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When you’re the pet parent of a puppy and this your first puppy experience, you may have plenty of questions about puppy care. One of these questions may be how often your puppy should poop each day.
If you’re wondering about this issue, don’t worry. It’s a common question amongst puppy pet parents!
In this article, we’ll take a look at how often a puppy should go each day and more. Let’s get started!
How Many Times a Day Should a Puppy Poop?
On average, a puppy should poop about five times each day. This is the normal pooping average for puppies that are between the ages of 8 weeks to six months. In other words, your fur baby may poop about this often until he reaches adulthood. However, there are some things that can affect how often a puppy poos each day.
Younger Puppies Poop More Often
The trend is that younger puppies tend to poop the most often each day. However, puppies that are constipated may only go once a day. If your puppy tends to go only once a day, then he may be suffering from constipation.
Puppies that are on a high fiber diet will definitely poop more than once a day. What’s more, how often your puppy poops is tied to how many times he’s fed each.
Most puppies need to eat about three small meals a day. This usually results in between three to five bowel movements a day.
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Ask a Vet Live NowWhat’s Normal for Puppy Poop?
Next, many pet parents wonder if their puppy’s poop is normal. That’s a common question, so don’t feel bad if you’re wondering the same thing. How your puppy’s poop looks (say that ten times really fast!) can be an indication of whether or not he’s healthy or ill. We’ll warn you this section may be a little gross for some people; however, it’s important to understand the details of your puppy’s poop.
Color: a puppy’s healthy poop can vary from dark to medium brown. If your puppy has white, red, yellow, green, gray, or black poo, however, this may be an indication he has a medical issue that should be checked by the vet right away. One note—if your puppy has eaten grass, then you may see green bits in his poop. That’s OK and is completely normal! What’s not normal is if his poop is completely green. And if your puppy’s poop is brown with white pieces, then it could be an indication he has tapeworms. This needs to be treated by a vet as soon as possible.
Consistency: a puppy’s normal poop should be shaped like a log and be firm. Diarrhea is liquid, with no shape or segments (in other words, you won’t find solid pieces in diarrhea). For puppies that are constipated, you may notice the poop is of a harder consistency and may come out in small pieces rather than “log” shapes.
Smell: a puppy’s poop will definitely smell (what poop doesn’t!). However, if you notice your puppy’s poop all of a sudden changes in how it smells, then it may indicate the puppy has an infection or another problem.
Amount: when it comes to the amount of poop, it really depends on the size of the puppy. For smaller puppies, the amount of poop is smaller. For larger puppies, their poop will be larger. And as a dog matures, their poop will grow larger, too.
The main thing to take away from this section is that if your puppy’s poop seems not normal in some way, then it’s time to call the vet. When a puppy gets sick, their immune systems may not be fully developed and able to deal with an infection the way an adult dog’s immune system could.
In addition, puppies can suffer from many different types of health issues. They really need to be checked out and treated by a vet. You should not try to treat your puppy’s health issue at home unless the vet has advised this.
How to Tell When Your Puppy Needs to Poop
Now, do you know how to tell if your puppy needs to poop? If not, then we’ll provide some tips in this section!
Puppies usually need to poop about thirty minutes after they’ve eaten. This is an average—your puppy may need to go sooner or later. It just depends on your puppy, his age, and more.
Your puppy will need to head outside to go potty right after he wakes up, too. He should also go out for potty breaks right before bed. Having a potty routine is a great way to help your puppy become potty trained. Sticking to the routine is also beneficial for the puppy (and you, too—you won’t have as many messes to clean up!).
Your puppy may show the following signs when he needs to go out to poop:
Whining: puppies are pretty smart and will try to let you know when he needs to go out. Your puppy may howl, cry, and whine by the door or run around the house when he needs to go potty.
Restlessness/pacing: another common sign of needing to go poop is for a puppy to become restless and pace. They may be looking for the right and best place to poop. If your puppy is doing this, then head him outside right away to avoid a potty problem in the house.
Circling: this is another sign that puppies need to go outside! It’s similar to being restless and pacing. The puppy may be looking for the best place to poop.
Squatting: a puppy may also squat when they have to go potty. When this happens in the house, then pick your puppy up right away and take him outside.
So, there you have it! Healthy puppies can poop up to five times a day! While it’s a little gross to monitor your puppy’s poop, doing so is an essential part of being a pet parent.
If your puppy’s poop seems to change in some way, then be sure to call the vet right away. Don’t wait to see if the symptoms will improve or worsen. Puppies can become sick very fast, so they require medical treatment as soon as possible to avoid a worse illness.
We hope your puppy’s poop stays healthy and that you and your puppy have many fun years together!
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Tom
Tom has always loved to write since he was little - he wanted to be either a writer or a veterinary doctor, but he ended up being a professional writer while most of his works are based on animals. He was born in San Francisco but later moved to Texas to continue his job as a writer. He graduated from the University of San Francisco where he studied biotechnology. He is happily married and a soon to be father!
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