Help Combatting Soft Stool

[Guest coolgreyguy12]

We adopted an ex-racer about 5 months ago. As expected, he initially had very loose stool every time (not liquid but very soft like mud). After an extensive deworming treatment, then another dewormer a few weeks later, he solidified a little but never entirely.

 

His first poop in the morning is usually fairly solid but progressively through the day he gets looser. At night or directly after physical activity, he usually releases a big soft mudpie. I'm concerned because last night, we woke up and he had pooped in the house after pooping three times throughout the day and directly before we went to bed.

 

Because of his deworming treatment I'm assuming it isn't an issue with worms. Is this soft poo normal for greyhounds? If not, what are things I can do to help solidify his stool? I tried switching from a chicken/rice mix to a lamb/rice mix but that hasn't seemed to help. Any suggestions welcome!

[GreytXpctations]

How long has he been on the new food? With one of my greys, I have to switch his food VERY gradually and he is usually quite loose until being completely on the new food for about a week before starting to firm up.

[greysmom]

Explain "extensive." We've had people who have had to treat for 6 months or more to finally get rid of worms.

 

You can try adding fiber to his food in the form of vegetables - green beans, carrots, etc. You can also go to a feed store for dried beet pulp. Add the non-dissolving kind of Metamucil. Try switching his food once more to the Iams green bag variety (which has more beet pulp in it).

[Time4ANap]

Try the Olewo carrots added to his food. They claim to have some de-worming properties in addition to firming up the stool. You can never assume anything with de-worming. Those worms can hang on for ages and getting rid of them is simply a matter of luck and exact timing of the de-worming medicine. There is no way to know for sure that he is completely de-wormed, as even a negative fecal can be unreliable if you just happened to hit a negative stool sample. It can be frustrating, but eventually you will get them.

 

That being said, it is also not unusual for stools to get looser as the day goes on. They normally aren't mudpies as you described, but they will get looser since they aren't in the hound as long as those first stools of the day are (think overnight and baking...)

 

If the stool is at all like gelatin or has any blood in it, I would say you may still be dealing with worms. If it's just loose and the first stools of the day are otherwise fine, the Olewo carrots added to food will take care of it.

[Guest coolgreyguy12]

He has been on the new food for about two-three weeks now, I haven't noticed any difference since the change.

 

Sorry, by extensive I meant an extended treatement of panacur (5 days) and then a specific tapeworm pill.

[Guest xengab]

my rescue group states you have to retreat for worms after 2 weeks, one treatment wont kill them off as the eggs can linger inside and new worms can grow. So he'd need to be given another set of 5 day pills to kill the new round of worms.

 

I've only have my grey for nearly two months and his poop is like your describe too. Looks like normal dog poop in the morning but by evening it's like a cow has been in our yard. We give him pumpkin with no results, he;s been on his current food for 3 weeks now after a 3 week switch over mixed with the old food.

I swear I spend more time talking poop then anything else with my husband. LOL I'm thinking I need to change foods or try those carrot things.

[Guest mgodwin]

I can't recommend Olewo carrots enough!! Ginny had the same problem when I first brought her home. Her stools were never watery but they were definitely soft and progressively got more cow pie like as the day went on. After a bout of diarrhea I put her on the Olewo carrots (1 tbsp rehydrated in 1/2 c warm water and split over two meals). Since then her stools have been nice and firm (almost bouncy) first thing in the morning and still firm enough to pick up by the end of the day. The only exception is right now, as we're in the middle of a food change for gas reasons (although it seems to be worse on the new food ). You can pick them up on Amazon or on the Olewo website.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

 

 

I've only have my grey for nearly two months and his poop is like your describe too. Looks like normal dog poop in the morning but by evening it's like a cow has been in our yard.

I just had to say,,that was a very funny line.

 

Leia is 12 1/2 and we have had trouble for a while but she it a 12 1/2 year old with IBS so just getting food in her now is the daily challenge.

 

Before that though, she was exactly the way this is being described. I like that baking comment someone made and this was right,,after baking all night the first of the day was normal,,then we too ended up with a yard from a cow. One thing that helped her was oatmeal. A lot of times people suggest pumpkin but she started to hate that,,she owould never eat those Olewo carrot dust either, but oatmeal was okay. But,,she has never had worms so that could change the ballgame.

[lukasmom]

Another vote for Olewo carrots. Totally helped my boy Carter. It is a natural de-wormer too.

[Guest coolgreyguy12]

I picked up a couple cans of pumpkin last night and mixed a tbsp of it + a tbsp of Greek yogurt with his normal kibble (slightly reduced the amount of kibble to account for the added calories from the yogurt and pumpkin).

 

I'll try this for a bit to see if it helps any

[a_daerr]

Iams green bag! Firms that poop right up.

[greyhoundgang]

Every dog is an individual in how they react to different foods, homes and lives.

 

Having said that, there are some generalities. Though many things can cause loose stools, these are the top three.

1. Worms (as you discovered)

2. Food

3. Stress

 

Dogs with allergies to certain foods (usually grains, and usually processed food (Kibble), will always have loose stools. Learn more about food allergies at Greyhound Gang/Learn/Food. Sometimes you can add items described by others, but getting to the route of the problem will help for the future. Sometimes giving a kibble/treats withOUT grains will help. Going to raw or cooked foods, almost always helps. Even if just for a while. I like giving digestive enzymes and probiotics also. Plus I keep slippery elm gel in my fridge for flare-ups (particularly good for IBD/IBS issues).

 

It is also normal to have a solid stool first, then looser stools with subsequent ones. But dogs pooping more than once or twice a day, are not digesting their food well, and would indicate to me, that the food is not good for them, and that they may need digestive enzymes to help process their food better.

 

I also like Diatomaceous Earth for natural worming (and flea protection).

 

More information, like this, at my talk at Dewey - Holistic Care for Healthy Hounds. Thursday, Noon. Epworth Church, Rte 1, Rehobeth

[juliemac]

Congrats on your new pup, and welcome to Greytalk! Most of us are familiar with your situations ... each hound is different in what's needed to deal with the problem (sorry).

 

Olewo carrots are great! Pumpkin can help, but doesn't work that much on my current hounds.

 

Neither veggie will add a lot of calories, so I might ensure you keep the calories up a bit until you're sure your hound is absorbing the nutrients.

[Guest driser]

Our guy had hook worm so badly (vet figured he had them for a long time with no treatment) it took 8 months of treatment and while on treatment his stools were always bad. If you determine it's not the food .... we ended up switching to grain free unique protein kibble and that worked wonders (Limited Ingredient Nature's Balance Venison/Sweet Potato) but what also helps him is ProFlora probiotic chews. He gets one in am and one in pm. When we travel our house-sitter gives him an extra mid-day to keep stress soft stool at bay.

[Guest daytonasmom]

I've had Daytona about a year and a half now, and still have the same issue. It gets better for a while then worse for a bit, then better again. It did REALLY improve with the Olewo carrots! However the effect wears off - I don't always have it made in time for every meal so when he goes a few meals without it, it works great again. Regardless of food or additives, it's always runny later in the day or when he's nervous/excited, like at the dog park. I found a food called Wishbone that has helped a lot as well. it's expensive and around where I live can only be found at a specialty food shop, but worth it.

 

Your comment about talking about poo all the time made me laugh - I did the same thing for a few months!! it still pops up in conversation way more often for me than for most people I'm sure!

[Houndless]

Congratulations on your new addition!! I'm also a firm believer in Olewo Carrots!! My poor guy went through several worm and bacteria treatments but still had soft poop. Like yours it would be OK in the morning but by the end of the day, pudding. I don't know about your pup but my Newt also poops every time we let him out! We started him on the Olewo and literally with in two days we had nice firm poops. Been perfect ever since.

[Hubcitypam]

Green bag Iams. I spent a long time and a lot of dollars on vet visits fecaling, worming and high end fixes and a standing script for flagyl before I got so fed up I just said "to heck with it" and tossed a bag in my cart.

[Guest BillF]

My grey Olive could go from firm to cow pie during a 30 minute walk. Some Benefiber helped. Benefiber is all soluble fiber. It's available at pharmacies and grocery stores.

[anniebellshafe]

Zeppelin had the same exact cow pie poos and recently discovered that he likes pooping on the leash, which makes clean-up VERY difficult! We have had him a little over a month and the food that the adoption agency gave us ran out and they were not open when I went to get new food so I ended up with a tiny bag of Rachel Ray's Just 6 dog food and Zeppy's poo is now normal, and much easier to clean up and he loves it! I know every dog is different, but it has worked quite well for us!

[Guest Coco]

Ah, chatting about poo in the mornings!

We had the same issue with Coco, our otherwise healthy and reasonably well-adjusted blue greyhound who we adopted from Greyhound Rescue Fife last month (such lovely people). Coco has been spayed, is 3 years old, with nice teeth--post-cleaning. We switched from chicken-based Pet Greyhound Mix recommended by RGT to a chicken/rice food prepared by Tails.com. Loose stools cleared completely in 3 days - we went from 5 runny/day to 2 firm/day, with no straining and no problems.

Coco is crazy about this excellent food - she loves it, and her coat is looking really nice and shiny. We are hand-feeding her to extend her otherwise 20-second mealtimes. Nice for building trust, too.

Fortunately for us, changing Coco's food just once made all the difference.

Hoping it works out for you, too--

[txsbbtc]

Grain-free good and probiotics improved Allie's poops overnight.