[Naturella]

Hello!

From what I’ve been reading, I see people usually complain of soft stools, but I wanted to ask, my pup Bruno’s stools are usually really, really hard – is that good? He has to work to get them out and when I pick them up (with a baggie, of course), I sometimes press them with my fingers to check the consistency, and it is really really hard.

Is that a good thing?

He has good bowel movements three times a day, but they are very hard about 95-98% of the time. He doesn’t seem to be in pain or anything, just has to push a little harder it seems.

• This topic was modified 10 years, 12 months ago by Naturella.

[Susan]

No good, a poo shouldn’t be too hard, sounds constipated to me, a poo should be formed & when u pick it up it feels soft, not too soft where it leaves a poo stamp on the grass, nice & firm like a un cooked sausage, what food do u feed him?? try giving him some boiled Pumkin & maybe a kibble that is higher in fiber, thats if he eats kibble..

[pitbullmomma]

What are you feeding? My oldest girl gets constipated and has really hard stool when she’s on a grain free food. I always much prefer using a GF food, especially because my pittie has allergy issues, but Ms.Sally just can’t handle it very well. Definitely try using pumpkin, you can get it pretty cheap at the grocery store, just make sure that its plain pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie filling. Hope that helps!

[Naturella]

Hm… I currently feed an all-grain-free kibble blend of 15lbs of Dr. Tim’s, 4 lbs of Nutrisca chicken, and 4lbs of Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension, all mixed in. He gets about 1 cup of that mix/day, in four feedings or so.

I have heard that pumpkin firms up stools, do you think I should still give it? He has a bowel movement 3 times a day.

I could try to add some fiber, maybe ground flax seed and/or yoghurt to his food? He gets coconut butter at breakfast every other day too. For treats, I am currently using some freeze-dried liver ones, frozen pineapple chunks, baby carrots, kale stems, or his kibble. We have just started adding some raw meaty bones once a week (for now), and I got some great coupons for free canned food, so I will be adding that in too in months to come.

[Naturella]

Thank you, sue66b and pitbullmomma!

I am guessing it is the fiber in the pumpkin that will help him?

Also, I always thought that grain free causes softer stools than grain-inclusive, and this is his second time on all-grain-free (but the first time was just for a month). So maybe I can add a kibble that has a little bit of grains in it… I had some coupons so I stocked up on Earthborn Holistic Grain Free and Vets Choice HHE, but 2 of my HHEs do have grains in them.

Come to remember, Bruno (my pup) did good on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy 11lbs mixed with 4lbs of HHE Original (with grain), I think those were the perfect stools – firm enough, but not super hard.

So maybe until he finishes his current blend and starts on Earthborn GF and HHE (with grain), I can add some pumpkin and/or any other additives that may help?

[Shasta220]

Yes, I’d try some pumpkin (canned works fine.), as fiber helps with conspitation, and it sounds like that’s what he has. I honestly have no clue if it holds true for dogs too, but for cats, adding some extra oil into their diet helps (acts as “lubricants” sort of).

If adding extra fiber doesn’t seem to help, then possibly adding some sort of probiotics into his diet? I’m honestly not too experienced, so I’m not huge help 😉

Also could be he’s not getting enough moisture. I know for people, constipation comes very frequently when they don’t get enough water. And for my older lab, she sometimes gets those little hard piles too, so I put some additives in her water to make it tastier, encouraging her to slurp down more.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 12 months ago by Shasta220.

[Naturella]

Shasta,

Thanks for the advice, it is actually helpful! I think I will start with some pumpkin, then watch him for a while, then add yoghurt and/or kefir and some ground flax seeds. And watch again, lol. THEN if necessary I will add probiotic pills. I always want to try the “all-natural” way first.

Also, he seems to drink enough water (imo), but I could try to give him more. When he gets his coconut butter every other day, he always gets it as a “soup” – his kibble, a teaspoon or so of coconut butter, and lukewarm water to cover about 3/4 of the kibble level in the bowl. This is so the butter melts all into the kibble and the kibble releases some appetizing aroma – some weird, potentially untrue crap I made up to justify the water, but in reality, it is in fact to get him more hydrated. He loves his “soups”, even if it is just kibble and water, so maybe I can give him “soup” once a day for extra hydration, plus the hydration of the wet pumpkin and yoghurt/kefir.

I tried putting a bit of apple cider vinegar in his water, but he didn’t seem fond of it, lol. I hear it also helps digestion, so maybe I can try to hide it in his “soups”.

[Naturella]

Oh, and very importantly – how much pumpkin/yoghurt/kefir/flax seed meal do you all think I should give him? Again, he eats about 1 cup kibble/day, in 4 feedings, and is 11.5lbs. He gets 1 teaspoon of coconut butter every other day at breakfast.

I could freeze a mix of yoghurt and pumpkin with some cinnamon and feed it as treats, or make him “soups” with it – whichever you think he will absorb better and have a better effect.

[Naturella]

Oi, forgot to note – I am currently out of bully sticks (waiting on my next batch), but I usually give him about 1/2 or more of a 6-inch bully stick to chew on (and eat) every other day (on days with no coconut butter), and after that his stools are much softer, I think from the pure meat that the bully stick is (albeit dehydrated).

[Shasta220]

I’m not exactly sure how much of the extra supplements you should add. Try maybe 1-2tsp? I’d start with using one product at a time, to see which one is/isn’t seeming to work. If the bully sticks seem to help, maybe cutting back on the kibble and adding some meat (raw or cooked) to his delicious-sounding doggie soup?

[Naturella]

Shasta,

I see. Yeah, I will start one at a time and add 1-2 tsp.

I will also try adding more lean meat (bully sticks, raw, or cooked) to his food (and reduce the kibble a bit, of course).

Thanks so much for the advise to all, if anyone has any more suggestions, please feel free to share, and I will let you know what works when I find it out! 🙂

[Shasta220]

Keep us posted on how he’s doing! 😀

[Author]

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