Pooping behavior

[Alex]

This has been a taboo topic of discussion for many dog owners, but it always comes up as people are unsure what the regular behavior is. I think it's time to add it to our collection of poop questions.

If you are offended by this question please do not read further.

Here it goes:

• How often does you Basenji poop?
• What type of poop does your Basenji have?
• What do you consider normal?
• What supplements do you add to the food?

Kiya is usually pretty consistent, she poops twice daily, one time in the morning right after breakfast and once at night after dinner. Sometimes when we are home on the weekends she goes 3 times. Her poop is usually solid looks like small pellets. When she gets too excited at the park or when we go on a hike both dogs get diarrhea and it last for about a day. We were told it's because of excitement.

Chance has a strange behavior. We have to work around him to get him to go #2. He usually does not go in the morning, or it takes him much longer than Kiya. I have to walk him for at least 30 min for him to go poop. He would start circling in one place like he is about to go, then stop all of a sudden like he was not going to go at all. Then we have to walk around for another 15 min, so he finally goes.

Sometimes he will only poop once a day late at night. I am not sure if this indicates he has a bowel problem or that's normal. He has always been that way. Maybe we should give him some supplements to his food or take him to the vet to get him checked out.

[bsbartle]

Poop discussions are never taboo when dogs are concerned!! It's a big part of their day.

Our Basenji poops quite often. He walks 4 times per day, AM, mid day, after dinner & before bed. He poops on all walks except the before bed walk (he must be all pooped out by then) Often, he will poop twice on both the AM & mid day walk. On special trips (to the beach, park, etc.) he will always poop as soon as he gets there…..no matter what the time of day. We consider this "normal" for him as it is the way he has always been (had him for 8 years). Poop is solid, unless he ate something weird. Also, he always squat walks while he poops. (Great fun to clean up a trail of B Poop!)

Our other dog (non-Basenji, but same body style) is exactly like Chance. It is an effort to get her to go....always. Lots of snuffling, snarking, aborted attempts....tail goes up, you can tell she's working on it, but then seems to get distracted and that's it for that attempt. She always does eventually go though. I think she is mostly just picky about where/when/what other smells are in her poop spot. I have also noticed she changes spots if her "usual" has been sullied by other doggie smells. She usually winds up going once a day...although the time is inconsistent. We also consider this "normal" for her. It's the way she has always done it.

I think the dogs, just like their people, all have different habits when it comes to this & unless there is a drastic change in their habits, there's probably nothing wrong. I would think the different habits are just dog to dog differences.

No supplements for either dog.

[Ninabeana26]

It's weird but 9 times out of 10, Dallas will not poop when I am with him!

My boyfriend & I go on walks with him in the afternoons/evenings a lot. Dallas will sniff & circle a little so it looks like he's about to poop, but then just won't. However, if my boyfriend takes the leash & goes off a little bit ahead or stays behind me, Dallas will poop. It's very odd. Haha. He doesn't like pooping in front of his mom apparently!

He will always poop before bed though or he'll whine to be let back outside when we take him inside. This is when a back yard comes in handy

I have noticed that he poops every morning when let into the backyard while I am getting ready for work.

No supplements in his food. I feed Blue Buffalo. He is only fed in the AM, 1 scoop. He receives treats when he goes into his crate & also when he gets into bed. I occasionally will give him a fish oil cap for his coat.

[wizard]

EL D generally poops only twice a day (unless we go to the park then he'll poop again) but he prefers to poop on walks and not in the yard - now that the mornings are dark I have to really coax him to poop in the yard and sometimes he just waits until the after-work walk.
And his poop used to be on the squishy side but now that I've been giving him a little sweet potato each week, it's more solid (and yes less anal problems too).

[wizard]

My first two would poop once in the morning when they got up and once in the late afternoon when I'd get home from work. My current beastie (Luny) doesn't have the same schedule … sometimes only once a day and a couple of times not until the next day! Is this something I should be concerned about?

[gneigum]

We've only had our 2 B's about 3 months now & find they usually go about 3-4 hrs after their meal. Quite regular, although there have been times when they have had to go in-between. We were told that we may have some 'accidents' in the house, this had been known to happen, but have not had any at all

G

[etzbseder]

Medjai used to go once in the morning and once in the afternoon, but now as he is eating half his breakfast, and saving the rest for lunch, he goes three times a day. He doesn't really need to though, and will sometimes skip either lunch or dinner poop. I just have to know when he has to go, and when he doesn't, or I'll spend a couple hours walking him trying to get him to go to the bathroom, as we start to freeze. I've gotten good at figuring out within 20-30 minutes, on a normal to cold day, but when it's really cold, he will either go right away, or he doesn't have to.

[snorky998]

Ty poops once a day, but if it's raining, not at all until I walk him and force him to go outside. Katie poops 1-2 times a day. 2 is usual, 1 makes me keep an even closer eye on her, but so far so good. No problems.

I believe part of pooping is based upon how well the food is used/digested in the dogs. When I cut out the high protein, higher fat, food with a lot of filler, I got less poop, and fewer needs to poop.

IMHO as a pet owner, I think monitoring food/water intake and daily output of your dog (urine and fecal) are essential. Paying attention to the little things can thwart larger problems in the future.

Sorry Wizard, I went beyond your request. I know you know all this $#!t (pun intended), but I rode on your coat tails to remind other pet owners how important monitoring daily habits of our B's can be.

Best wishes to you and Luny.

[sharronhurlbut]

Yes, watching the dogs poo for color changes and consistancy can give you an idea of your dogs internal health.

[Alex]

I noticed that when we take them on long walks, 3 or more miles, they poop 3 or 4 times. The first couple of time solid and the other two are runny. Maybe too much excitement?

[wizard]

I'm glad to know diversity is fine - and yes I have noticed the type of food makes a difference too - that makes sense. It's just been a learning curve to have a dog that is sooo different than my previous ones.

[mauigirl]

I have to say I laughed at that first post ("taboo") because I think we have talked rather candidly about our dogs' bowel movements on here. It's funny. Remember the hair poo thread? And I know we have had some posts about all kinds of colors coming out of our B's when they've eaten something they weren't supposed to.

Mine go twice a day….Zip is known to poo twice while at the park because she knows we'll be there awhile and there's no use pretending she doesn't have to go and holding it....She does that at home in the back yard when it's cold out and she wants back in.

[etzbseder]

I find it interesting that the poll includes a spot for ' once every couple days '. If that's as much as your dog goes, he either isn't eating at all, or in in need of medical attention immediately.

[Alex]

Chance was able to hold it for a day and still eat his meals when it's really rainy outside and he just will not go. Lately he has to go at least once even if it's nasty outside.

[wizard]

Luny has done that once or twice (normally he's a once-a-day dog) when the temperature was really cold (below 0) here and he refused to go outside (except to pee next to the door).