Kind of a gross question.... tiny poop spots from my dog

[sportyspicepony]

Ok soooooo I have a dog with a curled, upright tail, which means when he sits down it’s fully butthole-first. Lately I have been finding tiny little POOP SPOTS on places where he was just sitting, usually after he comes in from a walk and has just recently pooped, so it’s like he didn’t really… get all of it out.

After noticing this happening quite a bit for the past couple of months combined with some other factors, I decided to switch his kibble. He was previously on Wellness Small Breed deboned turkey flavor, and I switched him to Purina Pro Plan sensitive skin & stomach, salmon flavor (so no chicken or turkey at all). This switch has been in effect for about a week and a half.

I have started a routine of just wiping his butt with a towel whenever we get home from a walk, but I’m still paranoid that it’s not enough!!! I’m pretty sure this is definitely a new thing too, because he is little and has always had full access to all my furniture and I’ve never noticed poop spots on anything until the last few weeks

Does this warrant a call to the vet? Could it be just his anal glands or something? I don’t usually get his anal glands manually expressed because he just doesn’t really need it (and I can very clearly tell when he does need it) but maybe it’s time to do that more regularly?

I could also just possibly need to give the new kibble more time, we just got through our full 7 day transition period from the old food like today.

[candyappy]

Is his stool overly soft when he does go? Meaning that some may be " left behind" and that is what you are seeing? He could just be trying to transition from one food to the next . Maybe use baby wipes after he goes and really look to see if he is dirty back there?

I certainly wouldn’t want him on my furniture or carpet!!

[S1969]

If this only started after the switch in food, I would definitely consider that to be the cause. And yes, I agree that it sounds like his stool is not as firm as it once was.

What was it about the previous food that made you unhappy? Not all foods work for every dog; I switched foods once and my dogs had very soft stools for a month. And I switched slowly, too. It just didn’t work for them. So I switched them back.

[sportyspicepony]

@S1969 no I switched foods because of the poop situation! It was nearly always too soft before on the old food, and I was able to firm it up by supplementing with canned pumpkin, but he also has a lot of allergy symptoms that I previously assumed were from airborne allergens but after reading more about dog food I just wondered if he’s allergic to the chicken/poultry ingredients so it made me want to try something without all that. I had asked my vet for a food suggestion and they recommended this one.

His poop definitely seems to be firming up a bit now on the new food, however even with a firmer poop, I still found some leftover on his butt this morning… Maybe I need to just wait a little bit longer?

[Harbour]

Are you sure it is actual poop spots and not discharge from his anal glands?

[lenapesadie]

If it’s actual poop, and not anal gland juice (), I’d be curious to know the dog’s age. I’ve known a couple of dogs that had similar poop issues in their advanced age.

Could just be the food change since it’s so new I guess. I’ve changed kibble a lot of times with my dogs and haven’t ever had that issue but that doesn’t mean much.

[sportyspicepony]

Sooo his age is a guesstimate but he’s about 4-5 years old. And that’s a good point because ever since I started watching him like a hawk when he comes back inside from a walk, one or two times it was just a little bit of anal gland juice and then one or two times it was an actual tiny piece of poop. lol I’M SORRY ABOUT HOW GROSS THIS IS

Also I think my original post was unclear so I just edited it… I changed his kibble because of this issue, in response to it. The change in kibble is definitely not the original cause, I’m just worried that it’s not fixing it like I hoped it would lol.

I really don’t want to change the rules for him being allowed on my bed and couch and stuff because he’s been my snuggle buddy for like 5 years… but I also can’t live like this with poop all over my house. I don’t have children for a reason!!! I’m too young to be dealing with this much poop in the house!!!

[lenapesadie]

Well I wouldn’t call 5 advanced age but maybe a vet visit is in order

[pony_baloney]

This is off track, but it reminds me of my late tiny dog. Willa would pee and have damp fur afterwards. If she was sitting on my lap, I would usually have a stain on any shirt she touched. She earned the name Miss Tinklebottom.

[sigrid.sijtsma]

most of the time it is anal fluid, and if it comes out, you or the vet has to empty the anal glands, it are 2 small "bags with analfluids around the buttwhole/anus and it they are to full, and they sit, then it leeks out.

If you empty those bags every year , dogs will be happier…

[S1969]

@sigrid.sijtsma

If you empty those bags every year , dogs will be happier…

This is not true. They should empty all by themselves, and if they don’t, once a year isn’t going to help.

@sportyspicepony

And that’s a good point because ever since I started watching him like a hawk when he comes back inside from a walk, one or two times it was just a little bit of anal gland juice and then one or two times it was an actual tiny piece of poop. lol I’M SORRY ABOUT HOW GROSS THIS IS

LOL it’s not gross. It’s just dog anatomy. I have a 12 year old dog dealing with some anal gland issues right now.

For the glands to work properly, the stool has to be bulky enough to push against the anal gland when they poop. Some dogs just need more fiber than regular kibble might contain, and/or change to a different food.

My vet is recommending added fiber in the form of bran, pumpkin, or unflavored Metamucil. This will help bulk up the stool to help empty anal glands.

It’s not uncommon for dogs to have impacted or infected anal glands from time to time - for lots of reason (change of diet, being sick, change of exercise, etc). This is worth a vet visit and not trying to express them at home. You can injure the anal glands which will just cause new and chronic anal gland issues. Let the vet do it.

[sigrid.sijtsma]

they should empty themself, but sometimes that dosnt… and ok, for some dogs it may help to do it once a year, and some dogs more times a year…

my dog i did myself, it once a year and it was enough… but for @S1969 that cant be true and not helpfull.

but for me it is the truth and it was helpfull for my jack russel terrier, that i had to put down at almost 17 yrs of age.

And maybe for people who are know how to deal with dogs and horse just like a vet does, i always do intramuscular injections in horses , with aproval of the vets themself, as they know i can do it the right way…

so for me not the vet that does it…

[S1969]

@sigrid.sijtsma

my dog i did myself, it once a year and it was enough… but for @S1969 that cant be true and not helpfull.

How would you decide when to do it?

If the dog needs them expressed, they need them expressed. It might be only necessary once a year, but it might be necessary more than once. Simply doing it “once a year” isn’t the answer - it’s not a septic tank.

It is true that you can correctly express your dog’s anal glands safely. It’s also true that untrained people can hurt them - e.g. I would never have my dog groomer express a healthy dog’s anal glands. The risk outweighs the benefit.

[always_learning]

You have two needs here: 1. Practical management: (and yes, I know your dog is a male). Get a “bitch in season” panty, which is a lightweight elastic panty, and put a (human) panty liner in it every day, so that his poop spots are managed AND he can enjoy a normal life in your home/sofa/bed. (2) This will give you the time to pursue your dietary transition, and see if he will do well on your new food. Additional thoughts: I would have your vet run a stool sample specifically for Giardia (an intestinal flagellate). This should be ruled out right away, and if positive, he should be put on Albon. (I have 50 years of showing in AKC conformation and obedience, have rescued and rehabbed many, many Mals and other breeds, and with my Benchmark prefix, have bred 42 AKC Champion Alaskan Malamutes; I am a life member of AMCA, and Columnist for the AKC Gazette.) So good luck as you go forward!

[sportyspicepony]

Thanks all for the info! I was brainstorming with my boyfriend last week about what might be causing this and we both realized that it kind of started right around the time that I started him on a new joint supplement… He used to get Cosequin and I switched him to Glycoflex Stage 3. I’ve discontinued that joint supplement and fingers crossed we haven’t had any poop incidents since… So hopefully these two changes will have fixed the problem!!

I was keeping him on a joint supplement because he broke his pelvis before I adopted him and still can have a little bit of a hitch step, which joint support seems to help… I had heard really good things about Glycoflex just through word of mouth so I just got it to experiment and try it, but I think we’ll have to just go back to the Cosequin instead.

[sportyspicepony]

@always_learning

Additional thoughts: I would have your vet run a stool sample specifically for Giardia (an intestinal flagellate). This should be ruled out right away, and if positive, he should be put on Albon.

My vet runs a fecal panel every year in his annual exam to check for parasites; do you know if this test would be included in the standard typically or no? I can always just ask them obviously but just curious if you know off the top of your head.

[S1969]

It wouldn’t automatically be run. But as someone that has had a dog with giardia, it doesn’t sound like it to me. That is usually a very gross diarrhea issue.

[always_learning]

Giardia is not typically included with a standard fecal panel for intestinal parasites; I believe it requires a different testing process. So give it a try, and please let us know the outcome! If you’d like to discuss diet further in the future, just let me know! (50+ years in the obedience and conformation world with Sporting and Working breeds, and 42 AKC Champion Alaskan Malamutes from my Benchmark breeding program.)