# ends of poops are soft



## thaemcee2 (Jan 20, 2016)

Hey I have an almost 5 month old female Shiloh, her poops were usually always hard on Fromm LBP Gold...about a month ago the ends of her poop, I would say about the last 10% or so, has been soft...she has never had full blown diarhea in this time, only that very last portion has been like pudding consistency or soft serve ice cream...rest is nice and firm till the very last piece! 
ive read it could be from teething, or the fact that now she is outside a whole lot more now and usually gets away with eating some acorn shells or twigs/dirt before I catch her...only other culprit could be marrow bones so I stopped giving them to her to see if the poop hardens...nothing else has been introduced into her diet, same treats, same food, same peanut butter...maybe we will see if its the PB? it may not even be anything to worry about but I am just curious..again, no diarhea so thats a good thing...thanks


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

Has she been tested for parasites recently? I would take a sample (fresh, and try to make sure you get the "soft serve" part) and have her tested for everything (giardia, especially). Hopefully she doesn't have anything, but it's always better to check just in case. If that is clean, I would hold back on the trats, the peanut butter and the marrow bones all together (use her kibble as treats for the time being). If that fixes things, then you know one of the things you eliminated is the culprit! You can try adding those back in one at a time. Give each one two weeks before adding another so you can figure out what's bothering her. Good luck!


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## thaemcee2 (Jan 20, 2016)

GypsyGhost said:


> Has she been tested for parasites recently? I would take a sample (fresh, and try to make sure you get the "soft serve" part) and have her tested for everything (giardia, especially). Hopefully she doesn't have anything, but it's always better to check just in case. If that is clean, I would hold back on the trats, the peanut butter and the marrow bones all together (use her kibble as treats for the time being). If that fixes things, then you know one of the things you eliminated is the culprit! You can try adding those back in one at a time. Give each one two weeks before adding another so you can figure out what's bothering her. Good luck!


thanks....she has been tested for giardia 2x already and theyve done a fecal test at least 3x since we got her and 1x since this has started and the vet said not to worry as long as the majority of the poop is formed...could be teething, treats, bones, etc....but we are eliminating them both 1 at a time like you mentioned thanks!


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## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

you might be feeding too much, cut back a little and see what happens. How much are you feeding?


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## Joey-and-chandler (Jan 16, 2016)

My dogs poops will end soft like a pile when i increase their food. Goes back to normal when i cut it back and increase slowly.


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## thaemcee2 (Jan 20, 2016)

well I was at the store and spoke to a person who owned a GSD who was purchasing taste of the wild high praire puppy with the venison and bison, and after talking to her and the owner i decided to give this food a shot...not just because her poops were soft at the end but because she was always hungary to the point where giving her 1/4 cup more of fromms would give her wet poops...so the totw high praire will fill her up more in theory so i gave it a whirl and literally her first poop was instantly hard and formed...were on day 4 of the gradual switch...i also am wondering if the fact that theres no chicken in the totw, maybe Lox doesn't tolerate the chicken? we still give her the same treats, marrow bones, bullies, etc and her poops are rock hard...so, totw it is!


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## thaemcee2 (Jan 20, 2016)

eddie1976E said:


> you might be feeding too much, cut back a little and see what happens. How much are you feeding?


2x a day 2 cups each meal...i cut it back to 1 3/4 cup and her poops were still soft at the end...switched to totw and instantly hard poops...still mixing 50/50 with fromms lbp tomorrow a little more totw then by thurs all totw


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

It means the poop coming out last wasn't in the intestines long enough to pull out the water and form a firm stool. It's not even that big a deal. If it bothers you, try a little pumpkin with each meal. We went through that on Fromm LBP toward the end of the day. Never saw it in the morning when he had to wait all night to go. If the entire stool becomes loose, you can test for parasites. If you see blood in the stool, call the vet. When dogs are stressed by teething or something else, they can have loose stools.


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## thaemcee2 (Jan 20, 2016)

LuvShepherds said:


> It means the poop coming out last wasn't in the intestines long enough to pull out the water and form a firm stool. It's not even that big a deal. If it bothers you, try a little pumpkin with each meal. We went through that on Fromm LBP toward the end of the day. Never saw it in the morning when he had to wait all night to go. If the entire stool becomes loose, you can test for parasites. If you see blood in the stool, call the vet. When dogs are stressed by teething or something else, they can have loose stools.


thanks, thats probably the first logical explanation for why the ends of her poops were always soft! in any event, we switched to TOTW high praire puppy and her poops are hard and way more formed now...we will see when she is completely on the TOTW....right now she is 1 1/4 cup TOTW 3/4 cup Fromms, then by the end of the week she will be on TOTW only...fingers crossed


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

LuvShepherds said:


> It means the poop coming out last wasn't in the intestines long enough to pull out the water and form a firm stool. It's not even that big a deal. If it bothers you, try a little pumpkin with each meal. We went through that on Fromm LBP toward the end of the day. Never saw it in the morning when he had to wait all night to go. If the entire stool becomes loose, you can test for parasites. If you see blood in the stool, call the vet. When dogs are stressed by teething or something else, they can have loose stools.


I agree with you that stress, teething, etc. can be the cause of loose stool. It can also indicate that the dog isn't tolerating something in the food. Soft stool, if it is happening regularly, _is_ that big of a deal. Since the OP's dog seems to be improving with a food change, I would suspect something in the original food doesn't agree with the dog.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

By the way, thaemcee2, neither of my dogs did well on Fromm, even though it's supposed to be a great food. Go with what works for your dog.


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## thaemcee2 (Jan 20, 2016)

GypsyGhost said:


> By the way, thaemcee2, neither of my dogs did well on Fromm, even though it's supposed to be a great food. Go with what works for your dog.


exactly! thanks...although when we first switched to Fromm LBP her poops were nice and hard and formed...then about a month ago or so the ends were always loose, sometimes really soft sometimes not


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

GypsyGhost said:


> I agree with you that stress, teething, etc. can be the cause of loose stool. It can also indicate that the dog isn't tolerating something in the food. Soft stool, if it is happening regularly, _is_ that big of a deal. Since the OP's dog seems to be improving with a food change, I would suspect something in the original food doesn't agree with the dog.


That could be true. In my experience, when the food wasn't working, all the poops were the same consistency, not just the last bit at the end.


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