How many poops are too many?

1822 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by BrittaS, Apr 29, 2016

BrittaS

Discussion Starter · Mar 24, 2016

Hello all!

I had to take Bri to the vet yesterday since she has a small infection on one of her paws. I was in luck as there was a dermatologist visiting, who was more than willing to check Bri out for no extra cost (her being an American Staffordshire and prone to skin allergies, I really appreciated it).
During her examination she asked me how many poops Bri has per day and I told her 4-5, which surprised her totally.

I know that 4-5 poops are a lot, but is that something to look out for? Most of the time her poops are firm, sometimes a little soft, but no diarrhea.
It was the same since the day we got her (1/31/16).
Back then she was on Blue Protection formula. In the first week I switched her to 4Health gran free duck and am now changing her to Canidae Pure Sea.
Amount wise I feed the lower end of what is printed on the packaging, but sure enough also work with treats (her kibble, some milk bones (yes, I know…), ham as high value). I sometimes add pumpkin and coconut oil and she eats a lot of leaves and sticks (chews them up and sometimes swallows, not all the time).

She is not overweight (49.3lbs, 22” shoulder, 24-26” long), has the tummy tug or what it’s called and you can easily feel the ribs, but not always see them.

Any suggestions of what I could be doing wrong or is she just pooping a lot?

Thanks a lot in advance!

edit: one thing I forgot: The poops are not all that big, mostly "small portions". When I take her outside or go on a walk, I always encourage her to go. Could it be that she is just always getting rid of something if there is just a little accumulation because I tell her to?

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Aspen726

· #2 · Mar 24, 2016

I probably wouldn't worry about the pooping. If she's active, it could be inducing her poop more. If it's not diarrhea or bloody and she's not straining to poop, I'd be inclined to think it's fine.

I would, however, be concerned about the sticks. If she swallows pieces of sticks, she could do some internal damage.

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KerriAnn

· #3 · Mar 24, 2016

Aspen726 said:
I probably wouldn't worry about the pooping. If she's active, it could be inducing her poop more. If it's not diarrhea or bloody and she's not straining to poop, I'd be inclined to think it's fine.

I would, however, be concerned about the sticks. If she swallows pieces of sticks, she could do some internal damage.

Great point Aspen! I wouldn't be too concerned either about how many times she is defecating each day (unless the actual pile seems to be different than usual) but would DEFINITELY try to stop her from eating sticks. Just like rawhide, sticks can get stuck in the intestinal tract and may cause some damage which may result in the need to have them surgically removed!

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BrittaS

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 24, 2016

Aspen726 said:
I probably wouldn't worry about the pooping. If she's active, it could be inducing her poop more. If it's not diarrhea or bloody and she's not straining to poop, I'd be inclined to think it's fine.

I would, however, be concerned about the sticks. If she swallows pieces of sticks, she could do some internal damage.

KerriAnn said:
Great point Aspen! I wouldn't be too concerned either about how many times she is defecating each day (unless the actual pile seems to be different than usual) but would DEFINITELY try to stop her from eating sticks. Just like rawhide, sticks can get stuck in the intestinal tract and may cause some damage which may result in the need to have them surgically removed!

Thanks you two, I thought the same, as long as she is happy and eating well, it shouldn't matter.

And yes, you're right, I should and I try. Unfortunately, I'm not always fast enough. I have nothing against her chewing sticks in general, but her drop it command is not good enough yet to spit out smaller pieces. She'll drop sticks/toys/you name it. But if it's in her mouth completely, no chance.

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MHDDOG2016

· #5 · Apr 29, 2016

Funny, I was wondering the same thing. I have had my puppy since 4/19 (he is 9 1/2 weeks old now) and he poops anywhere from 5-7 times a day. They vary from really firm (usually the first morning one) to soft-ish, but never loose. He is currently on Natural Balance limited ingredient venison and sweet potato (breeder started them all on that). I would like to switch foods and am wondering if that will change the number of poops per day. The protein content in the Earthborn Holistic is much higher. The Natural Balance has a lot of potato in it as a filler. Anyway, curious to see what happens with your pup as you switch foods.

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Dawnben

· #6 · Apr 29, 2016

MHDDOG2016 said:
Funny, I was wondering the same thing. I have had my puppy since 4/19 (he is 9 1/2 weeks old now) and he poops anywhere from 5-7 times a day. They vary from really firm (usually the first morning one) to soft-ish, but never loose. He is currently on Natural Balance limited ingredient venison and sweet potato (breeder started them all on that). I would like to switch foods and am wondering if that will change the number of poops per day. The protein content in the Earthborn Holistic is much higher. The Natural Balance has a lot of potato in it as a filler. Anyway, curious to see what happens with your pup as you switch foods.

More meat protein is a good thing. Natural Balance food list starts with potato which meant that the food contains more potato then anything else in the food.
I always like to see Meat or meat meal as the first ingredients.

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BrittaS

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 29, 2016

MHDDOG2016 said:
Funny, I was wondering the same thing. I have had my puppy since 4/19 (he is 9 1/2 weeks old now) and he poops anywhere from 5-7 times a day. They vary from really firm (usually the first morning one) to soft-ish, but never loose. He is currently on Natural Balance limited ingredient venison and sweet potato (breeder started them all on that). I would like to switch foods and am wondering if that will change the number of poops per day. The protein content in the Earthborn Holistic is much higher. The Natural Balance has a lot of potato in it as a filler. Anyway, curious to see what happens with your pup as you switch foods.

Totally forgot about this thread

So: The frequency didn't change a lot, the consistency got a little better (not that soft anymore), but she now has 2 bigger poops a day and then 2-3 really small ones. With the small ones I certainly feel like she is "doing" it for me, since I encourage her. Maybe I should stop doing that and see what happens? (hopefully no accident, since we're good on that end for 6 weeks now, wooohooo!)

But since she's a happy camper, I'm not over worrying at this point. We've been to the vet quite a lot as well in the past 2-3 weeks, since she broke off one of her nails very close to the base, and they are happy with her overall demeanor and appearance.

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