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What to Feed a Dog with Diarrhea

Max. D Gray
By Max. D Gray. Updated: January 16, 2017
What to Feed a Dog with Diarrhea

Our dog can also suffer from gastric disorders leading to diarrhea, a situation that always generates concern for owners because often they are unaware as to the reasons that the dog has diarrhea and how to help it improve. It is important to be aware of the possible causes of this condition and act by providing the animal with everything it needs to stay nourished and hydrated while this condition is maintained. So at OneHowTo.com we now explain in detail what to feed a dog with diarrhea and when to consult a veterinarian.

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Common causes of diarrhea in dogs

Just as with humans, any radical change in the dog's diet, intake of foreign matter or the presence of parasites and bacteria can cause diarrhea, so it is important to be vigilant and try to discover the origin of this condition.

Some common causes for your dog to have diarrhea are:

  • Intake of some strange or toxic substances, garbage or some decomposed food. Eating any of the foods toxic to dogs can also cause a stomach upset.
  • Drastic change in the animal's diet: switch from one brand to another, from dry food to canned food or a home cooked meal can cause intestinal disorders.
  • Presence of bacteria or gastrointestinal parasites.
  • Food allergies.

If you suspect your dog has ingested any highly toxic substance such as poison, a cleaner, etc., it is imperative that you take it to the vet immediately as your animal may be in grave danger. Also, try to find the cause of diarrhea as this will help your pet recover.

Remove food for 12 hours

If we do not know why the dog has diarrhea or suspect that this is due to having eaten rotten or unsuitable food, the first thing to do is remove any food for 12 hours. It is important that the dog eliminates everything that is in its stomach before offering other foods. Then we can determine whether the diarrhea was a specific episode or whether it indicates a more serious problem.

Offer the dog plenty of fluids

While a dog with diarrhea should be kept fasting for 12 hours, it is essential that the animal consumes plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. Therefore it is recommended:

  • Change the water at least 3 times a day to make sure it is fresh for the animal.
  • If the dog refuses to drink, approach it and offer it ice cubes for it to lick. This solution will help it stay hydrated.
  • Add a teaspoon of sugar to your dogs water, it will encourage it to drink as sweetness greatly attracts dogs.
  • Prepare a homemade broth using only chicken and some carrots, no salt or seasoning of any kind. Strain the broth and put the chicken aside, offer the broth to your dog so to make it drink liquid, this will help it recover and effectively hydrate it.
What to Feed a Dog with Diarrhea - Offer the dog plenty of fluids

Slowly reintroduce food

If after 12 hours and following hydration, your dog's diarrhea has stopped, then it is important to slowly introduce food, always in various portions within a day as the animals stomach will be very sensitive.

If you wonder what to feed a dog with diarrhea, it is best to offer it a soft diet, so you can:

  • Serve a small portion of cooked rice without salt or seasoning together with a little shredded chicken cooked without any seasoning. The portion should not be large and ideally serve two or three servings throughout the day so the dog is eating slowly.
  • Chicken broth is also a good choice. You can prepare it with vegetables like carrots or pumpkin, without salt or seasoning and always without onion or garlic as these foods are toxic for dogs.
  • If you prefer to only feed your dog with dog food, then you can offer your pet canned dog food, moist and easy to digest. Again, do it two or three times daily.
  • Keep hydrating your dog, remember that this is important to you help it recover completely.

If your dog refuses to eat, you can consult our article how to get your dog to eat for some useful tips.

What to Feed a Dog with Diarrhea - Slowly reintroduce food

When should you go immediately to the vet?

There are cases where we need to act quickly if your dog has diarrhea. Therefore we recommend visiting the vet immediately if your pet:

  • weighs less than two kilos, in this case it is not appropriate for the dog to go unfed.
  • If the dog, after 12 hours of continuous fasting, continues to have diarrhea.
  • If diarrhea is accompanied by vomiting, fever or bloody stools.
  • If the dog with diarrhea is also listless, weak and does not play.
  • When we suspect that diarrhea can result from the ingestion of a toxic substance, a chemical or some poison.

For more relevant information, we recommend reading our article how to treat indigestion in dogs.

What to Feed a Dog with Diarrhea - When should you go immediately to the vet?

If you want to read similar articles to What to Feed a Dog with Diarrhea, we recommend you visit our Pets category.

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Joan Samara
Good advice! Along the same ideas I had myself
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