white stools

[lmd]

I find a few dried,m crumbly, whitened stools in the yard. Is this a concern?

[E's]

Fenced yard? Fenced but in rural area? What I'm getting at here: so far as you know, only your dogs use the area but there could be coyotes or foxes, wolves or stray dogs? Do your pets live outside? How often do you 'patrol' the yard for droppings? Droppings like you describe seem fairly normal for piles that have been there a while... As to whether this residue is from your dogs, a vet's lab can determine that easily. Hope this helps - I've resided in rural areas and understand it is a good idea to pay attention to anything that seems out of the ordinary.

E's Hobbit
Austin, Texas

[lmd]

Fenced yards, but in a rural area. I would know if any large animal came by. It is from my own dogs for sure. Just wondered how that hard dry lump can be comfortable for the dogs.

[E's]

Aha Have droppings checked to find out just what the dogs are ingesting that they probably shouldn't be... Maybe harmless, but as you say, could be uncomfortable.

LOL the Noble Dog! You gotta love 'em, but by nature they are scavengers as well as predators...

[Traci]

How often do you actually observe your dogs when they're outside doing potty-duty? It's a good idea to be observant so you can monitor or catch any changes.

If the stools found are fairly recent (within a few days), and you're finding them consistently, then there may be cause for concern. It could be caused by digestive orders, feeding raw food, feeding bones, an enzyme problem, a liver problem, constipation, etc.

If the stools found are not recent, but rather over a week or so old, it could be simply decomposition, but you don't want to leave any stools in your yard, since this is a good breeding ground for parasites and invites other animals to check it out.

Get a stool sample from both dogs and take it to your vet for testing, better to be safe and make sure there aren't any medical issues going undetected.

[k9Karen]

I live in Florida now, so I don't see this much, but when I lived in a cooler drier area, I noticed that the old stools in the yard turned hard and white when they had been in the yard for a few days, expecially in cold dry weather. I don't remember where you live, but if the weather has been exceptionally dry, it is most likely that it's just mother nature playing tricks on you. Check for fresh feces, and I suspect they will be normal.

That said, "white" stools can be a sign of problems with fat absorption, but when that occurs, the stools are usually oily and soft or loose, not hard.

[lmd]

Well, the reason I asked, is that one of the dogs had a crumbly, dry, white stool overnight in the house - last week. Since it was not there when we went to bed it was fresh. I keep several dogs in the house at night, so I can`t say which one. However, I have seen a few out in the yard as well. Just curious as to the reason. Seems impossible for them to be dry like that.

[Traci]

Depending on how many dogs you're talking about, I'd try to separate them, and try to get this narrowed down to one or two dogs, and then get samples to the vet for testing, and ideally, the dog to the vet for exam.

Dog in question could be severely dehydrated.

[k9Karen]

Most of the human causes of pale stools are related to problems with either the liver or pancreas. I'm not sure about dogs, but I would think it's the same. If it was my dog, I'd try to find out which one it is and schdule a vet appt that included blood work ASAP. You'll probably need to follow them into the yard and watch as they do their "business" in order to figure out which one it is.