I look at a lot of poop pictures, sent in by caring pet parents. I see a lot of cats and dogs with intestinal issues. So- why am I looking at a lot of poop pictures? Lots of reasons.
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Probably the biggest reason is this: because people want to verify if what they’re looking at is OK or not. Part of the reason people don’t know what healthy pet poop is would be because people are used to kibble poop. That’s right-kibble poop. What is kibble poop? Firm, large, Tootsie rolls.
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Kibble companies have worked very hard over the last several decades to figure out what kind of filler to put into the food to make “the perfect poop“.What are some of these things? Pecan shells. Sawdust. They used to use peanut shells. Can you say, inert undigestible fiber?
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So, I think we’re a little bit brainwashed because what does undigestible fiber do in the intestines? Mostly it takes up space. And it creates really firm, big poop. This becomes what we view as normal.
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One of the key aspects to my pet wellness center is to help people feed real food to their pets because 80% of the time it fixes the problem they are reaching out to me about in the first place. Naturally, things tend to change in the poop department because we’ve changed the food.
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The first thing that people notice is the volume of the feces gets a whooooole lot smaller. Depending on what people choose to feed, sometimes the poop gets really soft. So now- I’m seeing pictures of formed but soft poop. I often suggest that people look at their own poop after they’re done. Because when you think about it, it’s kind of crazy! We expect dog poop to be like a Tootsie roll yet if we humans pooped that hard, we would call it constipation.
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Normally -people poop is formed, but fairly soft. Like you might honestly have a little bit of trouble picking it up in the grass. Fortunately, humans don’t poop on the grass very often. So if our dog poops in the grass and it’s a little bit soft and mushy, it’s actually OK! I know. Hard to believe.
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Other things I see pictures of commonly: there’s a mucus coating around the poop. This signals inflammation.
Sometimes people send me pictures that have a little bit of blood on the end. Again. Inflammation.
The thing to remember, is that by the time people are coming to see me, they’ve already been to the regular veterinarian dozens of times. And had dozens of fecal test done. And found nothing.
So if you see a slightly abnormal poop and you wanna go get one more fecal test, you can. But why would it change now? If you want to look like a Tootsie roll, then you’re gonna have to do something to firm it up. People who feed raw diet with ground bone usually get very firm poop. So people add fiber.
Pumpkin is the universal normalizer. It makes constipation softer; makes soft poop firmer. Raw goat milk does the same thing, by the way, and I think it’s a lot more nutritious.
Sometimes people send me pictures of pure liquid. In this case, there’s an intestine not absorbing. Sometimes I see pictures of mostly mucousy red jelly. It’s still a VERY pissed off intestine.
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Many times people panic anytime they see diarrhea. They think their dog’s going to get dehydrated. It’s a loving concern. But when was the last time you had diarrhea and it was so bad that you had to go get fluids? It really isn’t all that common! And if you are drinking and not vomiting, but only having diarrhea, it really isn’t reason to go to the hospital. But people love their pets and so they panic and off they go to the Emergency Veterinarian.
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When is abnormal poop time to go to the emergency room? When your pet doesn’t feel good! Vomiting. Weakness. Dehydration as measured by lifting up the skin at the back of the neck. If it stays up, your pup is dehydrated.
Bottom line: not all abnormal poop is truly abnormal and most abnormal poop is not an emergency. It might be worthy of further investigation, but not an emergency.
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Still seeing patients in Tampa, Clearwater, and virtually.