Poo!

[sammysam]

I know every dog is different but I just want to roughly find out how much poo is normal!

Our (almost) 10wk old Weimaraner is full of it! He must poo at least 8-10 times a day! All well formed and decent sizes. Surely that is too much? Is it just because he is still so young or do we need to think about starting to change his food?

At this rate by the time he's full grown we'll need a wheely bin just for his poo for our stupid twice a month rubbish collection!

If it is the food, can you suggest a good food to try? I can't believe he can actually be digesting anything from it!

I'm bumping for you because I would like to talk puppy poo as well.

My 5.5mos old collie has loose, pale greenish poo. She is fed on the food recommended by her breeder (Royal Canin Puppy) with a splash of fish 4 dogs salmon oil on top. I am feeding the recommended amount split into several feeds during the day. This is because I use part of her daily allowance to stuff kongs, put in toys,etc. Any suggestions as to where I am going wrong? Recommendations for food?

Sammysam - what sort of food is your puppy eating? Some brands of dog food are bulked up with fillers which can make your puppy poo more often. 8-10 poos per day does seem a lot. I seem to remember that at that age our collie puppy was doing maybe 4-5 poos per day.

Woodrose-He's on Advanced Nutrition large puppy (from pets at home) I'm assuming that it can't be a great one (as it is their own brand) but the breeder thought it was great. We were planning on gradually changing it soon but not sure what to. 4-5 was more what I was expecting....
I hope someone can come along and answer both our questions soon!

I haven't heard of Advanced Nutrition. Royal Canin is supposed to be good and our elderly collie is thriving on the senior version. Much healthier poos than when he was on Fish4Dogs . It's why, like you, I'm a bit reluctant to change my puppy's food until I can get a number of views. Our local vets, I'm afraid, tend to point me in the direction of Hills Science Diet which they conveniently sell in their surgery .

So come on, mn "poo experts" , Sammysam and I need your help!

Both Royal Canin and the Advanced Nutrition PaH food contain maize - have you tried eliminating that?

Royal Canin puppy also contains wheat which would concern me, and in fact a lot of fillers for what is marketed as a premium food.

I always recommend Fish4Dogs, if not a raw diet - a raw-fed dog produces one tiny chalky poop a day.

I wouldn't personally be giving fish oil if my dog had loose poo. Is there a specific reason for the oil?

8-9 poos a day sounds like a lot but I guess he is on 4 meals a day. If they are perfectly formed and he is healthy I wouldn't be too worried. I guess he will have to go back to the vet soon for his vaccinations and I would mention it to him.

I am a raw feeder so sorry cannot recommend a commercial diet

I knew there would be poo experts out there! Thank you so much for your help.

Shineon crazydiamond - Funnily enough, my senior collie and my friend's collies all had loose poos when they were on fish4dogs so I am hesitant to put my puppy on it.

Minimu - The salmon oil was recommended as a coat conditioner and joint lubricant. I hadn't realised it would cause loose poo! I'll take her off it and see if she improves.

Hephaestus - Interesting point about the wheat and maize. I had never used Royal Canin before, but puppy came with a HUGE bag from the breeder who raved about it and asked that we keep her on it until she was at least one year old. At the time, old collie was having horrid poos & foul breath with fish4dogs so we tried him with Royal Canin as well. It seems to really agree with my old boy, but my puppy's poos have never been normal.

Minimu - I would LOVE to feed my dogs a raw diet but, unfortunately, I have very little freezer space. I think I will look into switching her to Orijen. It seems to come highly recommended and without wheat and maize fillers.

I have just changed my puppy from RC Maxi Junior to Arden Grange Puppy and her poos are less.

If you dont want to feed a BARF diet and feed a dry only food then try to choose one that doesnt contain wheat/maize.

I like Arden Grange and Fish4Dogs, but I wouldnt be adding oil to the food, the dry food should have everything needed for coat condition.

Oh, and I do think 8-9 poos a day is excessive, to me that means that the dog isnt getting all the goodness out of the food OR you are over feeding your pup.

woodrose RC do different 'types' of food for different breeds of dog, so one size doesnt fit all, just thought I would mention that.

JaxTellers - Yes, I am aware that RC do breed specific food. Apparently, border collies are a "generic" breed so don't warrant a special food. How very dare they!

Thanks for the replies!

We're feeding the exact amount it says we should, the poos do sometimes look quite fiberous (sp?) so being bulked out with maize makes sense. DH thinks that i'm exaggerating, but seeing as he isn't clearing up most of them I don't think he realises!

I'll look into arden grange and fish4dogs, I'd love to feed a BARF diet but we have vertually no freezer space and DH would have to take over all feeding duties as i'm not sure my stomach could cope with it!

Are there any other foods we should look into?

James Wellbeloved complete dry food helps our dog who has sensitive digestion. all pet shops sell it so easy to get hold of

I have both my woofers on Orijen. Labradoodle and Staffy.

2 nice dark, firm poos a day from each.