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All About Poop  !!!

A general guideline to reading “poo”

(re-printed with permission from a Pancreatitis group)

 

 

Stools

Color

Yellow or greenish stool — indicates rapid transit (small bowel).

Black, Tarry stool — indicates bleeding in the upper digestive tract.

Bloody stool — red blood or clots indicate bleeding in the colon.

Orange stool –  type of food, infection, bile duct issue, hemolytic issue

Pasty, light-colored stool — indicates lack of bile (liver disease).

Large, gray, rancid-smelling stool — indicates inadequate digestion or absorption (malabsorption syndrome).

Consistency

Watery stool — indicates small bowel wall irritation (toxins and severe infections).

Foamy stool — suggests a bacterial infection.

Greasy stool — often with oil on the air around the anus: indicates malabsorption.

Excessive mucus — a glistening or jelly like appearance: indicates colonic origin.

Odor

(the more watery the stool, the greater the odor)

Food like or smelling like sour milk — suggests both rapid transit and malabsorption.

Putrid smelling — suggests an intestinal infection.

Frequency

Several in an hour, each small, with straining — suggests colitis

Three or four times a day each large — suggests malabsorption or small bowel disorder.

Condition of Dog

Weight loss, malnutrition — suggests small bowel disorder.

Normal appetite, minimal weight loss — suggests large bowel disorder.

Vomiting – small bowel origin, except for colitis.

Poop Testing

If you and your vet are having difficulty getting the stools under good control and would like to have a stool sample tested to ascertain the bacterial imbalance please have your vet contact Texas A&M Gastrointestinal Lab for a consult regarding the “Canine Microbiota Dysbiosis Index Test” run by Dr. Jan Suchodolski (see below) :

http://vetmed.tamu.edu/gilab/service/assays/canine-microbiota-dysbiosis-index

Canine Microbiota Dysbiosis Index

The Dysbiosis Index (DI) is a rapid PCR based assay that quantifies the abundances of 8 bacterial groups and summarizes them in one single number. As a secondary interpretation, the individual microbial profile can predict normal or abnormal conversion of fecal bile acids (i.e., lack of conversion of primary to secondary bile acids). Both interpretations will be listed on the results form.

This information will also be on the SID page with supporting research