Diarrhea Treatment for Dogs

Before one can treat a dog for diarrhea the cause of the condition should be determined.

There are a number of reasons why a dog may be suffering from diarrhea, these are:

- The dog has eaten rotten or contaminated food.
- A toxic substance such as a cleaning chemical, insecticide or herbicide has been ingested
- The dog may be ill from another condition which is causing the diarrhea.
- A stressful environment may also cause diarrhea in a dog.

If the dog has eaten a toxic substance it is important to get it to a vet or hospital as soon as possible to receive the relevant treatment.

A dog with diarrhea showing any of the following symptoms below may need medical attention:

- Fever
- Regular vomiting
- Abdominal pains
- Lethargy
- Loss of appetite
- Traces of blood in the stool
- Dog has diarrhea longer than 2 days.

At home treatments for dogs with diarrhea:

If the dog has not eaten a toxic substance and is not suffering from another health condition there are a number of remedies one may try.

• Firstly it is important to keep the dog rehydrated. Put a clean fresh bowl of water out 2 – 3 times in the day.

• Add a probiotic to the dog’s water or food.

• Fast the dog up to 24 hours, this helps to give the gut a bit of a rest to hopefully recover from the cause of the diarrhea. Puppies younger than 7 or 8 months should not be fasted longer than 12 hours. The following day feed the dog a mixture of white rice with shredded, boiled chicken. You can also add some plain yogurt or low fat cottage cheese to the mix. This mixture should help bind the stools. Monitor the consistency of the stools and with each day gradually add some of the dogs regular food to the rice/chicken mix. If there is no improvement after a few days take the dog to a vet.

• Rice water and certain varieties of plain yogurt and cottage cheese contain natural probiotics which help bind the stools.