Diarrhea in dogs does not have to be a disease in itself and owners shouldn’t be worrying if given sporadically. People who live with dogs know that this is not something unusual. However, when this problem is not timely, it may be a sign of something else, and you should seek professional help.
Many factors can cause diarrhea in our pets, including a sudden change in diet, food allergies or a viral or bacterial infection, but also more serious than may even endanger their lives. When diarrhea is persistent over time, vets should be consulted immediately and likewise if it is accompanied by other symptoms like fever, pain, vomiting, blood in the stool, weight loss, weakness, dehydration, loss of appetite or any other signs of disease. Many dogs can have acute diarrhea for a few days. If there are no serious symptoms, then you have no cause for alarm.
What can we do at home?
If diarrhea suddenly appears, the first thing to ask is whether there has been any change in your dog’s diet. Often the introduction of a new feed, especially if it is low cost, accompanies problems of this sort. It is important to give quality food to pets, because saving on food becomes spending more at the vet, and most importantly, your dog’s health is at stake. If still no cause for alarm, you can stop feeding the dog for 24 hours (12 puppies) and then give a soft diet of boiled rice and chicken, for example, for a few days. What not to do is never take water, as essential to regain hydration. Dogs tend to lose a large amount of water due to the frequency and stool consistency, which is the main worry of giving a large amount of water to reverse the effects of dehydration and electrolyte loss caused by diarrhea. If the source is not infectious or another disease denotes the change in diet usually works.
Major causes of diarrhea in dogs
- Food: diet changes, poor quality feed, lactose intolerance or other food or ingesting trash or something inappropriate.
- Intestinal parasites: regular deworming is essential to avoid such problems.
- Viral infections disease like parvovirus or distemper. These diseases are highly contagious and can be of great gravity. Diarrhea is one of its symptoms. To avoid them, you must comply strictly with the vaccination schedule.
- Bacterial infections: diseases such as E. coli or salmonella often accompanied by abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.
- Intestinal diseases
- Intestinal obstructions
- Kidney or liver
- Intestinal intussusception
- Hormonal imbalance
As you can see, there are many factors that can cause diarrhea in pets. If it is extended in the time, your dog may be allergic to any component of the usual food problem. A very common cause of allergy are cereals included in the formulation of many commercial feeds. If this were the case, we recommend changing the diet to a free natural feed grains. In any case, it is necessary to visit the vet to check your best friend’s health.