Fecal chart shows pet health by scoring poop

Check out this fecal scoring chart that rate pet health by helping you score their poo! Pick up after your pet and check this poop chart to rate your pet’s health.

Poop Scoring System for Cats and Dogs

We developed the habit of checking our dog’s poop whenever we pick it up to throw after that time she murdered a beanie panda and started pooping beanie pallets for perhaps less than a week.

	Normally, it is also a good habit to check just to make sure she is doing ok on whatever food we are feeding her, and also if there are other strange things that she may have ingested without us knowing. So it is useful to at least know what poop belonging to a healthy dog should look like – see this useful poop scoring chart to the left. I’ve shrank the image so it’s small and less offensive :P
Click to see bigger image.

Found this chart via Sand Springs Chesapeakes, who also wrote about intestinal parasites that can cause a pet’s poop to be abnormal. I found that gross and interesting, since I’ve not read up on the topic before. :P

According to the company that created this chart, you want your dog or cat to poop something that will score 2 points. Description of the scoring scale follows below.

Fecal consistency is primarily a function of the amount of moisture in the stool and can be used to identify changes in colonic health and other problems. Ideally, in a healthy animal, stools should be firm but not hard, pliable and segmented, and easy to pick up (Score 2).

Score 1
Stool very hard and dry
Much effort required to expel feces from body
No residue left on the ground when feces picked up
Often expelled as individual pellets

Score 2
Stool firm but not hard
Pliable and segmented in appearance
Little or no residue left on ground when picked up

Score 3
Stool log-like
No segmentation visible
Moist surface
Leaves residue but remains firm when picked up

Score 4
Feces very moist (soggy)
Distinct log shape
Leave residue and loses form when picked up

Score 5
Feces very moist
Distinct shape (piles rather than log shape)
Leaves residue and loses form when picked up

Score 6
Feces has texture but no defined shape
Occurs in piles or looks like spots
Leaves residue when picked up

Score 7
Feces watery, flat, with no texture
Occurs as puddles
Leaves residue when picked up

Scoring description quoted from this document – http://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/getresource.axd?category=content&id=1325

Image referenced from – http://www.foothillpethospital.com/pet_info-fecalscoring.html, via Sand Spring Chesapeakes

So don’t forget to pick up after your dog and stay clued in to the status of his health!

Picking up after others and the Poop On Command!

For the reason of checking the pet’s poop by sight and feeling it’s firmness (through the poop bag, of course! ), I think it’s advisable and socially responsible to pick up after our dog. So I don’t really see the need for scooping up your pet’s poop.

However, the scoop may be useful in the case of clearing up after animals not your own. Seen animal waste by the roadside? We often assume that these are left by dog owners who neglect to pick up their dog’s poop. I realised that that might not be the case sometimes!

Donna: Oh look, look! That black cat is pooping!

Human: You know it’s rude to stare.

Donna: That’s ok, we’re to the back of him anyway.

Human: Oh geez, that’s not the point.

Donna: Don’t oh geeze me, I can’t think of anyone ruder than you! You stare at me all the time. You even say “poop” very loudly every time I poop! If that’s not embarrassing, I don’t know what is!

Human: Hey, hey, at least I say “poop” and not “BOMBS AWAY!!!!!” ok. And if you would only learn to poop on command, I’ll stop saying it repeatedly right away. :D

Donna: You know something is wrong with the way you are doing it if I’m not behaving the way you want me to. Oh look, the black cat is done! He doesn’t seem that effective, is he? The way he is pawing half-heartedly at the ground? … Oh-oh, he saw us!… He’s  going away… let’s go, let’s go… I gotta sniff the poop!

Human: I can’t believe this… if you go sniff it, people may think it is your dog poop, not a stray cat’s poop.

Donna: Well, pick it up then. You pick up my poop all the time. See, I stay here and sniff nicely while you pick it up. :3

The poop on command, apparently there is such a thing – see video. We’ve not have a puppy so I’m not sure how applicable this trainer’s instruction is, but it does sound logical. Unfortunately, it may be too late for our adult dog since she only goes once a day. :P

That’s all about pet poop for today!