You pick it up and throw it away every day, but how much do you know about your dog’s poop?
Berkeley Veterinary Center generally asks that you bring a stool sample to your pet’s health check. This is because your dog’s poop can tell you more about your pet’s health.
What should my dog’s poop look like?
You don’t need a microscope or other fancy equipment to check your pet’s poo every now and then. When your dog takes a potty break, keep an eye on her four C’s: color, consistency, content and coating.
Explanation of the 4 C’s
colour: Instead of ruining your next candy bar, healthy dog poop is chocolate brown. Black stools or red streaks indicate the presence of blood somewhere in your dog’s digestive tract. Light gray or yellowish poop may indicate liver, gallbladder, or pancreatic problems.
Consistency: Veterinarians commonly use a scale of 1 to 7 to measure the consistency of a dog fecal sample. 1 is rock hard marbles and 7 is soup. A healthy dog’s poop should feel similar to a child’s Play-Doh and retain its shape when squeezed.
content: Parasites can sometimes be seen in dog faeces, but diagnostic tests are used to confirm the presence of microscopic parasite eggs. Dogs explore a lot with their mouths, so foreign objects such as grass and small pieces of cloth are not uncommon, but if your dog is eating too many non-food items, let us know. A pet’s inedible preferences can be caused by stress, an unbalanced diet, or boredom. Similarly, large clumps of hair in his stool can result from excessive grooming due to loneliness, anxiety, or allergies.
coating: Healthy dog feces should not be coated. If you spy on a coating of mucus, it may indicate some kind of inflammation in your dog’s gut.
diets on dog poo diagnosis
It is recommended to have an annual dog faecal examination in conjunction with your pet’s physical examination to check for the presence of intestinal parasites such as roundworms and hookworms, as well as microscopic parasites such as giardia and coccidia. Recommended.
A fresh, same-day sample is best and provides the most accurate diagnostic results. Poop left in the garden for too long can attract worms that weren’t there in the first place, and once the stool sample dries, the presence of parasites can be hidden.
when to contact a veterinarian
If any of the 4 C’s don’t seem to work for you, get in touch with us right away to see if you need an appointment and a dog stool test. Some problems, especially changes in color or consistency, can be attributed to your dog eating something new or unusual and can resolve itself in a day or so.
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