10 Best Dog Foods for Less Poop in 2023 – Reviews and Top Picks

If it feels like you’re going through an excessive amount of poop bags, you might wonder if there is a way to decrease the amount of waste your dog creates. Sometimes, your dog may be dealing with a medical issue causing them to poop more. In other cases, a food change might be just what they need to go less. In this article, we’ve rounded up reviews of what we think are the best diets for less poop this year. After you read up on our selections, browse our buyer’s guide for even more guidance in picking the right diet.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites of 2023

The 10 Best Dog Foods For Less Poop

1. The Farmer’s Dog ‘Chicken Recipe’ Fresh Dog Food Subscription – Best Overall

Our choice for the best overall dog food for less poop is The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe. It is made from whole chicken and vegetables, gently cooked with no preservatives, and the food is shipped directly to your house on a regular schedule, selected by you. The Farmer’s Dog is high in protein, nutritionally balanced, and nutrient-dense. It is a small business with meticulous sourcing and food prep standards. It will appeal to those who wish they had the time to cook for their dog but worry that what they make would be missing key nutrients. The Farmer’s Dog does not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or internationally.

Our pick for the best dog food for less poop for the money is Nature’s Recipe Easy-To-Digest Chicken, Rice, And Barley dry food. The more food your dog can absorb and digest, the less will come out the other end, and this food is designed for maximum absorption and minimum defecation. This diet contains lean protein, gentle grains, and a blend of prebiotics and fiber to improve overall gut health. Several customers specifically mentioned that it decreased the amount of poop their dogs produced. Others noted that it made their pups less gassy as well. The food is made in the USA, but some ingredients may come from outside the country. The size of the bag was recently reduced as well, with the price staying the same, which some users did not appreciate.

If your dog struggles with overall digestive health or can’t handle the fat content of a normal diet, consider Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Gastrointestinal Low Fat. This prescription diet is formulated for dogs with highly sensitive stomachs and those that can’t properly digest fat. Royal Canin is made with prebiotics and easily digested proteins, and it also contains additional ingredients designed to help your dog’s gut work as efficiently as possible. This recipe does require a prescription and is one of the more expensive foods on our list. Owners of small dogs report that the kibble size may be too large for tiny mouths to chew properly.

Housetraining is hard enough, but if your puppy seems to be constantly pooping, it becomes even harder. Try feeding your baby dog Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin And Stomach Dry Diet. This food contains lamb and oatmeal as the primary protein and carb sources, both considered gentle on the stomach. It also contains prebiotics to maintain gut bacteria and live probiotics to improve digestion. Besides these extras, the recipe contains everything your pup needs to grow at the right pace: calcium, extra protein, fatty acids, and antioxidants. Most users reported positive experiences with this food, although some noted that their puppies didn’t like the taste.

If your dog prefers canned food, try offering Hill’s Science Diet Sensitive Skin And Stomach Turkey And Rice Stew. This tasty (according to dogs) meal features a blend of easy-to-digest poultry proteins and rice. It also contains real vegetables and is made in the USA. Fatty acids and vitamin E help keep your pup’s coat looking good as they poop less. Most users reported their dogs enjoyed this food and had no issues digesting it. Some didn’t care for the soupy consistency, while others reported issues with damaged cans during shipping and complaints about the pull tab on the can breaking off easily.

Some dogs poop a lot because they have food sensitivities that don’t allow them to digest their meals properly. These dogs may benefit from a limited ingredient diet, such as Natural Balance Grain-free Salmon And Sweet Potato Dry Food. With fewer ingredients to digest, your dog may produce less poop. While this diet is grain-free, not every pup needs to avoid grains, so double-check with your veterinarian before trying this food. Users report that Natural Balance has a strong odor and that some dogs dislike the taste of the fish-based recipe.

Another option for dogs that are pooping more due to food sensitivities is Acana Limited Ingredient Duck and Pumpkin. It features duck, oats, and pumpkin as the primary protein and carb sources. This recipe will also appeal to those who prefer buying from small companies rather than large corporate manufacturers. Acana is manufactured at one facility, allowing tighter control over quality and ingredients. Pumpkin helps maintain digestive health and good poop quality, while the duck is a novel protein ideal for dogs with known food allergies. This is a higher-priced brand, and some users report the kibble is too big for smaller dogs.

Purina One + Digestive Health is an affordable digestive health option designed with easily absorbed ingredients and added probiotics to keep the gut working. Added antioxidants and fatty acids support overall immune health and nourish the skin and coat. Purina One is a more cost-effective option for those on a budget, which means it contains less expensive ingredients such as chicken by-products. Some owners prefer to avoid these, although they are an approved protein source for dog food. Purina is widely available in most stores, as well as online retailers. It is not a good choice for dogs with food sensitivities because it contains chicken, a common allergen.

As a prescription-only offering from Blue Buffalo, Natural Veterinary Diet contains the real chicken, fruit, and vegetable ingredients the company is known for. The proteins and grains are easy to digest, while prebiotic fiber helps keep your dog’s gut in balance and their poop regular. This recipe is not as low in fat as the Royal Canin GI brand and may not work as well for dogs with weight issues. Blue Buffalo GI Support is only available in two sizes and is a bit more expensive than regular recipes from this company. Most users reported that the food worked as intended for their pups with sensitive bellies. However, small dog owners feel that the kibble is too big for tiny mouths.

Wellness Core Digestive Health contains kibble coated in probiotics. It also contains both prebiotics and added digestive enzymes, helping your dog absorb as much nutrition as possible and expel less poop. It also contains unique ingredients like papaya for added antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Two different fish meals are a natural source of glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health support. Most users found this food helpful for their dogs with sensitive stomachs and appreciated that it contains no chicken ingredients. Some noted that it gives their dogs fishy breath, though!

Buyer’s Guide: How to Select the Best Dog Food for Less Poop

Before making your final decision on the best food for your pet, here are a few additional points to keep in mind.

Before trying to fix your dog’s pooping with a diet change, see your vet to determine if there is a medical reason for their bathroom habits. Some dogs may have food sensitivities or not tolerate higher fat diets. Others may have trouble with grain-free food. There’s also a possibility your dog could be dealing with a chronic condition that’s causing them to poop more, such as inflammatory bowel disease. Any of these causes of extra poop will impact your food choice and may require additional medications or supplements as well.

What’s Your Budget?

With the cost of seemingly everything going up these days, it’s fair to consider the price of your dog food options while shopping. Unless your dog requires one of the higher-priced prescription diets, you probably don’t need to empty your bank account feeding your dog. Many over-the-counter brands charge higher prices because they use “whole” or “high quality” ingredients. These terms don’t technically tell you anything about the quality of the product. Most dogs are happy to snack on roadkill and rabbit poop, so they probably aren’t going to care whether their dog food is made of free-range duck or not.

What Else Is the Food Good For?

Most of the brands on our list contain similar added nutrients to support digestive health: probiotics, prebiotics, and fiber. To help decide between them, you may need to dig deeper and see what other additional benefits the food offers. For example, does it also contain glucosamine for a dog that struggles with joint pain? Does it offer the nutrients a growing puppy needs to maintain a healthy development?

Conclusion

As our best overall dog food for less poop, The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe offers dense nutritional value. Our best value pick, Nature’s Recipe Easy-To-Digest, features maximum nutrient absorption for less. Royal Canin GI Low Fat is the heavy-duty option for dogs with medical conditions. ProPlan Puppy Sensitive Skin And Stomach features gentle ingredients to minimize puppy poop. Hill’s Science Diet Sensitive Skin And Stomach Turkey is an easily digestible canned food option. We hope our reviews of these 10 diets helped you learn more about what to feed your dog as you try to minimize the amount of daily poop you clean up.

Featured Image Credit: Pezibear, Pixabay