One of the most frequent questions by every pup owner is that why is my puppy pooping so much.
If you are a devout dog person, you can understand the kind of pooping machines our puppies are. It is surprising how a cute little mongrel can produce piles of dung, which is far more than the amount of shit coming from a fully grown dog.
There is no clear answer to this question. The right question you guys should be asking yourself is how many times a healthy pup should poop in a day.
The amount of excrement that your little canine produces depends heavily upon its age, size, and health. Younger puppies need to poop every 30 minutes after having their meals. The reason being that they don’t have enough control over their intestines, which makes them excrete after short intervals.
When your puppies are young, you need to keep a close eye every time they eat and take them out right after they are done. Because, if you don’t, their lack of understanding might make them poop inside the house.
More critical than your puppy pooping frequently is when it doesn’t poop at all. If your pup hasn’t taken a litter break-in days, the chances are that they are suffering from severe constipation. In such cases, taking them to the vet is the best option you have.
Why My Puppy Won’t Stop Pooping?
If your pup is pooping a lot, it is essential to seek medical support. However, before bringing in the medications, you need to understand what makes a pup poop from time to time.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons why dogs poop too often.
Excessive Feeding
Out of affection, most dog owners succumb to their pup’s demands and feed them more than necessary. Excessively feeding your puppy is terrible for two reasons. Number one, it spoils their eating habits, and number two, too much food, can take a toll upon your pup’s little tummy.
As a responsible dog owner, you must feed your puppy according to its size, age, and health. If your puppy poops more than often, try reducing the amount of food it consumes.
Eating Leftovers
In most households, the kitchen door is left open. This paves the way for your little four-legged buddies to find their way in. When inside the kitchen, your pup’s robust nose sensors lead it straight towards the dustbin, where the leftover scraps of food go.
Considering the variety of odors, it gives off, your kitchen trashcan is an article of intrigue for your puppy. The food scraps in the kitchen dustbin are mostly rotten, and eating them can lead to a bad stomach, which further leads to excessive pooping.
A Change in Diet
Unlike us humans, the digestive system in dogs is far more delicate. As a result, they exhibit high sensitivity when adapting to food changes. If you modify your dog’s diet, the chances are that their digestive systems might react differently to the new menu. This is also one of the reasons why your pup poops more frequently.
A Change in Environment
We may not realize it, but dogs are incredibly emotional creatures. They tend to share an unbreakable bond with the people who own them, as well as their environment. This is why they act aggressively when an outsider enters their space.
Similarly, they exhibit great nervousness when taken to a different situation. A change in their environment, in some cases, hurts their tummies, which makes them poop frequently. In some cases, a strange sound in a pup’s surroundings can make them excrete out of nervousness.
Medical Problems
Just like any other being, puppies, too are prone to all forms of medical issues. If your puppy is pooping too much, the chances are that they are suffering from some form of illness. Similar conditions include colitis, parasite inside the puppy’s stomach, and irritable bowel syndrome.
The Aspect of Growth
If you have gotten your pup tested for excessive pooping and the tests are clear, you don’t need to worry. Sometimes, too much pooping in dogs is one of the signs of growing up. In the growing age, a pup tends to get hungry because its body asks for it.
Therefore, they are fed more than what a fully grown dog eats. At this age, their metabolism functions faster than it has ever done, thus making this excrete more frequently.
Here is a video on what is a normal poop for a puppy or a dog and what to look out for.
What Should I Do When My Pup Poops Too Much?
Now that we have discussed the reasons behind a pup’s excessive pooping, let’s talk about your plan of action if your dog poops a lot.
To begin with, pay close attention to the place where your dog excretes. Usually, a puppy that is trained well will only poop in a place where he is trained to release his stool.
However, it is also not uncommon for dogs to poop in places they are not supposed to poop in. If you have noticed your dog pooping in areas that are different from its routine litter zone, there is something wrong.
If you find dog shit marks in weird areas, there is a high chance of you discovering runny and loose poop. If such is the case, the chances are that your little canine is suffering from diarrhea. If your dog is exhibiting similar symptoms, the first thing that must cross your mind is booking an appointment with the vet.
If your pup’s condition is severe, the vet will surely come up with some drastic measures to ease the pain your puppy is going through at the moment.
Furthermore, if your dog does not have a specific area for pooping, might as well train it to excrete only in particular places. Continue to take them to the same sport for pooping, until they start going there on their own.
If you are one of those pup owners, who asks, “why is my puppy pooping too much?” spend some time evaluating your dog. As a responsible dog person, you must know that your dog’s poops say a lot about their health. Therefore, you need to pay close attention to the quantity of your dog’s poop, as well as its features.
What Does the Color of Your Puppy’s Poop Say?
Up until now, we have discussed the reasons behind your pup’s frequent pooping and what you should do about it. Now, let’s delve further, and figure out what your pup’s poop color say about your pup’s health.
Dark Color
It is not uncommon for puppies to have black stools. In most cases, dark stools have a greasy and sticky consistency. They are a sign that your dog has a gastrointestinal ulcer. These ulcers are caused by a variety of human medications such as aspirin. Refrain from giving human medications to your dog without consulting a reputable vet.
Yellow Color
Yellowish dog poop is the one that contains high amounts of mucus. Mucus in your pup’s stool signifies food intolerance, which is mainly caused by a modification in the dog’s diet. Be very careful of what your puppy has been munching on, which has led to yellowish poop.
Green Color
Green colored poop is a sign that your pup has munched on high amounts of green vegetables or even grass. However, it can also signify parasites or poisoning. To be on the safe side, book an appointment with the vet.
Orange Color
Orange colored dog poop? Sounds strange, right? Your dog can excrete orange colored stools when suffering from liver or biliary issues. The food is moving quickly through your pup’s tracts to collect the bile. Bile is the substance that breaks food into the normal brown-colored poop.
Red Color
Red color signifies bleeding, which cannot be taken lightly. If you see red poop, chances are it has internal bleeding. It could also be a sign of colitis, rectal injury, or even a tumor. The moment you notice redness in your dog’s poop or its buttock region, take it to the vet right away.
Pink Color
There are times when your puppy poops something that resembles the raspberry jam that you enjoy on your toast every morning. It may signify something as serious as hemorrhagic gastroenteritis.
You may not know, but hundreds of dogs die each year because of this health condition. Although potentially harmful, the state is curable if treated at the right time. If your puppy is shitting pink poop, seem emergency medical care right off the bat.
Grey Color
Puppy poop that comes out in the form of grayish grease denotes a health condition known as Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. Also known as maldigestion, EPI is the health condition in which the pancreas fails to produce the enzymes that are used for fat digestion. However, this condition is treatable, so seek medical assistance fast.
White Spots
There are times when you notice white specs in your pup’s poop. Those white marks are the worms that can damage your puppy’s tummy to a great extent. These worms are as small as grains of rice, but fortunately, they are curable.
What Are the Signs That My Puppy Has an Upset Stomach?
Usually, frequent pooping is a sign of an upset stomach in dogs, but that’s just one sign. There is a bunch of other symptoms that may signify an upset stomach in dogs.
Let’s take a look at some of the most unusual signs your dog has stomach problems.
Drooling
Drooling is the direct outcome of salivation in dogs. When your dog drools excessively, it is a sign that the salivary glands are producing too much saliva than necessary. If your pup has an upset stomach, too much drooling denotes tells the salivary glands are trying to protect your dog’s throat from acidic vomiting.
The quantity of drool varies from one dog to another. Drooling also has a lot to do with the dog’s breed and gender. For example, when they are nauseous, a male Rottweiler would drool more than a nauseous female.
Dogs that have pendulous lips tend to drool even when they aren’t nauseous. Breeds with pendulous lips include mastiffs, Great Danes as well as bloodhounds.
Gulping
Another sign of stomach disorder in dogs is gulping. Just like lip-smacking, when a dog swallows extensively, it is a sign that the dog is trying to control its drooling. Gulping is also not uncommon in dogs suffering from gastroesophageal reflux.
Dogs suffering from this condition act panicky and have restless expressions on their faces. Dogs tend to swallow their saliva and exhibit a spasm-like symptom when the reflux meets their stomach acid.
Sometimes, gulping is seen in dogs that have swallowed something that has stuck in their esophagus. Gulping is also seen in dogs that have sustained an injury to their esophagus by ingesting something sharp, or a burn by swallowing something scorching.
Eating Grass
No one knows for sure why dogs eat grass, but they mostly do it when they are feeling sick. However, some people believe that dogs eat grass because they like the flavor and throw up as an outcome.
Maybe, it’s a bit of both. Some dogs eat grass only when they are sick and nauseous, while some of them like to enjoy the crunchiness. Sometimes, they enjoy a bit too much, which makes them throw up, for they aren’t natural herbivores.
On the flip side, some dogs beg going out when they are drooling and smacking their lips. Once they are out, they don’t spare a minute and sink their teeth in your lawn. If your dog is lucky, it will throw up right away, and return to being the happy, playful pooch it is.
What Foods to Feed Your Puppy When It Is Pooping Too Much?
The food your dog eats has a profound impact on the health of its tummy. Let’s take a look at some of the food items that are healthy for your dogs, and must be fed when your dog has an upset stomach.
Let’s break it down.
Rice and Chicken
One of the best foods combos for your dog’s stomach health is that of rice and chicken. Usually, rice and chicken are vital components of a dog’s staple diet, and they are even lighter on the tummy. All you need is some chicken breasts and white boiled rice, and you can give your dog a diet full of nutrition.
Baby Food
If your dog has an upset stomach, you might want to give them some of the baby food. Not only is it light and digestible, but it is a perfect way to give your dog the medications it needs to combat an upset tummy and other health conditions.
If you are going for baby food, go for high-quality stage-II baby food, which has chicken, lamb, or even turkey. However, it shouldn’t contain onions and garlic and onion, for they are the number one cause of inflammation in dogs.
Shredded Chicken
There is nothing better for your dog’s tummy than boiled shredded chicken. It is easy to digest and contains the minerals, vitamins, and amino acids your canine needs to stay healthy and fit.
Pumpkin
Another great food item to feed your dog during sickness is pumpkin. Pumpkin is full of fiber, which helps your dog have a healthy digestive system. Some of the nutrients in boiled, seasoned, and unsalted pumpkin are as follows.
- Copper
- Potassium
- Manganese
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin B6
- Iron
- Foliate
- Dietary fiber
- Phosphorus
- Magnesium
Bone Broth
One of the best things for your canine’s tummy is bone broth. It is a light liquid that is easy for your dog to digest and is not too hard on your dog’s stomach. It is a healthy and nutritious way of adding flavor and moisture to your dog’s diet. It is also a great of enabling dogs with a halted appetite to start eating again.
Last Words on Why Is My Puppy Pooping So Much
If you ask yourself the question, why is my puppy pooping so much, let it be known that younger dogs tend to poop a lot more frequently than fully grown canines.
However, as a responsible dog owner, it is your job to keep a close eye on when they poop where they poop, and how they behave before and after pooping. Also, make sure your pup poops at a specific place, which it considers to be its litter area.
Furthermore, it is your job to be mindful of what your dog munches on. Do not try to feed them a lot more than they can digest, and also refrain from making quick modifications in your dog’s diet. Limit your pup’s access to the kitchen, for if they eat from the trashcan, sickness is inevitable, and usually, illness leads to weird pooping habits.
Lastly, keep an eye on the way your dog is behaving. A dog’s behavior says a lot about how their health is. To avoid any emergency, try not to skimp on your regular to the vet’s clinic, and keep your pup’s medications handy.
