poodle constipation?

Question
6 year old female poodle, 45 lbs.  I feed her Innova for adult dogs.  The bag says 2.5 cups a day but she's only eating about one.  Water is always there for her but she isn't drinking a lot. One long walk a day plus chasing a ball with her companion std. poodle, running back and forth upstairs several times a day. She is quiet and sleeps a lot but has energy as well, acting normally.

She only poops once or twice a day -- usually once.  It takes her a little while sometimes. For a while now her stool has been small (large black olives) and hard, so I guess it's constipation?  If so, how can I help?

Thanks --

Answer
It would be hard to know if she is constipated if nothing has changed in her diet. It may be that Innova doesn't have enough fiber for her or it has too much protein. Small, hard stool is not really being constipated but it is an indication of not getting enough fiber and that her water intake may not be adequate either.

I would add some canned pumpkin to her food for about a week to see if that helps with the dryness. Pumpkin is full of fiber and is usually well liked by dogs.

If not then you might have to get a fiber supplement at the vets for this purpose.
Personally I would switch both the dogs to Science Diet which has the optimal amount of fiber and nutrients for these dogs. I have never seen a dog that eats Science Diet have an issue with stools unless they were sick from a virus. I have been recommending,selling and feeding Science Diet to my own pets and my clients for over 29 yrs with nothing short of excellent results. And no, I do not work for them.

Try their three bag challenge and see what it does for your dog in three weeks time. You might be pretty amazed.

http://www.feedingisbelieving.com/believe/3BagChallengeForm.jsp

I hope that helps some Ann. Let me know if there is anything else I can offer. Let me know if you decide to try the Hill's and how it goes.