My dog has painful, dry, yellow, pebble-like poop. What's wrong?

Hi there and thanks for posting! Hard poop can be secondary to constipation, so I would add a little more fiber to Teddy's diet if you haven't already. Plain canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) works very well or green beans and carrots. The runny poop could be caused by a parasitic infection or bacterial infection. I would recommend Teddy have a fecal test done soon to rule out an infectious cause. I hope this helps and thank you for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Rex needs more fiber in his diet to bulk up the stool and make it softer. I would give a tablespoon of plain canned pumpkin with each meal. It will add both fiber and fluid. I recommend adding additional water in the food also as dogs that are dehydrated will also have hard stool. Make sure he’s not eating dirt and feed a good quality dog food two to three times daily. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Rex.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to not drinking enough water. I would encourage you to ensure that she is drinking enough water as that would be something that is easy to fix. You can also feed her canned diet which will have a higher water content for example. If no improvement is noted after ensuring enough water intake, I recommend you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment. Best of luck!

Poor pup! If his stool seems too hard, you could try mixing a spoonful of canned pumpkin into his food at every meal to see if this helps. Switching from dry to canned food may also be helpful, since canned food has a higher moisture content and usually results in softer stools.

It’s possible Bruno’s food does not contain enough fiber or moisture to meet the needs of his body. I recommend a diet called Royal Canin. It is a low residue, highly digestible food and most pets who eat this diet have great stool quality. It comes in canned and dried and even has a breed-specific Chihuahua diet. I recommend to switch him to this food over 5 to 7 days and see how his body responds best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Soft stools can occur from time to time and self resolve. However, if this does not resolve or progresses to watery diarrhea, a veterinary evaluation should be pursued. Diarrhea can be observed with conditions such as colitis, gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Pepper evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may choose to check for parasites and to start medications for diarrhea depending on the results. Good luck! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can make sure that there is enough fiber in his diet. You can add canned pumpkin to add fiber to his diet which may help firm up his stools. You can add 1 tablespoon of canned pumpkin to his meals. You can also add probiotics such as Fortiflora. Best of luck!