Lucky people who have a dog for a long time, we know how common diarrhea can be in dogs. Diarrhea is not always a health problem for our dog, although obviously depending on some factors it may be necessary to use medication.
To put a treatment or home remedy that helps stop diarrhea in our dog, we must locate the reason why it suffers. Following the advice that from Dogsis.com we expose, you will be able to know how to cure your puppy in a simple way.
Index of contents
- 1 Why do dogs have diarrhea and how do they get it?
- 2 Diarrhea in dogs of Bacterial / Viral origin
- 3 Diarrhea in dogs caused by food
- 4 Diarrhea in dogs caused by parasites
- 5 How to act if a dog has diarrhea? Home remedies and steps to follow
- 6 Types of diarrhea in dogs and how to act
- 7 Medications to stop diarrhea in a dog
- 8 What to do if a puppy has diarrhea?
Why do dogs have diarrhea and how do they get it?
These little furry four-legged are generally very, very curious. When they walk down the street they like to smell everything and on many occasions, eat things that are found on the street or in the park.
There are many reasons why a dog can suffer from diarrhea, and not all of them need veterinary attention since we can solve them with some home remedies against diarrhea. But it is very important to know what type of diarrhea our dog has, since on other occasions it is necessary and even mandatory to go to a veterinaryn.
Diarrhea in dogs of Bacterial / Viral origin
It originates when our dog has an imbalance in its intestinal flora, which is made up of millions and millions of different types of bacteria. The coexistence between the different types of bacteria makes our dog have good health at the digestive level, but when for whatever reasons that flora is out of adjustment … our dog will suffer from diarrhea.
For what reasons are intestinal bacteria out of whack? It may be due to a virus that attacks the digestive system, a food in poor condition, an inadvisable feed (of low quality), the ingestion of harmful bacteria for the dog, etc…. There are so many possible causes that it is strange to be able to discover the correct one, although we must do so in order to avoid it in the future.
Many common diseases in dogs, such as the distemper, the parvovirus or even kennel cough (among many others) can cause intestinal disorders in our dog.
Diarrhea in dogs caused by food
Although it is often mistakenly thought that dogs can eat anything, the truth is that they are as sensitive as humans. A dog that has eaten something in poor condition, expired, rotten, something past or just some toxic dog food You will suffer from intestinal problems that will lead to diarrhea.
A cooked or inappropriate bone can also cause diarrhea, as can milk or even bread. Not all dogs tolerate different foods equally and there is generally a great deal of ignorance about what a dog can and cannot eat.
Dogs are predators, something that causes them to eat anything they see when they are walking in the street, the park or the mountains…. And sometimes those things are not in good condition or are not appropriate for them, which causes diarrhea.
Excess food can also cause diarrhea, as well as poor quality feed or a food allergy, some component of our dog’s diet.
Diarrhea in dogs caused by parasites
Along with batteries, viruses and diarrhea caused by food … Parasite diarrhea is one of the most common in dogs at general levels. Many people make the mistake of thinking that by simply giving your dog a pill against parasites every three months, your dog will be protected and free of them.
Something totally wrong obviously, since there are many types of parasites that are not eliminated with these conventional pills and need antibiotic treatments. How for example giardias in dogs, able to resist strongly to these pills and that can cause many diarrhea in our dog.
How to act if a dog has diarrhea? Home remedies and steps to follow
Before starting to treat our dog we must make sure that it is not something serious: If our dog is sick, has symptoms other than diarrhea, has bloody or excessively smelly diarrhea, has a fever or is down … we must go to a Veterinarian is a must.
However, if it is simply normal diarrhea, we can try to fix it at home. If all goes well, our dog should heal in just a day or two, following these easy steps:
- Withdraw food for 24 hours (total fast).
- Use natural probiotics
- Prevent our dog from eating things off the ground during the fasting period
- Use a soft diet the following days
If our dog has diarrhea today at this time, let’s say for example that it is 1:00 p.m., we must prevent our dog from eating absolutely anything for the next twenty-four hours. It is very important to always keep fresh and clean water available to the dog, more than important, it is mandatory.
So our dog will only be with water until noon tomorrow, so we can give him his first feeding of solid food. We should not start with feed, as it is a strong food that can cause diarrhea again.
On a personal level I like to use a little boiled rice and boiled chicken (boneless), at room temperature. With this I feed my dog what is left of the day, the next day I keep the rice and the chicken but also add a little of their feed. I keep increasing his feed ration and decreasing the rice and boiled chicken for another day or two, until he finally only eats the feed.
I like to use a probiotic that they sell at vets called “pro-enteric”, it is very effective and helps my dog regenerate its intestinal flora in a few days. It is like a paste that is added to food or given directly (the taste they like). Although we can also use a little brewer’s yeast and cured cheese.
Yogurt is good for the guts, but when they have diarrhea it tends to loosen them up even more. So I don’t recommend it when you are in this situation. On the other hand, if you do not want to use rice and chicken, they also sell a few cans of wet food (it’s like pate) for dogs with intestinal problems.
Following these steps our dog should stop having diarrhea in one day, but if we observe that the diarrhea does not stop it is possible that the problem is of bacterial or parasitic origin and needs veterinary treatment.
Types of diarrhea in dogs and how to act
This is just a small summary of how to act in case our dog has diarrhea, it is not a medical treatment guide or an obligation, they are simply advice based on experience.
- Diarrhea with mucus: Bright and how with a layer of snot wrapping around it. It occurs when the intestine loses intestinal flora and / with excess fat in the diet. You can try treating at home with the tips above.
- Diarrhea with a very strong odor and / or blood: This type of diarrhea is common when there is a serious disease, so it is highly recommended to go to the vet (mandatory actually).
- Yellowish and / or greenish diarrhea: It is quite common when it comes to some food that has not sat well with the dog, you can try to treat yourself with the advice given.
- Diarrhea in a puppy: Whatever the reason, we should go to a vet.
Remember that if your dog has diarrhea indoors, you should not scold or be angry with it, or even pout. Just clean everything with water and bleach and then give it a lot of pampering, try to find out what caused the diarrhea and act accordingly.
Medications to stop diarrhea in a dog
There are many medicines on the market that can be purchased without a prescription and that we can use in a dog with diarrhea, but we DO NOT recommend them under any circumstances. The reason is that these medicines do not cure diarrhea, they only make the intestine see more water, thus preventing the dog from having diarrhea. But it doesn’t fix the problem, it just masks it and many times makes it worse.
Some well known as “fortasec” or similar have this so undesired effect that it helps humans to get out of trouble, but that we should not apply to dogs.
What to do if a puppy has diarrhea?
Puppies are especially sensitive to viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Your diarrhea is usually caused by parasites but cannot be treated conventionally from home.
Due to their delicate health and to that they are not yet physically prepared to assimilate many of the usual problems that a dog can have (diseases), if our puppy has diarrhea we must go to a veterinaryn.
There are no home remedies or magic tricks for puppies, as a simple poorly controlled diarrhea can cost them their lives. We know that everyone wants to heal their dogs without the expense of going to a vet, but we honestly say that a puppy should be assisted by a vet, yes or yes.