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Ask the Veterinarian/Dog poops multiple times on a walk

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Expert: - 5/20/2011


Question
Hi, I have a King Charles Spaniel who's about 5 years old and sometimes poops twice or three times in one walk.  I don't know why he does this instead of pooping in one sitting and sometimes when poops the third time, either a dribble or nothing comes out.  Why do you think he does that?  I believe he has a hard time emptying his anal gland so maybe this could be the reason.  He also has soft poop so I've begun feeding him grain free Nutro Natural Choice food and hope this will help him.

Answer
Well my dog will be outside all day and she still poops twice at the place I take her to to walk, so who know why they do this Sean? Could be that once they start moving more (exercising) it stimulates them to go more.

Eating grain free food is not going to help his stool so much as give him a rather unbalanced diet.
Dogs are omnivores like we are and require some vegetation in their diets. Nutro has very little nutrition in it so it requires more food for your dog to get his energy needs met.

If your dog is having problems with his stool then get him on a completely balanced and fixed-formulation diet, like Science Diet Adult small bites food.
This food will provide your dog with optimal nutrition and create a stool that your dog will pass easily and it will help with his anal glands as well.

It's something to consider Sean. Nutro has no fixed-formulation so their food is never consistent from batch to batch. They buy what ever is cheap on the docks that day and that's what goes into their food. So it's buyer beware but the dogs are the ones that suffer. Suffer from illness, obesity, joint and cancer issues that they should have due to bad food. We are what we eat and that hold true for our pets as well.

Give them the best food out there- feed them Science Diet. We have been feeding it and recommending it for 30 years. The proof is in the feeding.

Try for three weeks then see how your dog does. That's how long it takes to notice a difference in your dog when you feed them good food. You will notice a shine in his coat, a spring in his step and better stool.

If not, take it back to the store you bought it from. Only Science Diet has a 100% money back guarantee. :-)  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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