Poop!

[2012voltron]

Hey everybody. Hope you are all well and feeling good. I have a question. How many times a day does your Greyhound poop? We are new Greyhound parents and we have Loco, a very sweet and loving boy. He weighs about 77 lbs and and is 2 1/2 years old. He eats 5 cups of beef flavored kibble a day ( made by Diamond food co), 2 in the morning, 1 at noon, and 2 in the evening. He is always hungry and is very food motivated. He poops on average 5 times a day. We are giving him some canned pumpkin with his food and his stools range from mushy to formed but soft. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks

[greysmom]

Have him tested and treated for hookworm. 5 cups sounds like a lot of food. Read through the hookworm thread in the Health and Medical section.

[Time4ANap]

Many if not most of the greyhounds coming off tracks are testing positive for hookworm. If your vet or the group's vet has tested and ruled it out, I would test again just to be sure he is clear.

 

5 cups is a lot of food for a 77lb dog. Also check the bag to see what their feeding recommendation is for his weight. Over feeding will also cause soft mushy poop and diarrhea. Most kibble will call for a total of 3-4 cups a day.

 

Worms could explain the hunger and soft stools, but the excess food could also cause the mushy stools.

 

If he is clear of hookworms you might try a food with a different protein source such as chicken and see if it satisfies him more. Be sure to make one change at a time and only about 7-10 days between changes to see if each change makes a difference. Also, not all dogs tolerate pumpkin. It works for some and gives others even worse diarrhea. Others will probably suggest some other supplements, possibly a bland diet for a bit, etc, but you need to find the root cause first. Definitely rule out the hookworms first before jumping though the hoops a food change and go from there, one step at a time. Good luck.

[Houndtime]

My 83 lb boy eats a heavy cup with some wet food in the morning (heavy meaning over filled) and two cups with some wet food in the evening. I would say he eats about 3-1/2 cups plus the wet. He may be hungry right now, but it should calm down. I would get him checked for worms. It is just a fact of life for dogs coming off of the tracks. Easily fixed.

[keeperdean]

If he checks negative for Hookworns, you might want to consider Olewo dehydrated carrots. I had a similar problem with my Grey. Did extensive research (including this forum) and found out that a lot of people give their dogs this for loose stools/diarrhea. My Grey’s stool firmed up within 24 hours. I give it to him with every meal and haven’t had a problem since.

[Bizeebee]

First and foremost, check again and again for hooks or another parasite - especially if he's from the USA.

 

We've also found it's become helpful to look at calories rather than cups. Too much volume can definitely cause softer poops than you want, but if you get a higher calorie food you can get more into him with less volume. Being that young, he probably has more energy and burns through more calories faster than a middle aged hound.

 

Another thing I've wondered about with my own is, is he pooping that many times because he poops every time you let him out? If he's really new he might be thinking, "well, I'm outside, better do my business" whether he would really need to or not.

 

We also find that Olewo carrots work better than pumpkin for firming things up.