The Scoop on Poop – Raw vs. Kibble and Underlying Health Problems

Your pet’s V.I.P.’s (Very Important Poops) say a lot about their diet and overall health condition.

Here’s a quick overview of what you may find in your pet’s poop when you feed them different natural, species-appropriate diets vs. typical processed pet foods. Feeding a high-quality, perfectly balanced raw diet will change the way you look at your pet’s poop forever!

If you’re already feeding raw to your dog or cat you’ve already probably paid attention to their poops and even discussed it with your family and other raw-feeding friends.

If you’re like us you don’t miss big smooshy stinky poops one bit!

You may even be alarmed when you see cheap-fed dogs ooze out these voluminous piles of smelly waste.

Here are a few benefits

• What Smell? Once your pet has transitioned your pet to a raw diet the poops will almost become odourless, small, and quite firm. Yes, you heard me correctly… that stinky smell will reduce significantly if not disappear altogether. Interestingly we found that flies are not nearly attracted to our dog’s firm, odourless poops in comparison to the stinky mounds of kibble poop our boys used to produce.

• Smaller Size – It’s a HUGE benefit for pet parents and is really easy to pick up. Our dog’s stool output is less than half of the size it had been from feeding kibble and other typical pet food. Dogs will generally digest about 90-95% of any meat – so you won’t see much of it in the poop afterwards! Clean up becomes easier and you don’t have to be embarrassed walking around with a messy, stinky bag of poop on your walks in public. If you feed raw and there is a size increase, it may be time to add probiotics or enzymes to help the digestion process.

• Clean anal sacs – Diets that have natural sources of bone make the poops firmer which requires your pet to strain a bit harder to defecate. This is normal and even beneficial, as the harder stools help the dog express its anal glands, keeping it clean and reducing the likelihood of infection. If you notice your pet straining for too long, or they appear constipated, you may have to rethink the ratios of your raw ingredients. Furchild takes out all the guesswork because we have done the necessary research and all of our Meals for Dogs and Cats have been formulated by raw pet food experts.

• Less Gas

What does colour variation in my dog’s poop mean?

Be aware that there may be some variation in the consistency of your pet’s stool when feeding raw. For example, you may occasionally see a film or mucous around your pet’s stool, especially during the transition period. This is fine and is evidence of detoxification. Paying attention to your dog’s “healthy” poops (colour, consistency, and frequency) can help you determine whether it’s a natural variation or an underlying health problem. Here’s an outline to help you assess the cause and level of concern.

Basic Brown Poops

• RAW – These are common in most pets. If you do not scoop the poop in your yard they will turn hard within days. Healthy poop decomposes!
• KIBBLE – Pets who are fed kibble and other typical pet foods produce frequent stool, that is voluminous and very stinky! The larger the size of the poops, the less food is being digested. Kibble is only 20 to 40% digested which means that 60 to 80% is discharged in their poop! Meaning, the poops are largely indigestible filler which is not appropriate for your pet's digestion system and therefore are passed as waste. This doesn’t sound ideal, does it?

Red Poop

• RAW – These poops can look alarming. If your pet is eating ingredients like beetroot, the poop will be stained a darker colour. This is fine – don’t worry.
• HEALTH CONCERN: However bright red blood streaks can indicate bleeding further down the GI tract. Streaks of blood in your dog’s poop may be colitis (inflammation of the colon), a rectal injury, an anal gland infection, or possibly a tumour. If the blood streaks persist, see your vet.

Orange or Green Poops

• RAW – Similarly, if your pet has ingredients that are rich in green and orange colours, this can change the colour of their stool.
• HEALTH CONCERN – An orange, yellow or pale-coloured poop can be associated with an issue in the liver. It could be a sign of liver or biliary disease or it could simply mean that your dog’s poop moved too fast through the GI tract to pick up the bile which changes the colour to the normal brown you recognize.
• HEALTH CONCERN – Green poop could be a sign that your dog has eaten an excessive amount of grass (this is not a health concern). It can also indicate a parasite, ingestion of rat bait, or other issues. Watch the poop to see if this continues to know whether a trip to the vet is needed

Black Poops

• RAW – These can be the result of several scenarios. If you’ve fed your pet a homemade raw diet that contained lots of organs, i.e., liver, you may see a darker colour in their poop. Alternatively, if your pet is transitioning from kibble to raw there may be a build-up of old stool in the colon and the poops can be darker than normal for up to a couple of weeks. This is normal.
• HEALTH CONCERN: However, if your pet is pooping black poops all the time, you may want to consider contacting a vet (preferably a holistic vet or a vet who understands raw feeding). The consistent stinky, black stool could indicate bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.

Little Beige Poops

• RAW – These poops are hard, grainy, and have no odour. They will turn white and crumble in a few days if left untouched. This indicates that your pet has eaten a lot of raw bone content.

Particles in Poop

• RAW – If you’ve fed your dog Furchild’s Free-Range Duck Necks and you notice small bone pieces in their poop, relax, it’s normal! If you are feeding raw bones that are meant to be consumed you may see the occasional pieces here and there. This does not apply to smoked or cooked bones which should never be fed to your pet. Here’s a trick to try – poke the pieces using a stick and most likely you’ll find it’s soft and rubbery. If you currently feed your pet a homemade raw diet we suggest adding digestive enzymes to help them better digest the bone content and perhaps rethinking the bone-to-meat ratio.
• HEALTH CONCERN: If you notice white dots or what looks like rice in your dog’s poop then this can be the result of worms. There are deworming solutions you can purchase to take care of the worms.

Mucous Poop

• RAW – This may occur when pets transition from a conventional pet food diet to a raw diet. This is the process of detoxification whereby the normal mucus in the intestinal tract gets shed. This is normal.
• HEALTH CONCERN: If your dog’s poop is full of mucus and is yellow in colour, it is typically the result of a food intolerance. If the problem persists reassess which foods are suitable. If the stool looks grey and greasy, it can be a sign that the pancreas is not functioning properly. We recommend you take your dog to the vet.

Diarrhoea

• RAW – You may occasionally see a film or mucus around your pet’s stool, especially during transition. This is evidence of detoxification and is not classified as diarrhoea. Similarly, there is a difference between loose stool and diarrhoea. If your pet is experiencing diarrhoea we recommend feeding probiotics and digestive enzymes to help improve food absorption and the digestion of nutrients.
• HEALTH CONCERN: You should consult with your veterinarian if your pet experiences prolonged diarrhoea for more than 3 days (a soft stool is not diarrhoea). If your dog gets actual diarrhoea from the raw food (which is extremely rare) it is not because of the food but because the pet’s gastrointestinal system is already sick. And the raw food just provides a bit too much stress and that stress causes the intestines to simply pass along food without doing anything with it. If your pet experiences all three symptoms – diarrhoea, vomiting, and fever – then you should consult your vet immediately as these problems will not be related to eating raw and thus could potentially be a sign that something else is wrong.

Don’t Forget to Scoop the Poop!

As a friendly reminder, please remember to scoop your dog’s poop and dispose of it properly! It’s a common courtesy to others and it ensures that UAE’s designated areas for pets are hygienic and sustainable.

• Rules and Regulations for Dog Owners
• A dog can be impounded, Dh200 fine for not cleaning up – Emirates 24|7
• Scoop the poop: It’s the law | GulfNews.com
• New UAE laws for owning a pet in Dubai – Time Out Dubai

We need to pick up after our pets and why not clean up after your dog in a more responsible way? You can use poop bags that are ecological and made of renewable resources and are better for the earth and our health.