.

[Hubcitypam]

People that have been here for a while can tell you my epitath should read "then I threw a green bag of Iams in the cart". You said she wasn't into the green bag Iams, so was just saying there are other versions.

 

Poodle has never ever had any tummy issues but when we go for a walk once he runs out of pee (and sometimes if he hasn't) he'll poop when certain other dogs talk smack to him through windows or the chain link fence. I can count on him pooping in front of the grey house with the 4 small yappers in the window, the red brick with the lab and two rat teriers in the yard and the house with the two chow mixes. It takes a great deal of dedication and effort to formulate enough poo to mark when you don't really need to go and as a result his poops get runnier and smaller as we go along. If we go on a long walk with a lot of smack talking dogs he is down to a smaller than a marble size run. Is Annie Bella maybe doing something like that?

 

 

[Feisty49]

Firmest poop is first thing in the morning, or the first one after I get home from work. That's the "aged" stuff that's had time to firm up. Subsequent output will be softer, although it's generally still grab-able with a bag.

 

My guys are on the green-bag Iams. We've tried more expensive--including one that's about $2/pound, salmon-and-sweet potato. None of them produced output as good as the Iams does, and everyone's skin and coat has stayed nice on the Iams. (I changed to the Iams about two-and-a-half bags ago, figuring it probably wouldn't be any worse than the expensive stuff. It's been better--although not great--for Sam. Silver's first poop is generally bouncy.)

 

I can't feed raw. If you wave a bit of raw (i.e., a turkey neck) in Sam's direction, the boy's output will turn absolutely liquid and he'll will lose an enormous amount of weight before things turn around. Sam's battling almost constant clostridium, though, as well as whipworms (we think) and maybe some other critters--as well as old age and lots of meds--so I'm never surprised by what he's doing.

 

When the poop is so soft I can't pick it up, I start carrying cheap paper plates. I scoot a plate under the offending butt, then stuff the mess into a bag. The first time I did that to Sam, he stopped, stood up, turned around and looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. He's gotten used to it now. The paper plate trick is only a problem on really windy days, when the plate won't stay put. Or on Sam's worst days, when I need a bowl instead of a plate.

 

Ahh, I like the idea of paper plates, though I'm such a minimalist that I hate carrying stuff (even a purse!). Nonetheless, in order to keep things neat and clean as possible, I'll probably try it. I doubt Annie Bella will be upset by it but my neighbors will think I'm crazy until they figure out why I'm doing it.

[GeorgeofNE]

George had pudding poo for a LONG time, then I switched him to a beef based food and it firmed up. Turns out that might have been a coincidence, cause now he's on fish based food and his poo is still good.

 

I do find, however, that if I take him on a LONG walk, he'll have one normal poo, and one soft poo. I think that's somewhat normal.

[Feisty49]

People that have been here for a while can tell you my epitath should read "then I threw a green bag of Iams in the cart". You said she wasn't into the green bag Iams, so was just saying there are other versions.

 

Poodle has never ever had any tummy issues but when we go for a walk once he runs out of pee (and sometimes if he hasn't) he'll poop when certain other dogs talk smack to him through windows or the chain link fence. I can count on him pooping in front of the grey house with the 4 small yappers in the window, the red brick with the lab and two rat teriers in the yard and the house with the two chow mixes. It takes a great deal of dedication and effort to formulate enough poo to mark when you don't really need to go and as a result his poops get runnier and smaller as we go along. If we go on a long walk with a lot of smack talking dogs he is down to a smaller than a marble size run. Is Annie Bella maybe doing something like that?

 

ROFL. Honestly, I'm still laughing out loud because indeed, it takes a great deal of dedication to keep it coming out. :lol But nope, Annie Bella doesn't do that. She is a bit of a "walker" when she poos. The majority -- whatever the consistency -- is in one spot, then, still in position, she'll take a step or two and leave droppings, but it's not in response to any outside influence. She does it in the back of my place, on the edge of the woods (I've got 11 acres), and the only thing around are trees, as well as on neighbors' lawns.

 

Ya know, anybody who would ever question our love and devotion to Greyhounds, and our own in particular, would just have to read this type of topic to get it.

 

Oh, by the way, it was your post of "then I threw a green bag..." that got me to try Iams in the green bag.

Edited April 29, 2012 by Feisty49

[JJNg]

My greys almost always have formed stool, but it's never 'hard' like the stools produced by my other 2 dogs (whippet and mix). The hard, drier stools from my other dogs are easily picked up (ie. you could pick up a piece with 2 fingers - through a bag, of course, - and it holds its form). The formed stool from my greys are definitely not mushy, but softer and would not hold its shape if you tried to pick up a piece with 2 fingers. However, it's still easily picked up with a bag by grabbing the whole thing and does not leave a mushy smear on the pooper scooper. Ok, I feel kind of odd going into such a graphic description of poop.

 

I'd consider this slightly soft, formed stool to be normal for a greyhound. Btw, I feed the Kirkland's Chicken formula from Costco.

[Guest JustGreyt05]

My grey has perfect poop in the morning and it gets very watery as the day goes on.

[Guest sirsmom]

Iams in the red bag seems tastier to the dogs than the green bag. It's a little lower in fat so may produce even firmer poop. You could try a small bag to see.

[Guest Celestrina]

Angie's poo is a little soft, but a lot better than it used to be. I am considering switching her to Annamaet Options. It's a little cheaper than her current food but still seems to be a good food.