Consistency of stools

Not sure if this comes under health or diet. A query has come up about the consistency of stools. Should they be hard or soft. Harder or softer? If too hard how do you make them softer so it is easier for the pup or dog to go to the loo? But if it is too soft then some would think that they have a start of diarrhoea. Do harder stools help the anal glands empty?

Stools IMO ideally need to be harder than softer. When I get my doggy bags, the dogs stool is very firm ideally. It doesn't give any (mush in) when picked up, but it doesn't crumble like too hard stool does. Firm, uniform pieces. Usually two or three from my dogs and not HUGE looking like human feces (which I've seen a lot from dogs fed very cheap foods). Too much bone in a raw diet can really mess up the stools, turning them into crumbly constipation. Lessen the bone in this case. Dogs that don't drink enough but eat kibble can also have the round, extremely hard stools. Encourage drinking by leading to water more often, or if a vet says it's okay... by lightly salting the food.

Mushy stool is a bit more complicated since so MANY things can cause it. Full vet check is needed if it's persistent to rule out issues such as parasites, IBS, and other issues that will make stool problems constant until they are treated.Then an allergy elimination diet should be tried, often VERY HARD and takes ages to yield results. Rice can help bulk the stool, as can pumpkin. Our cat had diarrhea for a while for no apparent reason, turns out that when she was outside, she was eating off the porch flowers, which didn't agree with her. The smallest things can have an impact on stool consistency.

Mine have firm stools that are easy to pick up. They shouldnt be crumbly ( too much bone) and they shouldn't be very soft either ( not enough bone). I leave the seeds in from butternut squash as it does help with anal glands as does bone in their food. I have never in my life had to empty my dogs anal glands

Not all dogs achieve consistent stools, exercise has a big impact on some dogs stools making them very soft, sometimes liquid but the very next stool might be fine. There are too many variables to give an accurate answer unless it's your own dog and you can monitor what goes in and what comes out and then try to figure out why.

Yep anotherr complicated issue when trying to explain to new owners with pups and rescue doglets. But you have answered one thing and that is more water.