Dogs poops are to soft General Chat

So my dogs poops still seem softer than they should be and can sometimes be hard to pick up. Also they will take a poo while on a walk that’s mostly good and 15 minutes later will have a tiny bit of the runs.

I did a fecal test and no parasites. I changed foods to one recommend to me by the manager at the pet store to help with this issue. Poops are some better but still too soft. I got some doggie probiotics but that didn’t solve it so we went to the vets yesterday. He agreed poop is too soft. I cut out a panel from their food with ingredients and %’s to show vet. His thought was that the “super premium” dog foods can be very rich. He looked up the brand I switched to and suggested trying their weight management food. It is 27% protein vs the 28% of what I currently am feeding. The difference is in the fat and fiber %’s. The weight management food is 8% fat and 17% fiber vs 18% fat and 6% fiber of what I’m currently feeding. The are not overweight (although have put on a few lbs since I’ve switched because they like this brand more. It’s same % protein and fat as the taste of the wild I was feeding. It’s a denser food so I need to cut back, but he said their weight was fine). They do not carry the weight management line but they are ordering some for me and some to put out on the shelves as well. I don’t need it but he said they’ll get the senior food as well. Please share your thoughts with me. He didn’t think it’s an allergy

It's probably more to do with scent marking than a problem. My girl before Rosie used to drive me nuts doing it

You think the bit of runny poo is scent marking? They can control the difference in their poop on purpose? That still wouldn’t answer the poo that isn’t easy to pick up.. ie too soft

Lower fat and higher fibre sounds a good plan to me, and should slow the digestion down.
Ed always does his three poops of the day on his morning walk. The first is like a rod, the second is a normal cigar, and by the third time, it is beginning to get sticky to pick up. Merry's three are morning, lunchtime and suppertime, and they are always solid. (I know, too much information). I reckon that the length of time the poop spends in the gut has a lot to do with it, as water is being withdrawn from the waste in the colon - hence it getting looser when they go more frequently.
How many times a day do you feed? I think smaller quantities are digested more thoroughly than a single large meal. I feed mine at lunch and suppertime, (but have to confess to giving them a tiny breakfast as well ).

Not to much info.. I brought up the subject. My dogs eat twice a day. When I go to the acupuncturist they always ask about them..

Jade used to do solid poos, but when out on a walk she'd do the solid one followed by a number of runny, even watery ones. The reason I believe it was scent marking as she used to often (but not always) do it over where my boy dog, Sam, had lifted his leg to mark

That’s interesting because I don’t see the runny/watery poos in our yard but do see it on walks at the Xmas tree farm where lots of other dogs walk too. They both mark a lot with their pee when we walk there. I laugh at Bandit by the end because he’s lifting his leg but really has nothing left in the tank. I’ll keep my eyes more on this in the yard to confirm it. Still doesn’t explain the poops that are softer than they should be.

So the fiber slows digestion which allows more moisture to be removed from the digestive tract and come out as pee instead. Do you know how the fat content plays into this scenario?

With large breed dogs with a predisposition to bloat you want to give at least 2 meals a day.

The lower fat and higher fiber diet is an experiment. If it works I may find a food, or mix foods, to bring those %’s of fat and fiber somewhere in the middle.

So while typing this I looked up bloat which led me to EPI which made me wonder if it’s some type of pancreas deficiency.... Vet didn’t mention it, probably not the issue.

Marc - talk about a worrying mother [you know what I mean] - looking up bloat and leading to EPI - talk to your vet. I know not all vets are experts regarding nutrition, but they are mostly better than Google. Well, sometimes. Maybe.

I’ve often noticed that 2nd or 3rd poo is soft, I remember being told the poo coming out last, wasn't in the intestines long enough to form a firm stool and as long as it started solid not to worry about it.

GSDs are well known for sensitive stomachs I found mine did best on a lower protein between 18 to 24.
You could be feeding too much, I found that can cause soft poos, or it could be the food is to rich or there is intolerance to something in it.

I was laughing at myself for reading to much on line.. the internet can be good and bad..

Well I don’t think it’s over feeding and the first poop isn’t as firm as it should be. Hopefully when I change foods this will clear up

In case anyone wonders, Marc knew exactly what I meant.

I think.

In case anyone wonders, Marc knew exactly what I meant.

I think.

I hoped for the same thing, turned out my Akita does have EPI. Although the first indication is runny poop, yellowish brown and looks like a cow pat, the next will be rapid weight loss. My dog had runny poops for a couple of months, she was always hungry and never turned her nose up at any kind of food. She was dropping pounds every other day until her hip bones where visible and her spine too. She was 100% healthy and gaining weight right up until she turned a year old, then her pancreas just pack in and is now useless. Now she is just above the perfect weight for a female Akita, 82lbs and has energy to burn. There is no reason an EPI dog will show any further signs of discomfort as long as they have the required enzymes in their food, they can and will live a perfectly normal life.

However with runny poops and stable weight, you could probably rule out EPI, but the weight loss came a while after the weird pooping for my dog. You could still give the dog the enzymes that EPI dogs need, its hardly likely to hurt him/her as its a natural enzyme from the pancreas. Just give him/her a lower measure than directed for EPI, which is 1 teaspoon for every cup of food. So a little pinch would probably be enough to get things moving again.

Also make sure the water you're giving your dog is clean too, try bottled water, a decent one, do some research on the particular water treatment used. It could be something that simple. I bought a Berky water filter years ago and my dogs get only that, I would not under any circumstance give them water directly from any kitchen faucet. Hell I wouldn't touch tap water myself either lol.

@Branjo Snow - I do not know anything about EPI but I do know something about tap water and the water treatment. The tap water where I live is considered 100% pure but there is something in the purification chemicals that is an allergen for me. And yes, they are chemicals and I can smell it.

So I have a water machine, like an office water cooler, and containers of mineral waters are delivered every four weeks. Apart from the fact that I can get hot water [for coffee or tea] from a tap on it that I can reach from my chair, and cold water when I want], I also give it to Tikva. Because if I will not drink tap water, I will not ask her [and Pereg before] to also drink it.

I did wonder if it was possibly water related. I have well water, which I don’t drink but do use for showers/baths, dishes, and brushing my teeth. All my pets have drank this water for 25+ years and haven’t had an issue with it, but it’s possible it’s become contaminated with something. It does sit for awhile in a storage tank that gravity feeds my house.

I looked up the Berky water filter and may get one. Thanks for mentioning it!! I should get my water tested too. I’ll add it to my list of stuff I should spend $$$ on. It’s a long list...

Actually both my dogs poops are getting better with the switch from taste of the wild to nutrisouce. Bandit’s are a bit firmer than Katie Mae’s. I haven’t switched to the weight management food yet with the lower fat% and higher fiber% because it hasn’t come in yet.

I have to take Bandit to the vet tomorrow for what I think is a small wound/infection from a foxtail so I’ll talk with him more about all this, including the possibility it’s water related, although I don’t think that’s what’s going on and about the enzymes too.

I know just very recently I mentioned on another thread how my last Akita was bulletproof to foxtails... well I guess I tempted fate with that comment because I’m pretty sure that’s what’s going on with Bandit. I thought about trying to clean it and take care of it myself but decided better to let the vet do it before it gets worse.

Better let the vet sort it out Marc, then you can always ask him/her about the possibility of the water.

Can you take a sample of water to be tested?

Bandit had a foxtail, the vet found and removed it. The vets wife who’s a vet tech brought us into the exam room and another tech came in to help shave the area. The 2nd vet tech asked if she should get a muzzle and was told bandit didn’t need one. They had a bad situation in their kennel, a woman who worked there was badly bitten on the face by an Akita. So his wife and I held him while the vet cleaned out the wound and searched for the foxtail. He was so well behaved. The vet said he really likes my dogs temperament, that they are well behaved Akitas. He has to take antibiotics for a week.

He has been licking it a little bit. I’ll call in the morning and see if he needs an e-collar. Katie Mae has been sniffing it too. They’re playing right now.

He weighed 83lbs so he hasn’t gained weight like Katie Mae has since I switched their food, and she was spayed. I forgot to mention that their poops are getting much firmer. Oh well. Glad I found the foxtail before it got real bad.

Get well soon Bandit. Whereabouts the foxtail penetrated?