[LauraLizC]

Hi,

I'm a new forum member and novice dog owner. My name is Laura and I have an 8-month old boxer named Duke. I estimate that he's about 60 pounds right now. I have a question about how many times a day it is normal for a dog to poop. Duke poops between 4-6 times a day. And they are big piles of poop! I know puppies tend to poop more than adult dogs, but this seems like a lot even for a puppy. A friend has two of Duke's litter mates, and he said his dogs poop about twice a day.

My husband thinks I might be feeding Duke too much. I was feeding him twice a day, 2.5-3 cups each feeding. I've reduced that to twice a day, 1.5-2 cups of food, but he's still pooping as much as ever. We were feeding him Nutro Max Large Breed puppy and thought maybe it was the food, so we switched him to Natural Balance and it seemed to get better for a couple days but then it was back to 4-6 times a day again. I clean up the poop in our backyard every day, but all that poop still attracts a lot of flies. It is really unpleasant!

Any ideas? Is he just destined to be a super pooper? A friend suggested I have him checked for worms, but I give him Sentinel faithfully so I don't think that's it. But I'm open to any suggestions! Thanks!

Laura

 

[Zhanna]

Howdy from Texas and welcome to the forums!
2 cups, twice a day is probably enough food.  Can't imagine why he's pooping so much.
I guess if he's healthy and not losing weight, then it's OK.

p.s.
we're a little pic crazy around here!
we'd love to see a pic!

 

[LauraLizC]

Thanks, Zhanna! I'd love to post a pic because Duke is a pretty darn good looking boxer, if I do say so myself.   But our digital camera is having problems so it might be awhile!

Sounds like I was definitely feeding him too much before. That's good to know! He does seem to be in perfect health. Lots of energy, nice coat, clear eyes, etc. The poop doesn't seem to bother him, just me! I've got two small children and another on the way, and I'd rather not have to pick up that much poop every day if I don't have to, LOL. Well, that and all the flies. I don't like to let the kids play outside anymore because of the flies...

 

[Britneysdad]

I am no expert on this subject but how long has he been pooing like this? If he has been doing this most of his life maybe it is like some humans that go more frequently. I would be sure to also put on some latex gloves and inspect the poop as well just to make sure no worms, eggs ect.  Sometimes, it can be caused because the food he is eating isn

 

[DM_Boxers]

It sounds like that is a lot of food for one day.  We only feed 2cups a day per dog.

 

[LauraLizC]

Thanks for the replies!

Duke has never been a 2 or 3 times a day pooper. He pooped a lot as a really small puppy, but everyone told me that puppies just poop a lot. Now he's 8 months old and a "big" puppy and still doing it!

 

[Barbs2Ks]

Until we got Kiah on the right food she was pooping 6 or more times a day; it was very soft and runny sometimes.  After trying 4 different brands of food before we found one that she could handle well; she had other problems on the foods, vomiting, hair loss, lots of eye boogers, etc.  Now she goes 2 to 3 times a day and her poo is firm.

 

[FREDOSMOM]

Fredo goes about 5 to 6 times a day too. Sometimes it's runny and sometimes not. I just changed his food again and so far so good, but he still is going all the time. Now i'm worried. I'm going to monitor exactly how much food i'm giving him now.

 

[48Dodge]

Can someone explain how boxers are able to convert 2 cups of food into about 8 cups of poop?  Maybe we should look into it as a renewable resource!

 

[JeepKuntry]

On average, both mine poop 3 times a day.  They get around 5 cups of food each per day.  Sadie will poop maybe 4 times once in a blue moon if she's really active for most of the day.

 

[sully]

I don't really understand why you would change the amount of food unless the dog seemed unhealthy or under/over weight.  Is your dog healthy and happy?  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!  

Oggie goes a lot, but he eats a lot.  He eats 4 or 5 times a day.  They're growing puppies, they need it.

 

[sharonL]

There are some worms that Sentinel will not kill or prevent them from getting.  It also could be a bacteria such as giardia or coccidia, even though those usually produce very loose smelly stool.  So having that ruled out is a good place to start.  You can ask your vet if you can just bring in a poop sample and have it tested without bring him in to the vet, they should do that for you.

On the food......If he does well on the food I agree dont change it....but as many people here know it is sometimes hard finding that food that agrees with the stomach of a boxer.

I think you did right on going to the amount you feed and also the times per day.  He is close to Fiona's age and size and she gets 2 cups am and 2 cups pm....

She poops twice a day, sometimes three but they are firm smaller stools.....

 

[sumyasmom]

Can someone explain how boxers are able to convert 2 cups of food into about 8 cups of poop?  Maybe we should look into it as a renewable resource!

LMAO!!! that is hysterical!

 

[LauraLizC]

Thanks for all the additional replies, everyone!

 

[LauraLizC]

[quote="kiahsmom\";p=\"76645":36iiezej]Until we got Kiah on the right food she was pooping 6 or more times a day; it was very soft and runny sometimes.

 

[Barbs2Ks]

On a recommendation of a local breeder I started feeding her Purina ProPlan Select Natural Salmon and Brown Rice.  She does really well on it.