Talking about dog poo might not be glamorous, but it’s one of the most useful health indicators you have access to as a pet parent. Changes in your dog’s poop are often the earliest sign that something is not quite right.

In my work as a veterinarian and the founder of 5 Hounds, I regularly assess dog poo when evaluating digestion, diet tolerance, and overall health. If you want to understand what is happening inside your dog’s body, the backyard is often the first place to look.

This guide will help you understand what different types of dog poo can tell you about digestion and gut health, and how diet choices, including gently cooked food and gut support, can make a meaningful difference.

Quick Summary

• Your dog’s poo is one of the earliest and most reliable indicators of digestive and overall health.
• Stool consistency, colour, and frequency can reveal issues with diet tolerance, gut balance, or inflammation.
• Loose, hard, mucus-covered, or unusually smelly stools often signal digestive stress or poor nutrient absorption.
• Diet plays a major role in stool quality, with highly digestible, real food diets often producing firmer and more consistent poo.
• Tracking changes using the 5 Hounds Dog Poo Chart can help identify problems early and monitor improvements over time.

Use the 5 Hounds Dog Poo Chart as a Visual Guide

To make it easier to assess what your dog’s poo is telling you, we created the 5 Hounds Dog Poo Chart as a simple visual reference you can come back to at any time.

The chart breaks down common stool types, what they typically indicate about digestion and gut health, and when it may be time to make dietary changes or seek veterinary advice.

Many pet parents find it helpful to compare their dog’s poo to the chart over several days, rather than judging a single bowel movement in isolation.

Why Dog Poo Is Such an Important Health Signal

Dog poo reflects how well food is being digested, absorbed, and tolerated. It also gives insight into hydration, gut microbiome balance, and inflammatory load.

Healthy digestion generally produces stools that are well formed, easy to pass, and consistent from day to day. Using a visual guide like the 5 Hounds Dog Poo Chart can help you identify patterns and changes more accurately over time. When something is off, dog poo is often the first thing to change.

What Healthy Dog Poo Looks Like

Healthy dog poo is typically:

• Firm but not hard
• Log-shaped
• Moist without being sticky
• Easy to pick up
• Consistent in colour and size

Occasional variation can happen, but ongoing changes usually signal an underlying issue.

Common Dog Poo Types and What They Mean

Loose or Runny Poo

Loose stools often indicate poor digestion, dietary intolerance, gut imbalance, or sudden diet changes.

Highly processed foods, excessive fat, or abrupt transitions can overwhelm the digestive system, leading to poor stool quality.

Very Hard or Dry Poo

Hard stools may point to dehydration, insufficient dietary moisture, or lack of appropriate fibre.

Dry diets with very low moisture content can contribute to this over time.

Mucus-Coated Poo

Mucus is a sign of irritation or inflammation in the lower bowel. It is commonly seen with gut imbalance, stress, or dietary intolerance.

Very Smelly Poo

Excessively foul-smelling dog poo can indicate poor nutrient absorption, protein putrefaction in the gut, or imbalance in gut bacteria.

Inconsistent Poo

Frequent changes in stool quality often reflect inconsistent digestion or difficulty tolerating certain ingredients.

How Diet Influences Dog Poo Quality

One of the biggest factors affecting dog poo is diet.

Highly processed foods are harder to break down and often contain ingredients that pass through the gut without being properly absorbed. This can result in larger, smellier, or inconsistent stools.

In contrast, diets based on real, whole ingredients tend to be digested more efficiently, producing smaller and more consistent dog poo.

Why Gently Cooked Dog Food Can Improve Digestion

Gently cooked dog food uses low-temperature cooking to preserve nutrient integrity while making food easier to digest.

Premium, human-grade ingredients, when lightly cooked, are broken down in a way that supports enzyme activity and nutrient absorption without damaging proteins and fats.

Many dogs transitioning to gently cooked meals experience:

• Smaller, firmer stools
• Reduced gas and odour
• More consistent digestion

This is why gently cooked meals, such as those formulated by 5 Hounds, are often well tolerated by dogs with sensitive digestion.

Supporting Gut Health With Synbiotic Supplementation

Even with a high-quality diet, some dogs benefit from additional gut support.
A balanced gut microbiome plays a key role in stool quality, immune regulation, and nutrient absorption.

Synbiotic supplementation combines probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics to support beneficial bacteria and gut lining health.

The 5 Hounds Synbiotic Powder is designed to complement a real food diet by supporting microbial balance, particularly during dietary transitions, stress, or recovery from digestive upset.

When Changes in Dog Poo Warrant Veterinary Advice

You should seek veterinary guidance if dog poo changes are:

• Persistent rather than occasional
• Accompanied by vomiting, lethargy, or weight loss
• Associated with blood or severe mucus
• Causing pain or straining

Early investigation can prevent minor digestive issues from becoming chronic problems.

Using the Poo Chart to Track Improvement Over Time

One of the most useful ways to apply this information is to track changes in your dog’s poo as you make adjustments to diet or gut support.

When dogs move from highly processed food to gently cooked meals made with premium ingredients, or when synbiotic support is introduced, improvements in stool quality often happen gradually. Firmer, smaller, and more consistent stools are common signs that digestion is becoming more efficient.

Referring back to the poo chart allows you to objectively assess progress, rather than relying on guesswork.

Final Thoughts from Dr. Will

Your dog’s poo is more than just waste; it is a daily report card on digestion and gut health.

Consistent, well-formed stools usually reflect a diet that your dog can digest and utilise effectively.

By feeding gently cooked food made from premium ingredients and supporting the gut when needed, you can often improve digestion, stool quality, and overall wellbeing.

Paying attention to dog poo is one of the simplest ways to support your dog’s long-term health.

FAQs

1. What does healthy dog poo look like?

Healthy dog poo is usually firm but not hard, log-shaped, moist without being sticky, easy to pick up, and consistent in colour and size from day to day.

2. What does loose or runny dog poo mean?

Loose stools can indicate digestive upset, gut imbalance, food intolerance, stress, or a sudden diet change. If it continues for more than a day or two, it may need further investigation.

3. Why does my dog’s poo have mucus in it?

Mucus in dog poo is often a sign of irritation or inflammation in the lower bowel. It can be caused by stress, dietary intolerance, gut imbalance, or changes in food.

4. Why is my dog’s poo so smelly?

Very smelly poo may indicate poor digestion or nutrient absorption, especially if the diet is highly processed. It can also suggest an imbalance in gut bacteria.

5. Can diet improve my dog’s poo quality?

Yes. Diet plays a major role in stool quality. Real, wholefood diets are often easier to digest, leading to smaller, firmer, and more consistent stools compared to highly processed food.

6. When should I worry about changes in dog poo?

You should seek veterinary advice if changes last more than a couple of days, or if your dog has blood in the stool, ongoing diarrhoea, vomiting, lethargy, weight loss, or pain when passing poo.