Here’s the Poop

The 411 on Your Dog’s Health

We know it’s not a pretty topic, but it still needs to be addressed. Yes, we’re talking about your dog’s poop. And since you’re already picking it up, it’s one of the easiest ways to track your dog’s health.

Dog poop is a waste product of digestion. It’s a complex and lengthy process from start to finish, so a lot of things can impact the final product. That also means the poo can vary significantly from dog to dog.

However, you can follow some basic guidelines to determine if your dog needs a new diet, some extra exercise, or a vet visit.

First, a healthy dog poo shouldn’t be too hard, soft, or smelly. If they’re too loose (diarrhea), hard, or stinky, it could be time to talk to your vet to get them back on track.

The other key thing to watch for is color.

Green

Green poop can occur for a variety of reasons, from eating leafy greens – or grass – to gnawing on a green dental chew.

However, if a dog hasn’t eaten green items lately, it can indicate nutrient absorption problems or intestinal parasites. Worse yet, if it’s fluorescent green, it could be a sign your dog consumed mouse or rat poison.

Orange

Orange is another common dog poo color because of foods many love, like carrots, pumpkin, and squash.

But when a dog doesn’t have these foods in their diet, it can be from an underlying illness, like gallbladder or liver disease.

Yellow

Unlike green and orange poops, yellow doesn’t occur because of food. Instead, this often indicates intestinal, gallbladder, or liver disease.

Don’t wait to contact your vet.

Red

Unless you enjoy feeding your dog beets, red poop – or streaks on the poo – warrant a trip to the vet or emergency vet immediately. It’s often a sign of a problem in the colon or rectum.

Black

The only time you should ever consider black poo normal is if a veterinarian gave them activated charcoal. This treatment gets administered when a dog consumes certain toxins, like mouse poison or chocolate.

Otherwise, similar to red poop, you should seek veterinary care as soon as possible if black, tarry stools appear since it’s often due to bleeding in the small intestine or stomach.

Gray

Gray poops are also another sign your dog needs to see the vet. You should always consider this color abnormal, especially if it seems greasy, loose, or your dog has lost weight. Gray poo typically indicates a problem with the pancreas.

Brown Poo with Spots

Finally, it can be tempting to ignore brown poops. After all, brown is normal, right? Not if it has spots. Those white dots could be an intestinal parasite, so it’s best to get it tested.

Keeping an eye on your dog’s poo day after day can make it easier to determine what’s normal for them. And if you have concerns about what you see, play it safe and contact your vet.