What Your Dog's Poop Can Reveal About Their Health? Fecal Analysis

Any wastes that come out of your dog's body carry useful information.

Gross is in the eye of the beholder. Our dogs feel about poop quite differently than we do. To a dog, poop can be a source of intel, a snack, as well as sometimes a source of missing nutrients.

What can your veterinarian learn from your dog's poop that you cannot on your own?


What Your Dog's Poop Can Reveal About Their Health? Fecal Analysis

First, your veterinarian will take a look at it the same way you do--with their eyes. Consistency, color, and things that don't belong. There is a lot to be learned from that, but not everything can be seen with a naked eye.

Microscopic examination


Looking at a fecal sample under a microscope can reveal the presence of intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and even coccidia. With some luck, stool mixed with saline can reveal Giardia swimming around on the slide.

This test can help with a quick diagnosis but only when it's positive. A negative test doesn't automatically mean there aren't any cooties; just that none of them made it on the slide.

Fecal Floatation


Fecal floatation is a bit more sophisticated, and it involves stool being mixed with a special fluid that causes parasite eggs to float to the surface. It may be centrifuged first.

The eggs are then collected from the surface and examined under a microscope. This technique is more reliable.

Baerman technique


Fecal floatation won't detect parasites that pass larvae rather than eggs. That's where this technique comes in. It is pretty much the opposite of floatation--the goal is to get the larvae to make their way to the bottom of a special funnel used for this test.

Baerman technique is most commonly done to detect lungworm.

Why would you examine poop for a worm that lives in the lungs? As this infection causes a cough,  eggs get coughed up and swallowed, making their way to the intestine.

Fecal Gram Stain


This is a form of fecal cytology, using a stain substance to highlight certain things under the microscope. It can be used to look for abnormal yeasts and bacteria. As much fun as this is, it seems to be a controversial and outdated approach. Its primary use is to identify Clostridia. But there are many species, some of them harmful and some of them not, as well as many other bacteria can look alike. It's all fine and dandy unless it leads to wrong conclusions.

Fecal culture


If you really want to know what bacteria is present in your dog's poop, help it grow. Which is what this test is. The bacteria in the small sample is nurtured and nourished, so they multiply making it easier to see what they are. The problem is that there are so much normal bacteria in the digestive tract, that you'll have all sorts of things growing. It can, however, sometimes be useful when looking for campylobacter, salmonella or clostridia.

ELISA testing


Here is where it gets fancy. ELISA is a form of immunology testing. It is used to diagnose all sorts of infections; when it comes to poop, it can detect things like parvovirus, Giardia or whipworm. It is highly sensitive and will discover things other tests might miss.

SNAP Assay


SNAP assay is ELISA testing packaged for convenience. Instead of having to send a sample to a lab and waiting for the results, your veterinarian can perform this test right on the spot in the clinic.

Fecal panels


If you think that immunology testing is fancy, how about detecting cooties by looking for their DNA? Unlike ELISA testing it doesn't need antibodies which may not be present yet or, if the immune system doesn't respond, might never be there. Like with everything it has its downside. If any one test was perfect, there would only be one test.

For example, you might end up with all sorts of results but does that mean there is actually a problem? False positives are common. Unless you're looking to confirm something in particular, this testing is more likely to be more confusing than useful. On the other hand, when looking for Giardia, this test is actually less sensitive than ELISA.

Future testing?


Work is being done testing whether evaluating gut microflora could be used for the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). So far, results seem promising. This would be a significant advantage because so far the only way to conclusively diagnose IBD is via biopsy.

Who knows what other useful information we might discover in our dogs' poop.


What is your dog telling you about their health?


Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog now available in paperback and Kindle. Each chapter includes notes on when it is an emergency.

Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog is an award-winning guide to help you better understand what your dog is telling you about their health and how to best advocate for them. 

Learn how to see and how to think about changes in your dog’s appearance, habits, and behavior. Some signs that might not trigger your concern can be important indicators that your dog needs to see a veterinarian right away. Other symptoms, while hard to miss, such as diarrhea, vomiting, or limping, are easy to spot but can have a laundry list of potential causes, some of them serious or even life-threatening. 

Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog is a dog health advocacy guide 101. It covers a variety of common symptoms, including when each of them might be an emergency. 

An award-winning guide for dog parents

Comments

  1. Not a topic many like to focus on, but it's so important I know your article will help. Poop can definitely tell you a lot and in the last few months of Red's life it was such a concern. A dog that never had diarrhea or any problems suddenly did, and in her case it was always a trip to the vet to catch whatever it was early.

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    1. I think many dog parents keep poop on their radar; it's hard to have a dog conversation without eventually got to talking about poop.

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  2. I always feel awkward having to go into the vet to drop off those little containers of dog poop. I know they are used to it, but it still feels weird haha. Great post to help owners understand more about what exactly vets do/are looking for with the samples.

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    1. Really? I am pretty sure it's not awkward for them at all.

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  3. Poop sure does have a lot to say. :) Thanks for explaining all the ways a vet can test a dog's fecal and what it means.

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  4. Very interesting and have never thought about it as I just hand it over to the vet tech and let me do the testing

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    1. The reason i broke it down is that sometimes people are stuck with runny poop and no diagnosis ... while not every test detects every cootie.

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  5. Having just read another post on vomit ... it's that kind of morning! But yes, these topics may seem gross but poop study is important.

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    1. LOL Yeah, I saw the article. I wrote about vomit earlier :-)

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  6. Parents, pet or otherwise, are obsessed with their "kid's" poo. But input and output tells you so much about their health.

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  7. My vet will often ask about the girls' poop. Unfortunately, with two cats I don't know whose poop is whose!

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    1. Maybe feed one of them something colorful to tell the difference? :-)

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  8. Too funny - my post is about throwing up and yours is about poop! Both are so important to understand and get to the bottom of so that we can help our pups! Great, informative post!

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    1. We were looking for each other LOL I already wrote about puke some time back.

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  9. My vet always reminds me to bring in a fecal sample for my dogs. Our reptile specialist also asks for one when we bring in our tortoise. I knew they could test for parasites, but I don't know if they are testing for other things as well.

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  10. Great post tackling a not-often talked about, but very important subject!

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  11. I always wondered why my vet wanted a stool sample from the girls for their Wellness checkups. There is so much we can learn from their poop.

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