When Is It Too Much...

[Mynewbestfriend]

I have yet another query...Haha. You'll be fed up with me sooner or later!

On the matter of pooing....What would we consider excessive? My 5 and half month old Basset is pooing like an ABSOLUTE trooper. I kid you not, I go out there EVERY day and I'm picking up at least 8. If I left this even two days, the garden would be absolutely strewn. In the beginning we had 'runny' issues big time (sorry for the descriptions). Through trial and error we've firmed him up considerably. The change of diet hasn't however reduced the number of droppings much to my dismay.

I have a poodle (small) who does one, maybe two maximum a day. I know we are talking VERY different dogs here -- but I've had big dogs before (retrievers) and even they never excreted the amount the new fellow is. Being a pup I am giving him two decent sized meals a day for which I would expect perhaps two solids per meal. It seems his output is at least double this at present.

Could this be an age thing? I mean, human babies poo a heap ...so I'm HOPING perhaps as he ages a little, this will settle down somewhat. I'd cringe if someone suggested it could be a predisposition of the breed. In all honesty I'm not feeling it's entirely manageable with everything else thrown in the mix (especially children who want to frolick around the garden).

Experience / opinions, please?

[Red Fox]

8 per day is a LOT even for a puppy!

What are you feeding him? Perhaps you could look at reducing the amount of grains (if any) in his diet?

I know when my boy was on dry (as a young pup) his poops were much bigger and more frequent then they are now on raw.

[Mynewbestfriend]

8 per day is a LOT even for a puppy!

What are you feeding him? Perhaps you could look at reducing the amount of grains (if any) in his diet?

I know when my boy was on dry (as a young pup) his poops were much bigger and more frequent then they are now on raw.

He's on Royal Canine. Ironically he's firmed up since taking away the chicken necks. I'm not sure whether there's something more at play however, perhaps an intolerance to chicken -- a whole different discussion again. Given the RC is deyhdrated poultry as the first ingredient perhaps it too is too much. All I know is, the raw stuff -- puppy mince, etc. acts like dynamite too. The breeder recommended this along with Supercoat and on bringing him home, he was runny from the word go. So back to the drawing board we went, working our way through chicken necks (which had a similar effect -- haven't dared tried chicken mince!); settling finally with EcoPet rolls (for something a little tasty with his dry) which at least aren't knocking his belly out of whack too much & not making my stomach turn in the process of daily clear up!

But yes, I agree; 8 is a lot - and I thought I was being over the top about it. It seems every couple of hours he's off to find a spot to get on with solid business. (Throwing hands up in the air!)

[sallyandtex]

8 per day is a LOT even for a puppy!

What are you feeding him? Perhaps you could look at reducing the amount of grains (if any) in his diet?

I know when my boy was on dry (as a young pup) his poops were much bigger and more frequent then they are now on raw.

Old dog (now deceased 1-2 poos/day)

New dogs 2, 5 month old kelpies......BUCKETLOADS each day. Male does much bigger and much more than the female, even tho same food!

[Mynewbestfriend]

reassuring to know I'm not the only one suffering!!....

Maybe the dry is encouraging fast(er) elimination too. I'm keen to try these BARF patties having now had a look at their website although I'm not sure they'll be so cost effective (worked out $1.75 per patty and I reckon I'd need to feed about 3 per day!) AND I'm going to profess to not wanting at all to mess around with making my own RAW for him. Chicken necks / frames are out too based on his sensitive stomach history. It leaves limited options which is tedious!...Onwards we go.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Mynewbestfriend

[sallyandtex]

reassuring to know I'm not the only one suffering!!....

Maybe the dry is encouraging fast(er) elimination too. I'm keen to try these BARF patties having now had a look at their website although I'm not sure they'll be so cost effective (worked out $1.75 per patty and I reckon I'd need to feed about 3 per day!) AND I'm going to profess to not wanting at all to mess around with making my own RAW for him. Chicken necks / frames are out too based on his sensitive stomach history. It leaves limited options which is tedious!...Onwards we go.

We find it economical to feed mix of puppy dry and raw pet mince from Aldi (kangaroo mainly., very low fat) at dinner.

Brekky they have dry mixed with porridge oats (raw) and egg/milk mixture. Oh, and the odd raw banes to chew.

WE had our fair share of runny poos, vet said it's just a puppy thing they get the runs sometimes.

[APBT]

The chicken necks should firm up his stools due to the bone content in them, also things like puppy mice and the pet rolls are crap, if u want to feed good fresh meat keep on the chicken necks and then add some carcasses then start to mix it up with different animal meats and bones later on.

Just seen your last post on the sensitive stomach, ive never had that problem with a dog so im not much help, just dont get too fussy with his food and he will get used to it,

[Mynewbestfriend]

The chicken necks should firm up his stools due to the bone content in them, also things like puppy mice and the pet rolls are crap, if u want to feed good fresh meat keep on the chicken necks and then add some carcasses then start to mix it up with different animal meats and bones later on.

Just seen your last post on the sensitive stomach, ive never had that problem with a dog so im not much help, just dont get too fussy with his food and he will get used to it,

Thanks, I wish it were the case that chicken necks / puppy mince were better for his belly. Definitely not- we had soft serve all over the garden for days and days whilst I thought his belly was adjusting when each were trialled. I think I just need to accept that for the time being, things are as they are as far as output is concerned (the high number of stools that is). At least with his current diet of Eco pet & RC it's NOT runny anymore. I wouldn't wish such a clean up on anyone!

[elsa]

Chicken mince is generally gentler on the tummy, and less inclined to give allergies or reactions. Is there any preservative in it I wonder. Our new puppy went very quiet after about a week, and we put him on Yakult to put some good bacteria back in his tummy. 30 hours later - different puppy and he hasn't looked back. He will only poo about once or twice a day though. He is on beef mince, puppy biscuits and puppy milk. We make his milk up, and it is enough for 3 feeds. In that goes one Yakult and an egg. His coat is beautiful and he is a picture of health. I would be really concerned if he was going 8 times a day. Silly question I suppose, but has be been wormed?

[Mynewbestfriend]

Silly question I suppose, but has be been wormed?

Yes, he's definitely been wormed -- twice in fact since I've brought him home - Drontal and Sentinel. I might give some Yakult a whirl and see how it pans out.

Thanks again all.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Mynewbestfriend

[Dogsfevr]

I would go to the chemist & buy either flora max or a similiar product for relining good gut bacteria.

You can add pumpkin to his meal is great for tummy issues.

Besides his food does he get any treats(pig ears or the likes??)

I have also experienced with some of my dogs very lose tummies whilst teething

If it was my dog i would actually cut a meal out every few days & see how his tummy goes.

[APBT]

get some natural yogurt, the one with natural acidophilus GOOD bacteria will help with the upset tummy, just a tablespoon or two and see how he goes.

Edited March 9, 2010 by APBT

[koalathebear]

Our kelpie/border collie puppy (13 weeks, almost 14 weeks) poops a lot, too. They were runny when he was on Pedigree - which was awful. When we switched him to Science Diet, his stools firmed up a lot but he still poops very frequently during the day. Today, he had runny stools which we're not sure about - he seems very lively and happy still and he's drinking water so we're not too fussed right now, but it's possible that the treats given out at puppy class unsettled his tummy. No idea

I sympathise with the having to clean up the yard thing though. We have to do a poo pick every day otherwise things get out of control. I know we should be confining him to one spot to do his toileting but to be honest he's less likely accidentally tread in the stuff when he poops in different areas

[wuffles]

My Aussie pup poops like a trooper too

I have noticed that talking to friends, the more active dogs seem to poo more. Just an observation of mine.

Our older dog poops twice a day. The puppy poops around 5-6 times a day. They're both on Royal Canin dry food, albeit different varieties.

[fiveplusone]

You've made me feel good.....my almost 7 month old poops about 3 times a day and I thought that was bad! Now I feel 3 is pretty good after all!

[tez]

Gus, our 15 week old pup poos quite alot too at the moment. Maybe 5 or 6 times but all formed and ok. We adopted him from the RSPCA a week ago and have left him on the Science Diet dry as we didn't want to add to his stress levels by changing it. My 15 month old dog only poos once or twice a day and is on Advance Active alternating with chicken frames. Given some time, I will be swapping him over to Advance and will see how he goes poo wise after that. I am keen to start him on frames/ wings but am frightened he won't chew them as he does seem to inhale his food!

[koalathebear]

Gus, our 15 week old pup poos quite alot too at the moment. Maybe 5 or 6 times but all formed and ok. We adopted him from the RSPCA a week ago and have left him on the Science Diet dry as we didn't want to add to his stress levels by changing it. My 15 month old dog only poos once or twice a day and is on Advance Active alternating with chicken frames. Given some time, I will be swapping him over to Advance and will see how he goes poo wise after that. I am keen to start him on frames/ wings but am frightened he won't chew them as he does seem to inhale his food!

*laugh* I thought our puppy as the only one who inhales his food without chewing! See

. It's quite remarkable how quickly he eats.

[VJB]

We get about 4 poo's here on a regular day. Nice firm stools are the best, baked in the sun, then really easy to pick up.

[dancinbcs]

When I first started feeding raw I had one dog that didn't seem to tolerate chicken wings or necks at all, until I worked out it was the combination of raw with dry food that was the problem for him. When I changed him over to raw completely and got rid of the dry food he was fine.

I do my own home made barf and my dogs only poo about half as much as any I fed in the past with commercial dry food.

I would try taking your boy off dry altogether for a few days and feed chicken wings, lamb neck, lamb chops and some big hunks of gravy beef (no chopped or mince meats at all) and see what happens. If he is ok with that start adding barf patties to balance the diet if you don't want to do your own mix.

If you read the book "Give Your Dog a Bone" you will find out that dogs digest food better if they have to do a lot of chewing before it gets to their stomach. That is why mince and chopped meat can cause tummy upsets.

[Fiona'n'Theo]

I have yet another query...Haha. You'll be fed up with me sooner or later!

On the matter of pooing....What would we consider excessive? My 5 and half month old Basset is pooing like an ABSOLUTE trooper. I kid you not, I go out there EVERY day and I'm picking up at least 8. If I left this even two days, the garden would be absolutely strewn. In the beginning we had 'runny' issues big time (sorry for the descriptions). Through trial and error we've firmed him up considerably. The change of diet hasn't however reduced the number of droppings much to my dismay.

I have a poodle (small) who does one, maybe two maximum a day. I know we are talking VERY different dogs here -- but I've had big dogs before (retrievers) and even they never excreted the amount the new fellow is. Being a pup I am giving him two decent sized meals a day for which I would expect perhaps two solids per meal. It seems his output is at least double this at present.

Could this be an age thing? I mean, human babies poo a heap ...so I'm HOPING perhaps as he ages a little, this will settle down somewhat. I'd cringe if someone suggested it could be a predisposition of the breed. In all honesty I'm not feeling it's entirely manageable with everything else thrown in the mix (especially children who want to frolick around the garden).

Experience / opinions, please?

HAhahahahah - this is too funny!!! Theo is also a machine when it comes to poos - about 6/day!!! I can't believe it since I know the amount that goes in the other end! thank god it seems to be roughly normal - his output is almost a daily source of conversation in our family now (pretty sad I know!). Our 9yr old beagle is also a bowel on legs - about 4 per walk but it's hard to guage how much he eats as he does scavenge from the garden! Just a quick question - has it slowed up? theo is also on two large feeds of dry food per day.

cheers Fiona