Health
He hunches, strains and nothing comes out. Usually it's a bone or too little water. Sometimes it's a blockage, the prostate or even the bladder, and then you don't wait.
Caution. Straining with nothing to show plus vomiting or refusing food, a swollen painful belly, more than 48 hours without a stool in a flat dog, or a male who can't pass urine: ring your own vet today.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
He hasn't been since yesterday morning. On the walk he stops, hunches up, strains with his whole body and trembles a little. Nothing comes out, or a small hard whitish piece does, and then he trots on as if nothing happened. The internet has told you about oil, pumpkin and enemas, and now you are wondering whether you ought to do something yourself. Most of the time constipation in dogs is a small problem: something he ate, too little water, the bone he chewed on Sunday. Sometimes, though, it hides a blockage, an enlarged prostate or something that has nothing to do with the bowel at all. Here is how to tell them apart and when to ring the vet today.
A healthy dog skipping a day isn't an emergency. Ring your own vet today if:
On the phone, say when the last normal stool was, what he has eaten in the past two days and whether he is weeing normally. Every vet asks that last one, so check before you call.
Constipation is hard to judge from memory. A few days of notes tell your vet more than any description given in the doorway of the consulting room.
Most adult dogs go between one and three times a day. What matters is your dog's own pattern. A dog who has gone once a day for six years and now skips a day is a different case from one who used to go three times and now goes once.
Hard, dry, in small pellets? White and crumbly, like chalk? That nearly always means bones. Hair, grass, bits of plastic or fabric? Blood on the surface from straining? Take a photo, however odd it feels.
Watch how long he stays hunched, how hard he pushes, whether he cries or turns to look at his back end, and whether anything comes out. Ten seconds of video shows the vet straight away whether it is poo, wee or something else. With a male who is straining, the first question is always the urine: is he passing it normally, how much and how often.
Write down everything he has eaten in the last 48 hours, including what other people gave him: a bone, barbecue scraps, a new chew. Check whether he has drunk his usual amount. Dogs switched from wet to dry food, and dogs who drink little in winter, get constipated more easily.
Exercise counts too. A week of short walks, rest after an operation, back or hip pain that makes him avoid the position: all of these slow the gut down or make the squat hard to hold.
In long-coated dogs, faeces can stick to the coat until the anus is completely covered. The dog "isn't going" simply because there is no way out. Put gloves on and have a look under the tail.
| What is going on | What you usually see |
|---|---|
| Bones, especially cooked or a lot of them | White, hard, crumbly stool, heavy straining, sometimes blood on the surface |
| Too little water or a sudden switch to dry food | Small, hard, dry stool; dog otherwise bright |
| Ate hair, grass, fabric, toys | Visible bits in the stool; if it gets stuck, vomiting and a painful belly |
| Matted coat over the anus | Tries and cries, strong smell, area stuck together |
| Enlarged prostate, in older entire males | Flattened, ribbon-like stool, repeated straining |
| Hip, back or knee pain | Avoids squatting, stands up halfway through |
| Full or inflamed anal glands | Scoots on his bottom, licks the area, pain when passing stool |
| Little exercise, rest after surgery, anaesthetic | A few days without a stool, then back to normal |
The table is there so you can describe what you see. The cause is your vet's job.
If he gets constipated often, ask what you can change long term: food, water, walks, bones. Before you leave, ask for a clear threshold too. After how many hours without a stool do you come back, and which signs bring you back the same day? Put the answers in your phone, next to the photo of the stool. At three in the morning you won't remember a word of it.
Water always available, with a second bowl in another room. Part of his food moistened, if your vet agrees. Walks at his usual pace, with time to sniff: plenty of dogs go after ten minutes of calm walking, hardly ever after two. In long-coated breeds, the hair under the tail kept short.
And one more habit. Glance at what comes out, every day, for a few seconds. It is the cheapest health check you have, and usually the first to tell you something has changed.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
It depends on everything else. If he is eating, drinking, weeing and bright, ring your vet today or first thing tomorrow and note what he has eaten. If he is vomiting, off his food, has a swollen belly or seems to be suffering, ring now. After 48 hours without a stool a check-up is a sensible idea anyway, especially for puppies and old dogs.
Almost always bones. The minerals in bone aren't digested and come out as whitish, crumbly, chalky stool that is hard to pass, sometimes with blood on the surface from the effort. Cooked bones are the most dangerous because they splinter. Once a dog has produced chalky stool, no more bones.
No. Oil poured into the mouth can go down into the lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia. Some pharmacy enemas made for people contain ingredients that badly poison dogs, small ones especially. And if there is a blockage, a laxative only pushes the gut against something that can't get through. Ring your vet and let them decide.
Watch where he squats and what comes out: put newspaper or a sheet of white paper under him, or film it. A male who strains and can't pass urine may have a blocked urethra, an emergency measured in hours. If you aren't sure he is weeing normally, tell your vet that in the first sentence on the phone.
Once your vet has ruled out a blockage: water always available, part of his food moistened, calm walks with time to sniff, no bones, and in long-coated breeds the hair under the tail kept short. Talk to your vet about extra fibre or a change of diet, especially if it keeps happening.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
The plate of chicken bones cleared off the table, the stockpot bone given "as usual", the cracked tooth after a smoked bone. What to watch for and when to ring.
Half a bar of dark chocolate missing, the grape stalk bare, the sock gone. Gather the wrapper, work out how much he ate and call. Do not make him sick yourself.
He plonks himself down and drags across the carpet, licks under his tail, leaves a fishy smell. Most often it's the anal glands, but not always.
A puddle on the carpet at five in the morning, or three days of soft stool with mucus. Two different problems, and neither one gets solved from your medicine cabinet.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.