Call of Doody

A friend emailed me a couple of weeks ago about her dog not feeling well, and when I wrote back, I asked her what his poop looked like. We both got a laugh out of that, because only one dog ma would question another dog ma about her dog's poop.

People with multiple dogs can carry on entire conversations about poop.  We are masters of poop; Poo Meisters, if you will. Take it from a girl who actually keeps an excel worksheet of dog food ingredients in an attempt to pinpoint what is upsetting Lammy Lamb's digestion.

A dog's poop is the first clue that he might have an upset stomach, or that something more sinister is afoot. Changes in the poop's appearance can indicate allergies, poor nutrition, worms, and even liver problems.

In our household, I see a lot of poop. A LOT. We've got five dogs, so I can't escape it. And like any other multi-dog ma will tell you, I can identify which poop came from which dog. Dare I say, sometimes I can even identify which-dog-did-what by the smell.

A crescent butterfly. They survive on dung. At least they make poop pretty.

Every day is a veritable Poop Adventure at our place. Lammy Lamb has a recurring digestive issue that seems allergic in nature. I think we've got it pinned down to wheat. Days when she has a reaction are spent taking her out every fifteen minutes so she can assume the position. She has the urge, and stands in the yard like she means business, but can't produce anything substantial. What she *does* produce, is…totally weird.

Rocket has poop issues that we haven't figured out yet .

A typical day doesn't go by in our house without the question: "Did you see Rocket poop today? What did it look like?" and then a lengthy descriptive discourse follows, along with a verbal recounting of everything he's eaten in the past 24 hours.  Yes. An entire conversation about poop.

And how many times have I run the dogs out to potty before we are planning on leaving the house for an appointment or something, when one of them has a poop emergency? At our house, that's when somebody ends up with a poop pancake stuck to their butt, and I have to give them an emergency bath.

That probably happens as often as when the floors have just been mopped and while I am rinsing out the mop and hanging it to dry, somebody is busy leaving me a poop present on the newly cleaned floor. An "award" doody for doing such a good job; and look mom, I made it myself!

Then there's all the poop weirdness.  Rocket Boy doesn't like anybody to see him poop, so he tries to hide it. Maria is the only dog I've ever known who tripods to poop – right rear leg always lifted daintily. Taco marches when she poops, leaving a doody trail -  like Hansel and Gretel are going to need it to find their way home. And Lammy Lamb's poop sometimes shoots out so fast it makes an audible "ping". Should it be after dark (no mini dogs out at night because of the coyotes) and Lammy Lamb's used a pee pad or newspaper, she spends 20 minutes trying to cover it. The only normal pooper at our house is Waldo, God bless him.