Being pet sitters we are up close and personal with poop on a more regular basis than the average person. It’s really a glamorous side of our job. OK, it’s not, but it’s an important part of our job none the less. Analyzing your pets droppings can give you an insight into what’s going on in their bodies and give you a heads up when something may be wrong. Here are some things to look out for:
Color
Is it a color you’d normally expect to see or is it more of the spin-art variety? The color can tell you a lot about your pets well being. We’ve seen just about every color of the rainbow! From bright orange (due to a sweet potato diet) to whitish gray (which can signify reduced liver function) to black (which is digested blood) to bright red (which, obviously, is blood and warrants a vet visit).
Consistency is key
Are we talking logs or soup? Has your pet recently ingested something it shouldn’t have? Have you introduced a new food that perhaps didn’t agree with them? Has the size changed dramatically? I once left a note for a dog client telling her that her dogs poop was MUCH smaller than it normally was. She took him to the vet only to discover that the dog had prostate cancer. She thanked me profusely for pointing this out because she was able to catch it early enough that she had a few more years with her dog. You may be grossed out by some of our reports, but it’s an important thing to keep track of.
What IS that?!
Oh the stories we could tell! Pets (especially dogs) have a habit of eating things they really shouldn’t. We’ve seen things such as barrettes, hair ties, balloons, plastic bags, socks and jewelry that came out the other end. We will definitely make note of any unidentifiable objects we see.
Should It Be Moving?
Face it, worms are a fact of life. Your pets are going to get them at some point and you will have to treat them. It’s not a note we like to leave because some people are just completely freaked out when they hear their pets have worms, but it’s our job to notify you.
As pet sitters we have a really good idea of what poop should look like. If we see something that just doesn’t look right and feel it’s important, we will notify you. That way you can keep an eye on your pet to see if things improve, stay the same or get worse and determine when a vet visit is necessary. If your pet is eating the same thing every day their poop should look close to the same every day also.
(Photo courtesy of Osh Kosh & Nina)
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