[Rydell's Dad]

I have a Chocolate Lab mix, she is almost 5 months old. When I take her out first thing in the morning, her stool is fine, solid and darker colored. Shortly after that walk I feed her and then walk her again about an hour later. Sometimes her stool, or most often, the last part of that stool, if she goes, is lighter in color and soft. Now if she doesn't go then but goes later in the morning, it's usually fine. Lastly, when she is walked about an hour after having her dinner she will also produce a stool with the last portion being lighter in color and soft.

My guess is that her body is not drawing the moisture from that last portion of stool, as it would have been in her system the least amount of time. That is the only thing that makes sense to me since the other stools or the first 75% of the other stools are very different. Otherwise, she would have soft stool mixed in at different times or throughout her stool.

Any ideas or comments are appreciated

 

[3doglady]

I agree with your theory.

I find that when my dogs are excited, 'stressed' or exercising, their stools are loose. My guess would be that her first stool of the morning is a result of food that has been in her system long enough to go through a normal digestion; kibble can take up to 8-12 hours to digest. Exercise takes blood flow and water away from normal digestion and directs it to extremities, which means the intestines are not getting as much as they normally would. Certainly could cause loose stools on walks.

 

[Rydell's Dad]

Thanks for your reply, your statements fit well with both my post question and other situations we've had. My puppy Rydell loves going in the pool, she dives in after balls and swims all over the place, certainly getting plenty of good excercise. When Rydell does swim, her stool is more loose and more of it is loose. I used to attribute it to her swallowing some of the pool water which can certainly play a role there, but the extra excercise would definitely play along with what you stated. Very interesting........

 

[lisahi]

This happens with both my dogs. With my older dog, she has normal and then looser, lighter colored stools right after I pick her up from daycare where she's running around all day (note: I think, despite my protest, the guys at daycare feed her treats... sigh). The puppy will have normal and then looser, lighter colored stools when I take him out about a half hour after his breakfast, but right before I go to work. He's penned during the day so I have to give him one last shot at using the bathroom before I go. If he goes when I come home for lunch, it's usually all normal stools because he's been digesting his food longer (not all of his breakfast gets pooped out in the morning, I suppose).