How to treat itWhat Your Dog’s Poop Is Telling You

How to Treat it

If you find your dog’s poop is covered in mucus there could be a few different causes:

1. You are feeding him something that does not agree with his stomach. If your dog’s digestive system is incapable or having difficulty digesting some foods it will use mucus to assist. You’ll find this particularly with dairy products that contain milk sugar (lactose). Cheese is a common cause of mucus in the poop of dogs
2. Bacterial overflow: if your dog has too much bacteria in its digestive tract, the stool could be covered in mucus. This condition is more likely on a low-quality diet. Switch to a healthier diet, as I teach in Dog Food SECRETS
3. If it is chronic and avoiding cheese and changing to a better diet makes no difference there could be an underlying condition which your vet should take a look at.

Stool Too Firm

When your dog’s poop is too firm it can cause constipation, irritation of the sphincter, and possible bleeding. The longer it takes for stool to pass through your dog’s digestive system then the less water it will contain. The less water it contains then the firmer it will be. Again, there can be many reasons for stool being too firm:

1. If your dog is eating too much dry complex carbohydrate, it could be absorbing too much of the water from its body during digestion and leaving your dog dehydrated and poop hard. If you give your dog brown rice, for example, try overcooking it so it is mushy (contains a lot of water).
2. Is your dog drinking enough water? Some owners keep their dog’s inside and probably don’t walk them enough. Your dog will adjust by drinking less water because it knows it may not get another opportunity to relieve herself for quite a while. If your dog has plenty of opportunities but still doesn’t drink, try creating a salt-less chicken stock and mixing it with water to add some flavor to your dog’s drinking bowl.
3. Similarly, if your dog doesn’t get the opportunity to poop because you aren’t walking enough then the same problem manifests because the stool stays in the bowel too long.

Stool Too Soft