Canine Fecal Analysis: What Can Your Dog’s Poop Reveal About Their Health?

Believe it or not, 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?

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 show Giardia swimming around on the slide.

This test can help with a quick diagnosis, but only when 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. Again, it may be centrifuged first.

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

Further reading: Fecal Flotation
Fecal Float (Fecal Flotation) Parasite Pictures Gallery

Baerman technique

Fecal floatation won’t detect parasites that pass larvae rather than eggs. So 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.

Further reading: Fecal Baermann

Fecal Gram Stain

This form of fecal cytology uses 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 As much fun as this is, it seems to be a controversial and outdated approach.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, and 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 many normal bacteria in the digestive tract that you’ll have all sorts of things growing. It can, however, sometimes be helpful 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 immunology testing is fancy, how about detecting cooties by looking for their DNA? Unlike ELISA testing, it doesn’t need antibodies that may not be present yet or, if the immune system doesn’t respond, might never be there. But, like with everything, it has its downside. If any one test were 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, this test is actually less sensitive than ELISA when looking for Giardia.

Future testing?

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

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

Related articles:
What’s in the Poop?

Further reading:
Why Does My Veterinarian Want a Poop Sample?