How Long After A Dog Eats Do They Poop? (Explained!)

Nailing down a dog’s pooping schedule is essential. This will help dictate when you let the dog out, how much it eats, and what the feeding schedule looks like.

Dog owners are recommended to figure this out based on each individual dog’s digestive system.

The first question you will want to ask is, how long after a dog eats do they poop?

Most adult dogs will poop 6-8 hours after eating. Younger dogs tend to poop 20-30 minutes after pooping due to having a faster metabolic rate compared to older dogs.

It’s important to note, this number can change depending on how much a dog has consumed. If they went overboard with a meal, it is possible they are going to have to relieve themselves faster.

It’s best to take the time to figure out how much your dog is eating to finalize a schedule that’s easy to follow.

This article will take a look at how to figure out when a dog poops after eating.

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Tips On How To Figure Out When A Dog Poops

1. Create a Set Feeding Schedule

The best place to start is by setting a feeding schedule for your dog.

The idea is to know exactly how much the dog is eating including calories. Just having this information will allow you to get a read on how fast the dog’s digestive system is once it eats food.

You can then begin to keep track of how long a dog has before it needs to poop.

If you don’t have a set feeding schedule for the dog, their digestive system can end up being all over the place. Sometimes the dog will want to go early and other days it will want to wait longer.

It’s important to fine-tune and streamline things as much as possible.

How long after a dog eats do they poop

2. Start Counting After Dog’s Last Bite

You will want to start counting with a watch after the dog takes its last bite.

There is no reason to start before as each dog eats at its own pace. Some dogs will eat fast on certain days and slow down on others. This is why starting from the dog’s first bite is not efficient or accurate.

You will want to take the time to start counting as soon as that last bite is digested.

After this, the clock will have to start ticking. Just take a look at when the dog wants to be let out as that will signal this is how its digestive system works.

In younger dogs, you have to be more vigilant and keep track of how they are behaving before pooping. This is to avoid any accidents inside the home.

3. Keep Track in a Journal

How are you going to keep track of a dog’s pooping schedule after eating?

You will want to record everything include the date, how much was eaten when the dog started eating, and how long it took for a dog to poop.

Having all of this data is going to make it easier to find patterns. Remember, each dog is unique, and having this data on hand will make your life easier. There is no reason to settle for less when it comes to this.

How long after a dog eats do they poop

4. Don’t Change the Food During Tracking Period

Do not change the food your dog is eating during this tracking period.

The tracking period should last for a couple of weeks. This will be enough to find set patterns and establishing a pooping schedule for your dog moving forward.

The reason you don’t want to change the dog food is due to the impact it can have on the tracking. Certain foods have more fiber and this can kickstart the dog’s digestive system and throw everything off track.

Once you have a baseline, it is then okay to start making changes to a dog’s feeding schedule.

Final Thoughts

How long after a dog eats do they poop?

A dog will poop approximately 8-12 hours after eating its meal. This means it’s common for a dog to want to head outdoors during this period to relieve itself. In younger dogs, it’s common for them to poop within 20-30 minutes.

It’s best to keep track of this information in a journal along with the dog’s activity level. Eventually, you are going to start seeing patterns in the dog’s pooping schedule.

It’s important to get to the point where you have this information in the back of your head. This is when you can get creative with what the dog is eating.

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