Stool Health: When Loose Stools Are A Cause For Concern

by Good Dog People March 12, 2020 4 min read

It’s always a cause for concern when your pup behaves differently from normal - and that’s not limited to just their eating or sleeping habits! In fact, your pup’s bathroom habits and stool health are a great way to keep track of their general wellbeing. So it’s not difficult to understand why our dogs having diarrhea can cause major panic in pet parents.

But what exactly is the proper protocol for pet parents to follow in case of doggy diarrhea? What can cause diarrhea in dogs? Should you bring your pup to the vet right away? How exactly can you help your pup prevent diarrhea?

Why Your Dog Has Diarrhea

There’s a wide range of reasons why your pup might be suffering from diarrhoea, and a majority have to do with your pup’s digestive system. Some of these reasons include:

Eating something they shouldn’t have (such as food scraps, etc)
A change in diet
Bacterial, viral or parasitic infections in the gut
Foreign body blockage in the bowel
Eating something poisonous to dogs
Stress
Heatstroke and Dehydration
In serious cases, problems with their liver or pancreas

As you can see, many of these reasons aren’t too serious and are easily treatable. Nevertheless,if your dog keeps having diarrhea, it can indicate that something else has gone wrong. Plus, when your pup is suffering from diarrhea they’re likely to lose water much quicker than before and could get dangerously dehydrated after a prolonged period of diarrhea.

What should I do if my dog has diarrhea?

In general, you don’t have to bring your pup to see a vet if they have the occasional bout of diarrhea - especially if it’s not too serious. These cases are usually linked to your pup eating something they shouldn’t have or a change in their diet that’s not agreeing with their stomach. Typically, mild cases of diarrhea pass over in a couple of days as long as you make sure to keep your dog on a strict diet.

In other words, as long as your pup appears relatively well and hasn’t vomited more than one time in a day, just make sure to give them plenty of liquids to replenish the water in their body. If they’re being particularly picky, you can try to dilute some ofBone Broth Dr.’s nutritious Bone Broth in their water to encourage them to take in more water than their losing.

However, if your pup is also vomiting in addition to having diarrhea, make sure not to let them drink too much or too quickly as it might make them sick again. Instead, feed dogs small quantities of water frequently.

If you believe your pup is having diarrhea due to their diet, you can also try offering them small amounts of white meat like fish or chicken with white rice every two or so hours, gradually mixing in their typical feed over the course of a day.

Throughout all of this, it’s absolutely vital for you to continue monitoring your dog’s pooping situation. If your dog keeps having diarrhea over more than two days, it’s probably time to let your vet know.

While it may not always be necessary to bring your dog to the vet right away, if your dog is a puppy, an elderly or suffers from any prior health conditions, you may want to give your vet a call. In particular, puppies can contract bad infections that result in diarrhea - with their tiny body weight, they could become dehydrated extremely fast.

In addition, if your dog experiences any of the following symptoms together with their diarrhea, you should get them to a vet as soon as you can:

Sleepiness/lethargy
Repeated vomiting (more than once)
Increased thirst / urination
Seizures
Fever
Blood or other foreign objects in your pup’s poop

Can I prevent or treat it?

It’s difficult to prevent diarrhea as there are so many reasons your pup might be suffering from it. But the most important thing you can do, is to monitor your pup’s response to their current diet and get their diet fixed when you can. Try outStella & Chewy’s Limited Ingredient Dry Dog Food for pups with a sensitive stomach.

Toxic substances like chocolate or rubbish in your bin should be kept far out of the reach of any pet. Also, make sure to keep your pup’s deworming up to date if they’ve been to the vet for these types of issues before.

You can also giveLactoGold’s Probiotic Kaolin Gel for Dogs a try as this tasty gel formula is easy to eat, especially for newborn pups, and can help inhibit diarrhea and boost your pup’s immune and digestive system.

If your dog is beginning to recover from loose stool, you may want to also give your pup a little boost with some ofNaturVet’s Digestive Enzymes Prebiotic Plus Probiotic Supplement to help your pup get their digestive system back in shape.

But if you’re worried your pup might be susceptible to further tummy problems, give them some ofGrandma Lucy’s mouthwatering Pumpkin Pouches. These delicious support supplements are chock full of superfoods that help boost your dog’s digestive system, supporting healthy stool.

In the end, dog Diarrhea is generally categorised as being not too serious a medical condition. If your pup does have diarrhea, there’s no need to bring it to a vet immediately, unless it meets any of the criteria we’ve set up above. Instead, just make sure to keep an eye out for your pup’s eating habits and ensure they don’t eat anything they shouldn’t.