Need advice for Cooper the super pooper!

Cooper is 8 months old and has always pooped up to 5-6 times a day. :yuk: I have been feeding him Buffalo Blue for puppies for about a month now hoping that a more premium type food would help, but it hasn't.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm going through bags like there's no tomorrow and it does kind of make it hard to judge a potty break system.:bang:

Thanks!

Oh my goodness- thats alot of pooping

Mine have always been one a day poopers-sometimes 2 but rarely
have you tried a food that is more fibre based? or adding natural bran to the food to try and bulk it a bit- maybe the food is too rich and not easily digestable for him?
Either that or check with the vets that he hasnt got any problems with his digestive system?

Karen x

That *is* a lot of poop. It might be the grain in the BlueBuffalo, or too many carbs. Try him on Orijen, or Wellness Core. They have no grains, minimal carbs (in the form of potatoes) and a slightly higher protein percentage because of that. Our Sophie has smaller poops with it. She gets fed twice a day and normally poos twice a day, if that helps at all.

Bella is a year and a half old and she has always pooped at least 3-4 times a day,no matter what food she is eating at the time. She has been on Blue for about 6 months and I didn't notice a change in the amount of times she pooped. I think its just her system! She loves the Blue Buffalo food, actually a little too much! LOL She will eat constantly if I let her, but she gets fed only twice daily. Morning and evening.

Are you "free feeding", in other words, leaving the food down all day for Cooper to pick at when he wants? This isn't very good for the digestion for one but will also result in poop throughout the day rather than finishing a meal and pooping afterwards.

Agree with the above about trying grain-free food. We get a lot less poo produced on Orijen!

This isn't that frequent actually... and certainly not likely to be cause for concern. But:

1) he is pretty old to be on puppy food -- which is far richer. I'd move him immediately to adult food and am betting that will help. Many breeders recommend never feeding puppy food -- there's really no reason to in the first place so he is well able to be moved off it (those who do feed puppy food tend to move the dog off it around 6 months anyway)

2) how many meals and how much do you feed? At his age twice a day max is more than enough

3) this is a normal amount of poops for many dogs especially those under a year old -- it isn't all that much for an 8 month old or even many adult dogs. Some like to do lots of small poops and some do one or two a day. My Jaspar does a poop on every walk, so 4 times a day. If he is walked he assumes it is time to both pee and poop. Lily on a long walk off lead could poop 5-6 times in an hour or two. She likes to do lots of little poops and tends to have slight tummy sensitivity anyway. I'd however consider what you give as treats -- rich treats like pigs ears can give some dogs frequent stools.

So if he is otherwise in good health, I wouldn't think he is doing anything excessive or unusual unless he is overfed. But also I'd get him off puppy food as this may well be contributing to the problem.

I have never found grain in or our foods make a bit of difference with my dogs. Indeed Lily does better on some dry foods with grain ingredients than she does on grain-free kibble -- the grains can provide the roughage that helps firm and regularise stools.

Thanks for the feedback. Cooper is fed 2x per day about a third cup each time. I will take the advice and switch him over to adult food.

That sounds about right for food and the amount -- try him on adult food once you use up his current food. But if his stools are firm I wouldn't worry about the number. He may well settle into a pattern of fewer once he gets older; he's still just a puppy.

Thanks Karlin,

Petsmart allowed me to exchange the bag of puppy food I had just bought for the adult forumula. So we will see if it makes a diference, if not I will keep my large supply of poop bags stocked.:badgrin:

All of my dogs poop at least 2-3 times a day, and Oz seems to think that being outside means you poop. So he can go 5 times a day easily and he was two in July.