Why does my dog keep squatting to poop but nothing comes out?

It is possible that there is no more stool in the colon because the soft poop was the precursor to diarrhea. But the only way to differentiate an empty colon from a constipated colon is to have Buddy examined by a vet. A rectal exam is usually sufficient to tell the difference, and then the vet can recommend an appropriate treatment. https://www.petcoach.co/article/constipation-in-dogs-101-what-you-need-to-know/

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! She may be constipated. You can start by trying to use something to try to relieve her if she has constipation. You could start giving her 2 tablespoons of canned pumpkin with her meals which may help with cases of mild constipation. If that does not improve this, have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment though it is likely that this will resolve. Good luck and have a great day!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Molly. A lot of times a dog is actually having diarrhea when they are straining to defecate. It will appear as if nothing is coming when there are actually small liquid drops being produced. If her good attitude continues and she does not have any further problems defecating, she is likely fine. If she struggles to defecate again or acts like her back is bothering her, she will need to be seen. I hope this information helps!

Exercise stimulates the need to poop, so if Tanner is doing this on a run, that could be why he keeps stopping to poop. I had a golden retriever who used to do the same thing. She would poop at the beginning of our run, then keep stopping to poop even though nothing was coming out. To stop that, I wouldn't take her out to exercise unless she had an empty stomach. I would walk her around in the backyard first to get her to poop, gave her a few minutes, then started the run. With her, I found it helped to have that warm up to poop, and then once the run started, she was able to go without stopping. I would try that with Tanner to see if it helps.

It sounds like Sheila may be suffering some GI distress. If this has been ongoing for a while, it would be best to bring her into your vet for a full exam to rule out issues such as parasites, constipation, GI inflammation, food allergies, or issues such as blocked anal glands, etc. Until you can get to the vet, you can try offering a bland diet of boiled rice and chicken to help settle her stomach, but it is best to bring her into your vet if her symptoms continue.

Poor guy. He may be a bit constipated. If he is squatting but no feces are coming out, then its best to take him to your vet to have him checked. He may need an enema to remove dried stuck feces in his colon so that he can freely go. You can also give an over the counter enema (from your local pharmacy) if you are up for it. Make sure he has free access to water and give him some canned food as well to increase his water intake. Constipation in young dogs is also often caused by intestinal parasites, so its good to have his stool checked by the vet as well. I hope that your fur baby feels better and is able to go potty soon! Best wishes and take care.

Your dog may have diarrhea or constipation issues. You can try a high fiber diet like Hills I/d for a few days and see if this clears up the issues, or add canned pumpkin to her food. If this doesn't seem to solve the issue, she needs to see a vet for fecal tests to see what's going on. She may need to be dewormed or to be on probiotics or antibiotics. Hope that helps!