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The Scoop on
Poop Though it's the opposite end of
nutrition, checking your pet's stool can help you and your veterinarian decide
if your animal companion has any health issues that need addressing. What may
seem like an offensive pile of feces can actually shed light on your pet's
internal functions.
The first sign of health issues is the form of the stool. If it's liquid or
loose (overly soft), there's something happening inside the pet. Other
examinations and tests can assess exactly what may be wrong.
Another sign that the animal isn't in optimal health is if there's a covering
over the stool that looks like plastic food wrap. This means that there is an
irritation within the digestive tract. If it only occurs occasionally, then
harsh snacks or plants are usually to blame. This condition may be more common
in younger animals while they're teething, which results in chewing on and
ingesting extraneous material.
If the stool is darker than normal, it's wise to bring it to your veterinarian
for examination. The stool may contain blood at varying amounts. Before jumping
to the conclusion that there's something wrong with your pet if the stool is
dark, make sure to take into consideration that some foods can cause darker
stools.
For example, darker meat like lamb
contains increased levels of myoglobin in the muscle, which causes dark stools
in healthy animals.
On the lighter side of the spectrum, if your pet produces stool that is hard and
white-colored, the pup's diet contains too much calcium. Not as easily related
to a simple food imbalance, hard and small pieces of feces warrant a visit to
the veterinarian.
On the other hand, if the stool contains large, very soft pieces, then it can be
the sign of a couple issues. It may mean that the animal is being fed too much.
Otherwise, the pet may have an enzyme deficiency. If this is the case, your
veterinarian can check the level of trypsin in the stool or blood sample; and
the doctor may want to provide an enzyme supplement if needed.
If the poop problem is due to an absence or difficult passage, your pet likely
needs more roughage in the diet. Dry food has more roughage than wet food, and
more roughage will produce more stools that are not as hard. This is why it's
often recommended to feed wet food to animals while housetraining-them: it
produces less stools.
Though it's certainly easier to monitor what an animal eats than what it
excretes, it's wise to know the appearance of your pet's normal stools. If that
appearance ever changes, it gives you a head start to examine possible health
issues developing!
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