Soft poo on walks

[Chinchi]

I know this isn't the nicest of topics, but I'd like to know whether anyone else has experienced the following. At home Darla's poos are nice and solid but I have noticed that she will often do rather soft ones when we are out walking. Now I'm thinking if the exercise is causing it, perhaps excitement of being out on a walk? Or is a vet check-up advised? Otherwise she seems fine in herself hence I haven't thought it was anything too serious.

[take4roll10]

Is she nervous on walks? My dog has had soft poo because of anxiety.

[lovemyshelties]

We had a Sheltie a long time ago who would poop while walking (kind of sneaky dog), but the consistency stayed the same. Could be nerves. If it keeps up check with your vet.

[Chinchi]

Not at all. She can happily walk past lots of traffic, people etc, mostly with her nose to the ground. She's more excited than anything else, smelling everything.

[ute_fan]

We had a Lab who used to do that. The ones at home were fine, but when the kids or hubby took him walking (WAY too big and strong for me to walk), they'd come home laughing about the Sampson squirts frequently. Never even occurred to us that it might be a physical problem.

He didn't get walked all that frequently, as it was definitely a case of the dog pulling whatever human attempted to walk him. He loved to play fetch, and got most of his exercise that way.

[celloyogi]

Olive's poops are almost always softer on walks. No idea why; she'll have normal #2s in the morning and at night, but the afternoon #2 during the walk will be soft. My thinking is that the exercise gets things moving a bit too quickly for her system. It's not diarrhea but can on occasion be challenging to completely scoop up with a baggie.

If you're concerned about it, take samples in to your vet.

[Chinchi]

The comments about being nervous got me thinking. I have read on the net several times that sniffing is used as a calming behaviour in dogs. Now Darla sniffs ALOT. We can go the whole walk with her nose to the ground, and it's on these walks that she has the soft poos. When she's off leash running around she will sniff a little but mostly run and her poos tend to be firm. She does get frustrated on the leash, so I'm wondering if she is trying to calm herself down with sniffing?? All that emotion is probably what's causing havoc on her digestive system.

Just a theory....