Dog poop colour chart, and a photo check that reads one for you
Stool is the cheapest health signal a dog gives you, and it changes before almost anything else does. Below is the colour chart and the 7-point consistency scale vets use, and a checker that will read a photo against both. It tells you what it sees and whether it is worth a call. It does not diagnose, and it never replaces your vet.
Take or choose a photo of the stool. It is analysed and discarded: we never store it.
The photo is sent for analysis and immediately discarded. It is never stored, never shown to anyone and never used for advertising.
Two optional questions (they make the answer better)
Age
How long has it looked like this?
Anything else going on?
Read this before you use it. This is an informational screening tool, not veterinary advice, not a diagnosis and not a treatment plan. Only a vet who can examine your dog can tell you what is actually going on. If your dog is unwell, call your vet whatever this page says. If you see black or tarry stool, a lot of fresh blood, or a puppy with liquid diarrhoea, stop reading and call now.
The colour chart
Colour tells you about transit speed, bile and blood. Judge it in daylight and on the stool itself: grass, gravel and snow all change what a photo seems to show.
Chocolate brown
The usual colour for a healthy dog on a steady diet. Bile gives it the brown tone.
Dark brown
Still in the normal range. Often follows a meat-heavy meal or a diet rich in organ meat.
Light tan
Common after a diet change or a rice-based meal. Worth watching if it stays pale for days.
Yellow
Often follows food that moved through too fast, a new food, or an upset stomach.
Orange
Sometimes a sign that bile has not mixed in properly. Repeated orange stools deserve a vet call.
Green
Grass eating is the everyday explanation. It can also follow a fast gut transit.
Red streaks
Fresh blood, usually from the lower gut or the rectum. Even a small amount is worth a call.
Black or tarry
Can mean digested blood from higher up the gut. Treat this as urgent.
Grey or greasy
Often linked to trouble digesting fat. Repeated greasy stools deserve a vet visit.
White or chalky
Can follow a very high calcium or raw bone diet, and can point to a bile problem.
The consistency scale, 1 to 7
Vets score stool from 1 to 7. Four is the target. Consistency usually matters more than colour: a brown liquid stool is a bigger deal than a firm yellow one.
- 1
Hard pellets
Separate dry pellets, hard to pass. Usually a sign of too little water or fibre.
- 2
Firm and lumpy
Holds together but segmented and dry. Drier than ideal.
- 3
Log with cracks
Keeps its shape, surface a little dry. Perfectly acceptable.
- 4
Ideal log the target
Holds shape, slightly moist, leaves little residue when picked up. This is the target.
- 5
Very soft pile
Some shape left, leaves a mark on the ground. Fine once, worth watching if it repeats.
- 6
Mushy, no shape
Soft heap with no form. Diarrhoea territory.
- 7
Liquid
Pure liquid, no solid matter. Dehydration is the main risk, especially in puppies.
When it is a call today, not a wait
These are the findings where waiting costs more than calling. None of them need a tool to interpret.
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Black or tarry
Digested blood from the stomach or small intestine looks black, sometimes shiny like tar. It is the one colour that means today, not tomorrow.
-
Fresh red blood, more than a streak
A single streak on an otherwise normal stool often comes from straining. Blood mixed through a loose stool, or a raspberry-jam appearance, is an emergency call, especially in a small dog or a puppy.
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Liquid diarrhoea in a puppy
Puppies dehydrate fast and have far less reserve than an adult dog. Liquid stool plus a flat, quiet puppy is a same-day call.
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Diarrhoea with vomiting, or a dog that will not eat
Two systems at once, or a dog refusing food, moves any stool finding up the queue regardless of colour.
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Something inedible coming through
Plastic, fabric, string or rubber in the stool means more of it may still be inside. String and thread are the dangerous ones: call rather than wait.
How the photo check actually works
The model is only allowed to describe. It reports colour, a consistency score from 1 to 7, visible features such as mucus or blood, and how confident it is in the photo. It is explicitly told not to judge urgency.
The urgency level is then decided by fixed rules on our side, using the model's description plus the two or three things you tell us: age, how long it has looked like this, and any other symptoms. That split is deliberate. It means a model having a bad day cannot talk itself out of flagging black stool, and it means the same inputs always produce the same answer. The rules are conservative on the things that matter, and when the photo is hard to read the result says so instead of pretending.
The description mode runs through the identical rules without a photo, so you can use it in the dark, on a bad camera, or when you would simply rather not take the picture.
The photo: it is shrunk in your browser before it leaves your phone, analysed once, and discarded. We never store it, never show it to anyone and never use it for advertising. What we do keep is the anonymous category result, for example "brown, consistency 4" with no image attached, so we can see which colours owners worry about most.
What usually helps a soft-stool dog
Diet changes and eating too fast are the two most common reasons a healthy dog's stool goes soft. None of this replaces a vet visit, and if the checker pointed you at one, go there first.
Digestive support
Probiotics and fibre are the two things vets most often suggest for a dog whose stools keep going soft. Worth asking yours which fits.
See picks on Amazon →Slow-feeder bowl
For deep-chested breeds, slowing the meal down is a simple habit vets recommend around bloat risk.
See picks on Amazon →Waste bags and scooper
Thicker bags and a scooper make the daily check easier, which is the habit that catches a change early.
See picks on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, PetCostEngine earns from qualifying purchases.
If this turned into a vet visit
A digestive workup is one of the most common unplanned bills a dog owner meets in the first year, and what it costs depends on your breed and where you live. We model both.
Questions owners ask
What colour should dog poop be?
Chocolate brown, holding its shape, slightly moist, and leaving little residue when you pick it up. Bile gives healthy stool its brown tone, so a stable brown generally means food is moving through at a normal pace. Dark brown after a meat-heavy meal and light tan after a diet change are both still in the normal range.
What does black dog poop mean?
Black or tarry stool, called melena, can be blood from the upper digestive tract that has been digested on the way through. It is the one stool colour that is treated as urgent by default: contact your vet or an emergency clinic the same day. Some medications and iron supplements can darken stool, which is exactly why a vet, not a web page, should rule the serious causes out.
Is yellow dog poop serious?
Usually not on its own. Yellow or mustard stool most often follows food that moved through too quickly, a new food, or a mild upset. It becomes a vet conversation when it lasts more than about three days, when the dog is also vomiting or lethargic, or when it comes with a very soft or liquid consistency.
Why is my dog pooping green?
Eating grass is the everyday explanation, and it is harmless. Green can also appear when food moves through too fast for bile to be reabsorbed. Green with diarrhoea, or green that keeps coming back, is worth a call, and in a dog with access to rodent bait it is an emergency.
Can an AI diagnose my dog from a photo of its stool?
No, and this tool does not try to. It reports what is visible in the photo, which is colour, consistency on the standard 7-point scale, and visible features such as mucus or blood. The urgency level then comes from fixed rules, not from the model. A diagnosis needs a physical exam, a history and usually a faecal test, which is why every result here points you to a vet rather than replacing one.
Do you keep the photos?
No. The photo is shrunk in your browser, sent for a single analysis, and discarded once the answer comes back. It is never stored, never shown to anyone and never used for advertising. The only thing kept is the anonymous category result (for example "brown, consistency 4") with no image and no identifying information.
How long should a dog have diarrhoea before I call a vet?
For an adult dog that is otherwise bright, eating and drinking, a single soft day is usually watch-and-see. Beyond two to three days, or at any point if the dog is vomiting, lethargic, refusing food or passing blood, it becomes a call. For puppies, senior dogs and dogs with existing conditions, the threshold is much lower: same-day advice is the safer default.
Reviewed by Matteo Giorgi, founder of PetCostEngine. Not a veterinarian: the thresholds here follow published veterinary guidance on stool scoring and on when digestive signs warrant a visit, and they are set to err towards calling. Published 6 October 2026.