The Scoop on Poop: Part 2

In part one of the Scoop on Poop we talked about all the things that can cause a new foster dog to have loose stool. As I mentioned in the first post, there is a difference between loose stool and full on debilitating diarrhea so if your dog is lethargic and not acting like themselves, call the vet. If they are their regular punk self but just with a drippy derriere then read on...

I want to share some of the things that have worked for me over the years when I was trying to get a dog's digestive system back on track.

Pumpkin:

I still remember as a new foster parent the first time I used pumpkin puree on a foster dog. I had been struggling for a couple days to get their gut settled and a veteran foster parent suggested adding some pumpkin into their food. "I thought that was for when they are constipated?" I asked, confused. She told me it works for both constipation and loose stool. "What? That makes no sense." But nothing else had worked so I mixed a spoonful in with their food. And it worked! Pumpkin is MAGIC!

I roast up large batches of sweet potato or pumpkin and freeze it in quart freezer bags since I go through a lot of it

Why does it work? A couple reasons. First it adds some bulky, insoluble fiber into their gut which bulks things up and keeps things moving. But more important for our purpose, it also has high amounts of soluble fiber in it  which tends to coat and soothe the intestines as it passes through.

You can just buy the ready to go canned pumpkin puree that you use to make pie. Make sure NOT to get the can that has the sugar and spice added. If a can is too much you can always freeze the extra in ice cube trays and then use it as needed with future foster dogs.

Another easy option is the product "Firm Up"   made by Diggin Your Dog. It's a dehydrated pumpkin powder you can just mix with a bit of water as you need.

Perfect Form:

This powder made by The Honest Kitchen is equally as magical as pumpkin but is especially helpful for dogs with super sensitive guts. The herbal mixture works to coat and soothe the intestines. This is something to get a bout of diarrhea very quickly under control. They now have Perfect Form available in small packets too so you only have to open how much you need and can keep the rest fresh. Amazing stuff! One thing to note: picky dog aren't going to want to eat this. Apparently it tastes a bit nasty but my dogs have always sucked it right down when it is mixed with a wet food.

Probiotics:
I know that I told you the probiotics can loosen the stool. BUT, as it gets to work it can really help clean up the gut, get a good balance of bacteria in there, and help get rid of any imbalance issues that might be causing loose stool.

I'm not talking yogurt or cottage cheese here. I'm talking a high potency, refrigerated probiotic powder that you buy in a health food store. Even the most natural of indie pet food stores rarely carry  probiotics over 10 million CFU (colony forming units). Something in the 5-10 billion CFU range is a better bet, I've found.

A good probiotic helps add healthy microflora to the gut which will break food down but also clean up the lining of the intestines. I am currently reading up on which bacteria are best, especially for dogs, but I do know that if you must use a food source rather than the powder, kiefer is a better bet  than yogurt as its strains of bacteria tend to colonize in the gut better, making the effect more lasting. Kiefer also has a much higher bacteria count than yogurt.

Canned Dog Food:
Sometimes kibble (or raw) is just too much for a stressed out, unhealthy dog to break down. Switching to a high quality canned food will make digestion much easier on them and will get some moisture into them as well.

SeaCure:

This stinky powder is a supplement made out of hydrolyzed (i.e. pre-digested) Pacific Whiting (Ocean White Fish). It is loaded with amino acids and peptides that can fix almost any gut problem. The idea of the powder was actually developed as a food source for starving people whose digestive systems had pretty much shut down. This is another amazing product and this one both provides essential nutrients and balances the gut. Great for sick puppies or elderly dogs who are struggling.

The Scoop on Poop: Part 1

Anyone who is not a dog lover should not read further. Dog lover's are inordinately obsessed with poop and this post proves that so consider yourself warned. And now, onward...

As a new foster parent when I had a foster dog with loose stool I would always panic and assume a trip to the vet was immediately in order. Over time though I learned to calm down about this and started to see there were so many reasons that a foster dog would have smoothie poo that honestly, it's a miracle they ever arrive with poop of a normal consistency.

Pictured is Morrison, a foster Rat Terrier with New Rattitude Rescue and king of the contortionist style of pooping!

In hopes of calming the fears of new foster parents out there or foster parents who still quake at the site of a drippy-butted dog, I'm going to lay out some of those reasons now. First though, let's start with signs that you should call a vet.

If your dog seems lethargic or their overall demeanor has changed, if they have a fever or if they are dehydrated you need to call your vet. To check for dehydration lift their lip and check their gums and under the lip. They should be a healthy pink color. If they are pale or nearly white, time to call the vet. To learn more about when to call the vet or about pet diarrhea in general (fascinating, I know) check out Dr. Becker's article in Mercola Healthy Pets.

Okay. Now onto all the reasons that a new foster dog is likely going to have soft poo.

1. Stress - I want you to put yourself in your dog's place for a moment. Imagine you've lost the home you've known most if not all of your life. You've lost every person that you ever knew and who you depended on for food and shelter. On top of that you ended up in a loud and stressful shelter. Then you possibly were taken to the shelter vet for shots and possibly surgery and didn't know why they were doing this to you. Next you possibly are on a transport to get to your foster home. With every leg of that car trip you are held and grabbed at by new humans that you don't know and who you are trying your best to be calm and polite. Finally you end up in a house that you don't know with people you haven't known long enough to fully trust and then to make things really bad they shove you in a bathtub and pour a bunch of water on you. HORRIBLE! I mean, if you or I as humans lost our home and everyone we knew I'm guessing that the level of stress might give us a bad case of drippy butt too! Why do we expect our foster dogs to rebound from that so quickly and act like a happy-go-lucky dog?

2. Malnutrion - If a dog has been on the streets, they've likely had to scavenge for food and were not getting a balanced diet. Or they could have been eating a crappy food like Beneful or Ol' Roy and their body is going to take some time to adjust and be able to reboot to breaking down food that is nutrient rich.

3. Food Changes - If a dog has been on one type of food their entire life then changing up foods is going to send their intestines into protest mode as the body adjusts to be able to digest a different type of protein and/or carbs. Contrary to what most people believe, it is important to vary a dogs diet so they don't have to deal with indigestion every time something different passes their lips. My dogs who eat kibble have a different formula almost every bag.

4. Parasites - I'm sorry to say it but parasites are just something you need to get used to when you foster. There are proper ways to deal with them and control them so they don't spread to other pets while you help your foster dog get rid of them but that is a topic for another post. What I'm saying though are things like hookworm, roundworm, tapeworms, giardia, coccidia and countless other microbes or tiny beasties that a dog can pick up are going to irritate the heck out of their gut and you can count on this causing a change in their stool.

5. Dewormers, flea treatment, and vaccinations - And here's the flip side to the parasites. The things we use to get rid of parasites or keep them away also often cause loose stool.

6. Supplements - Supplements are great. My personal dogs and foster dogs all take their own personal mix of supplements. Just realize that more is not better and also that some supplements will cause a dog's poop to loosen up for a bit as their bodies adjust. Salmon oil, coconut oil and good quality, high potency probiotics are all supplements that can initially cause this problem.

So now that I've listed more ways than you really want to know about how your dogs poop can go runny, stay tuned for the next post where I have a few tips on how to firm that poop back up.

The Scoop on Poop: Part 2