Content

• Steps

Soft stools are a common problem in dogs. Many cases of soft stools in dogs are not serious and go away quickly. However, if your dog has a hard time making hard stools, you may need to help it. Paying attention to the foods you feed your dog and keeping your dog's environment free from stress can help harden his feces.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Learn about your dog's digestive system

1. 

   Understand the difference between diarrhea and soft stools. There is a slight difference between diarrhea and soft stools. Soft feces are compost that has been made into large lumps that you can put into the stool container. The stools from diarrhea are more liquid and are usually liquid, not lumpy and you cannot pick up. Diarrhea is often a sign of illness or a sign that the dog is flushing potential toxins from rancid food in the gut. Soft stools, on the other hand, are usually not caused by an infection or illness, but rather from a poor or poor quality diet, lack of fiber, or from feeding food that your dog cannot tolerate.

2. 

   
   
   Understand what to do when your dog has diarrhea. Dogs with diarrhea should be carefully monitored, that is, dog owners need to follow the dog outside to observe the nature of the abdominal pain in the dog. If your dog's feces are bloody, have very loose stools, or the dog doesn't seem well, you should see your vet.
   • Conversely, if your dog is healthy but still has diarrhea, don't feed him for 24 hours, but make sure to have clean water available. After feeding your dog a day, you should follow a bland dog diet, such as cooked chicken and white rice (1/3 of the serving is chicken, 2/3 of the rice). Feed your dog this way for 2-3 days until the stool hardens. You can read the article How to prepare chicken rice for dogs for more information.
   • If your dog has diarrhea for longer than 2 days, see your veterinarian.

3. 

   
   
   Understand your dog's nutritional needs. If your dog's droppings are soft, you need to improve the quality of the stool so that the cleaning is less uncomfortable and ensures optimal health. Dogs need a diet that includes protein and easy-to-digest fiber to stay healthy and ensure normal bowel movements.
   • A meat diet is best for dogs. Dogs can eat a meat-free or meat-free diet. Dogs need high amounts of protein, so a meat-free diet requires a variety of beans. However, beans often cause bloating and soft stools. So, if your dog is on a meat-free diet, consider switching to a diet high in quality meat.
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Method 2 of 3: Improve your dog's diet

1. 

   
   
   Choose a balanced diet. You don't have to give your dog a good diet. For example, the canned ground meat diet is usually very fatty and rich in minerals (e.g. salt), so picky-eating dogs also find it palatable (like chocolate cake more appealing than bean salad - delicious) and healthy but not always appropriate). Therefore, you should look for foods that are mainly meat. Ingredients listed must be "real meat", not "meat-derived ingredients", "meat scraps" or "meat by-products".
   • Choose white (low-fat) meats like chicken, rabbit, or white fish. Look for foods that are low in ingredients because they typically contain less processed ingredients and preservatives, and contain ingredients that are almost identical to real foods.
   • Look for carbs from rice, wheat, oats, or barley instead of soy carbohydrates or soy products.
   • Although the price is not of a quality guarantee, you should be prepared to pay more for good quality food, because compared to products that go through many processes and contain a lot of grains, good quality food is better. Made from higher quality raw materials.

2. 

   Try a lactose-free puppy diet. The only milk suitable for dogs is the mother's milk. For lactating puppies, you can use lactol mixed with water to replace milk. If your puppy is too small and has just been converted to a milk replacement diet, choose a lactose-free food when your puppy has soft stools. Some puppies have a lactase enzyme deficiency from birth. This enzyme helps break down the basic sugar component in milk, lactose. Therefore, puppies with this enzyme deficiency are unable to break down lactose into sugars that the puppy's body can digest and absorb. Sugar that is not absorbed will absorb water from the intestines, so the puppy will have soft stools.

3. 

   Switch from wet to dry food. Keep in mind that wet food (canned or packaged) contains about 75% water, while dry food contains only about 10% water. The higher amount of moisture causes your dog to pass stool wetter and more. This factor greatly affects the volume (weight loss) and the amount of water in the stool (stools are harder and firmer).
   • Take your dog's new diet slowly. Take at least 4-5 days to gradually add new foods to your dog's diet and cut back on old foods. This helps the digestive microflora adjust time.
   • Protein-rich diets, such as beef, chicken, and high-protein dog foods can also soften stools. A byproduct of protein digestion also draws water from the gut.
   • Wheat dog food or foods high in wheat can soften stools as well.

4. 

   Avoid giving your dog fatty foods. Also, avoid giving your dog perishable fats. Don't give your dog fried fast food. Commercially fried fast foods are often fried with palm oil; This oil is indigestible and perishable. Harmful fats can form a layer in the gut and cause your dog to pass loose stools.

5. 

   Give your dog a bland diet if the soft stools persist. Bland diet should include soft rice and lean ground pork or lamb. Give your dog these two foods for at least 5 days and then check to see if the dog's feces are hard. Be aware that most commercially available dog food that is intended to improve stools contains rice because rice is low in protein, low in salt, and a starch that is easy to digest.
   • Dog foods that help build stools include: Hill's Prescription Diet i / d, Royal Canin Intestinal, Eukanuba, Royal Canin Digestive Low Fat and Hill's Science Diet.
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Method 3 of 3: Try other solutions for soft stools

1. 

   Probiotic supplements for dogs. The gut relies on the amount of beneficial bacteria to aid digestion. If a dog's diet is poor and the dog's soft droppings persist for a while, the amount of "unhealthy" bacteria can thrive and cause an imbalance of naturally beneficial bacteria in the gut. The addition of "good" bacteria can help restore balance, improve digestion and help firm stools. The bacteria that you need to supplement is called Enterococcus faecium and is found in the over-the-counter probiotic powder Fortiflora. This is a probiotic for dogs. Product in package form; Usually you need to mix one pack a day into dog food for 5 days.
   • A dog's gut microbiota is different from that of a human, so it is not helpful to give a dog a human probiotic. In the worst case, the lactose in human probiotics can cause diarrhea.
   • You can buy Fortiflora products without a prescription from an online store or from a veterinarian.
   • In general, it is recommended that large dogs drink at least one small bottle a day for 5 days, while a small dog should drink 1/2 bottle for 5 days.

2. 

   Increase the fiber in your dog's diet. The addition of fiber in the diet may help some dogs have soft stools. Fiber is like a sponge, helping to absorb fluids and normalize the condition of the stools, drying it out from diarrhea and helping it soften. Fiber also helps reduce the risk of colon cancer and is a filler to keep dogs full for longer and reduce calorie intake if the dog is overweight.
   • However, adding too much fiber is not good either, so read the packaging carefully for foods with a crude fiber content of about 10%.
   • You can increase the fiber in your dog's diet by mixing it with oat bran or wheat bran. Start by adding about 1 teaspoon for the dog's 10 kilograms of body weight.
   • Also consider feeding your dog fresh fruits and vegetables; however, avoid canned vegetables as they are often high in salt.

3. 

   Make sure your dog has clean water at all times. A dog with soft stools will lose more fluids because the amount of fluid in the stool increases, so make sure your dog is comfortable drinking clean water to compensate for the water loss. Wash and sanitize your dog's drinking bowls at least every two days and make sure the dog has clean, cool water at all times.

4. 

   Avoid activities that stress your dog every day. If your dog is stressed out in bathing, postpone bathing him for a few days and see if his feces are hardened. In some dogs, stress is strongly associated with gastrointestinal disturbances. In that case, you will need to relieve your dog of stress to help harden his droppings.
   • Stress makes the physiological function of the gut more alkaline (an acidic gut that is good for good bacteria), making it difficult for your dog's gut to process food.
   • In this case, you should help reduce the frequency of your dog's bowel movements by offering your dog bland, easy-to-digest foods like chicken and white rice.

5. 

   See your vet with your dog if the stools persist. Many cases of soft stools can go away through dietary changes, but soft stools can also be a sign of other health problems. If your dog continues to have soft stools even after you have tried changing the dog's diet, see your vet. advertisement