Why is my inactive dog pooping more on her new high-protein food?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 5 years and 2 months old | 17 lbs
My dog is on a food that's 32% protein and I noticed since I put her on it she's pooping more than she did on her previous food which was 20% protein. She's not active at all so should I put her back on her previous food? She only weighs 17 pounds and this is her poop from this morning.
3 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on September 19th, 2017
That stool looks normal to me. There are a lot of factors that may be causing Chloe to poop more on the new food including the fiber content of the new diet. If she is otherwise acting normally you don't have to switch Chloe's food because defecating more frequently is not an issue as long as the stool is well formed. Because you state that Chloe is not very active you may want to consider a lower calorie food to prevent weight gain. An all canned food diet can also help to prevent weight gain. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on August 11th, 2018
Changing foods can cause changes in the stool but I wouldn't be too concerned about an increase in size or recognizable pieces of food as long as Chloe isn't having diarrhea or gas. Some people would rather not let their dogs out more frequently for bowel movements, so if it seems like she needs to go out often you could consider switching back.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on September 21st, 2017
Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. It does not look as if your picture was uploaded. I would suggest reposting with the picture attached. If you are concerned about the stool being too large in quantity sometimes foods high in fiber can lead to this increased volume of stool. As long as it is not causing any discomfort or problems this is fine. However, sometimes a diet high in fiber can increase the frequency at which the dog needs to defecate and if Chloe is home alone for any long period of time without being able to go outside, you may find that she will be unable to hold her stool for a long period of time. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me with any further questions that you may have. I am also available via phone or text base consultation if needed
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Can my dog have wet food that is 5-8% (22-36% DM) protein or is this to much for her? She's relatively inactive. Her dry food is 20% protein from the same brand. Will the canned make her poop bigger?
I'm in the process of switching my dog over to the honest kitchen dehydrated dog food. So far she is doing fine but I've read some reviews that said their dog was having more frequent bowel movements and that the stool was larger with bits of undiges
Is this normal poop? This after eating natural balance canned food. Is it too big? Her poop on the dry food is on the right so you can compare.
I fed my dog science diet digestive care i/d canned stew twice and her stool looked the same as it normally does on Natural balance l.i.d. kibble. (Same color and form) does this mean her old food was still in her system? I'm trying to see if this fo
The canned food by natural balance is around 7-9% fiber (dry matter basis) vs. 3-4-% fiber in the dry. Will she have larger stools or I feed the wet to her?
I wanted to give my dog 1/2 fresh cooked frozen dog food but her stools are not as good when I do that. She has better stools on just plain kibble. What should I do? The one on the right is when she was just fed kibble. The frozen dog food is 40% pr
Is this a normal poop? This after my dog had Natural Balance canned food. Is it too big? She's 17 pounds. It looks ok to me but I just want to make sure.
I heard that your dog should get one gram of protein per pound of body weight. I did the math and the food that she's on now (20% protein) she would get about 12-13 grams and she weighs 17 pounds. Is this ok? There is another food called Merrick that
I recently switch my dogs food. I switch from blue buffalo to nutro dog food. After feeding him nutro he been pooping like crazy. Why is that? When i mean pooping when i wake up in the morning there will be several piles of poop on is pee pad. And he
Is it normal for a dog to poop ~4 times per day? I feed him 4 oz Wellness Core grain-free canned food twice a day, so it isn't cheap food. Per vet he needs to gain weight (he was a stray and VERY skinny) so I wonder if maybe it's because of the extra
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
