Poop! It’s one of life’s most taboo subjects, but all dog parents handle it daily. And paying close attention to your pup’s bowel movements can reveal a great deal about their health, nutrition, and diet. 

In the wild, trackers can tell an incredible amount about an animal from its stools alone. And as a vet, I can tell you that poop is one of the surest signals of how well a dog’s insides are functioning, and the quality of their diet. 

Why is poop such a key indicator of health? What is an ideal dog poop? And what causes digestive inconsistency? 

Let’s dive into the science of digestibility, and understand how to pick up what your dog’s putting down. 

What is "digestibility"? 

In plain English, a food’s digestibility is the amount of it which is actually usable by the body. And it’s the key to consistent, healthy potty trips. 

A quick science class refresher: As food is eaten and proceeds through all the various parts of the digestive system, it’s broken down into nutrients and sent to the necessary parts of the body. Leftover waste at the end of this process is expelled as feces. 

A highly digestible food both contains a large volume of nutrients, and is easily broken down by the body to access those nutrients. It nourishes the body effectively, and results in relatively little waste. 

A low quality, less digestible food provides the body with fewer nutrients, and results in a greater volume of waste products. 

Digestibility — or how usable a food’s nutrients are — is one of the key differences between pet foods. By assessing a dog’s feces, you can gather insight into the quality of their diet, and the health of their digestive system. 

What does a healthy poop look like? 

There are 4 key factors to assessing the quality of your dog’s poop, digestive health, and diet quality. 

1. Texture

Ideal: Your pup’s stool should be firm enough that it’s easy to pick up and should not leave a mark behind on the ground. 

Can signal an issue: Defecating shouldn’t be a struggle, too firm poops can suggest a lack of hydration or fiber. But most dogs struggle with the opposite, overly soft or runny poops — and if it’s a common occurrence, it’s typically a sign something’s not right. 

2. Color

Ideal: A light to medium-dark brown coloring is typical of a good poop. 

Can signal an issue: Other colors present. Red, black, or tarry stools can indicate the presence of blood or illness in the gastrointestinal track, and should be flagged with a vet. Same with yellow, green, or grey poops, which can be signs of other digestive issues in the body. 

3. Shape

Ideal: A solid, well-formed log suggests everything is working well.

Can signal an issue: Large soft serve, poop emoji-style poops are a classic indicator of a low-quality diet. At the opposite end of the spectrum, small pellet or ball shapes can suggest constipation, dehydration, or a lack of fiber. Skinny or stringy poops can be precursors to diarrhea, while a liquid blob on the ground means you’re already there. 

4. Smell

Ideal: It sounds weird to say, but poop shouldn’t smell that much. A healthy poop is notably less smelly than an unhealthy one. 

Can signal an issue: An unpleasant stench! Your dog’s poops shouldn’t induce gagging or watering eyes. Low quality diets resulting in large amounts of waste also provide lots of room for bacteria to ferment within them, causing more intense odors. 

Note: All living creatures can have off-days, based on all sorts of factors. But if poor poops last more than a few days, it can be the body calling for a change, or a conversation with your vet. 

How to achieve healthy poops

For a healthy output, focus on healthy inputs! A high quality, minimally processed diet is proven to be more digestible than typical dry food or kibble diets. 

This is because traditional kibble is typically made with low quality ingredients, lots of fillers, and then ultra-processed at extreme temperaturess. As the body digests kibble, there’s a lot of leftover, low-quality (loose, stinky) non-digestible waste to be expelled. 

In contrast, a food like Sundays, made to human-grade standards with minimally processed, healthy, and whole ingredients, is rich in high quality nutrition, in a highly digestible format. Our recipes all tested at a digestibility score of over 92% (most dog foods hover around ~75-80%), plus our ingredients include natural prebiotics like pumpkin, chicory root, and ginger to support the digestive system. 

Being higher in nutrient density also helps our food go further — dogs require less volume to satisfy their needs, and feel full for longer as the body extracts more nourishment from it. Your money literally goes further with better food! And we’ve got countless reviews from customers whose dogs are now having 5-star number 2s. 

Try healthy, easy Sundays for healthy, easy poops

Life as a dog parent is better when you don’t have to wonder every bathroom trip whether it’ll be a good poop day or a bad poop day. We’ve made it as easy as possible to feed a higher quality food that supports and benefits dogs’ digestive systems, with human-grade recipes, air-dried for easy storage and serving. 

Just tell us a little about your dog, and we’ll help you find the best healthy, nutritious recipes to support today’s needs and their lifelong health. 

Sundays was created to be the world’s healthiest, easiest dog food — try it today!