As a devoted dog owner your dog being healthy and happy is important to you. Because of your love for your pooch, it can be particularly distressing when they suffer from nasty symptoms like diarrhea.
As well as causing dehydration and other health issues for your pet, diarrhea can be quite messy to deal with too.
Luckily, there are plenty of home remedies for diarrhea in dogs. First, though, let’s get a better understanding of why this nasty condition happens to our canine companions:
Why Does My Dog Have Diarrhea?
Diarrhea essentially means very soft, or entirely liquid stools in dogs. You can take a closer look at the different types of waste dogs leave behind and what they should look like in this handy article.
When this happens it can be for a number of reasons, usually reasons that do not warrant emergency treatment or lots of concern.
Scavenging behavior can be a common reason that dogs get a poorly tummy. Dogs commonly eat whatever they find, even if the items aren’t suitable for consumption. This kind of behavior can result in them eating something they shouldn’t eat which can then cause diarrhea.
In some instances, an infection caused by a virus, parasite or bacteria can cause runny stools, but this is less common. Even rarer is a blockage in the bowel, poisoning, or issues with the major organs.
Interestingly, If he has diarrhea too much, he may not be getting enough fiber. If your dog is not pooping with consistency, he is likely not getting enough fiber either. So his digestive issues could also be due to an improper diet. You have to make sure your dog poops at the appropriate frequency by giving him food that’s filled with fiber, pre- and probiotics and digestive enzymes to make his gut happy and healthy.
For that reason, diarrhea in addition to the following is usually a good reason to call the vet:
● Your pet has an underlying health condition
● Your dog is lethargic
● Your dog is vomiting again and again
● Your dog is peeing more or trying to pee more
● Your dog is excessively thirsty
● The dog has had a seizure
● The poop is bloody or has lots of unusual coloring or contents
● Diarrhea has been occurring for more than a few days
● Your dog is very young
If your dog doesn’t have additional considerations as well as their diarrhea it will never do any harm to take them to the vet if you are concerned. If you know this is simply an episode they are having, there are lots of things you can do to help your pooch feel better.
How To Treat Diarrhea In Dogs
The best thing you can do is to avoid diarrhea in your pooch in the first place. You can help to avoid your dog getting diarrhea by following these tips:
● Ensure your dog has the right diet for their needs
● Take human leftovers and tidbits out of their diet
● Ensure any substances toxic to dogs are always out of reach
● Switch foods slowly
● Try to prevent your dog scavenging
If your dog already has diarrhea then it might be a good idea to stop feeding them for 6 hours or more just to give the gut a rest. If your dog has a pre-existing condition it is important to ask your vet if you should do this.
If the dog is a puppy though they should not have fasted.
If you are fasting your dog, allowing them to lick some honey from a spoon every hour will help keep their blood sugar up.
Once diarrhea has slowed or stopped, small amounts of water should be offered.
After about 6 hours or more you can then introduce very plain food to your pooch. Cooked rice and bone broth are really good choices.
If your dog does not recover or appears to have any additional issues as we mentioned above, it is so important that you seek advice from your vet.
By keeping a close eye on your dog, and their environment, you can help your dog avoid diarrhea altogether. If they do struggle with runny stools, speedy action from you will help them get relief quickly.
