This article will tell you everything you need to know about dog diarrhea. I will not only explain home remedies and first aid measures to you, but above all I will tell you a lot of tips on how you can heal and strengthen the intestines and especially the intestinal flora of your dog in the long term. I hope that I can help you to get your dog better soon. So let’s get started!
Super important ! If your dog has just got diarrhea – that’s why you have found this article – and you don’t know how urgent or harmful your dog’s diarrhea is, you will find the emergency signs here:
If your dog has really severe diarrhea (watery and he cannot hold him back at all), if it is dark brown, black or red like blood, if he vomits in addition to diarrhea or if he has it for more than three days: Please go to the vet IMMEDIATELY!
Do not hesitate. Don’t wait another night. No, go straight there! The damage and cause can be life-threatening.
Why is the gut so important to your dog’s health?
The intestine is a large and important part of the dog’s immune system (takes on up to 80% of immune protection).
And only if the intestinal flora is healthy, your dog can absorb and utilize all nutrients from its food.
What are the signs of a disturbed intestinal flora?
- constipation
- persistent diarrhea
- Cramps and abdominal pain
- severe flatulence
- Loss of appetite
- Slackness
- loud rumbling in the intestines
- no motivation for walks or games
- weakened immune system
First, keep calm and cook light foods
As soon as Bruno has diarrhea for more than a day or I notice that their bowels are rumbling loudly (you can hear that correctly when you put your ear to your stomach) I start a light diet. When I saw Bruno’s first diarrhea, my vet told me not to come by every time. Because it would be a total “shooting at sparrows with cannons” if one were to give medication immediately after a day with diarrhea or vomiting. However, if your vet recommends giving medication or a food that is medicated in the event of diarrhea, you should question this.
Because drugs weaken or destroy the intestinal flora and then you are in a total vicious circle. Your veterinarian must definitely know and consider this.
My vet’s tip is that every time you have diarrhea, you should feed a light diet for three days and if the diarrhea still persists, you go to the vet. And in 98% of the cases, the topic will take care of itself. Such a statement may mean less “business” for my vet, but I trust her all the more, have recommended her many times and everyone was enthusiastic about her and recommended her to others. This certainly pays off for them in the longer term.
What exactly is “light food” for your dog?
You can easily prepare the light food yourself. I found some great information about this from my colleague Anke from Clean Feeding. She is the absolute specialist in dog nutrition. And that’s why I’m quoting them here directly:
“For a light diet, you choose feed components that are easy to digest and not stressful. Easily digestible is what they say. The amount of food should be around 2-4% of the dog’s weight. It is also a good idea to ease digestion by having several meals a day at first. You do this as follows:
- 1/3 meat
- 1/3 carbohydrates
- 1/3 vegetables “
Step 1: cook the meat
You should cook the meat because it is easier to digest that way. However, you don’t let the water gush wildly, but rather “soak” the meat in hot water until it is completely cooked and no longer raw. I always add a little organic chicken stock to the water to make it taste even better.
But please make sure that you don’t add too much broth and only use organic quality.
Important: take a lot of water when cooking meat! Because in this “meat water” you cook the rice so that it tastes better. And you can offer your dog the rest of the “meat water” to drink. Always goes down very well with us! And especially with diarrhea, there is always the risk that your dog will become dehydrated.
Step 2: Cook the rice and vegetables
Why is there rice with the chicken? Rice is dehydrating, but in this case we want it to “thicken” the intestinal contents without adding drugs like Imodium.
If your dog doesn’t tolerate rice at all, you can of course also choose boiled potatoes, which you then mash properly. I also mash the carrots to a pulp so that I can mix all the components really well.
Why are carrots great against diarrhea in your dog?
“Diarrhea occurs when bacteria or viruses colonize the intestines and release toxins. The prerequisite for this is that the pathogen first attaches itself to the receptors in the intestinal wall.
Cooking for a long time causes the starch molecules in the carrots to break down into oligogalacturonic acid. These can then attach to the intestinal mucosa instead of the bacteria, to which the pathogens would otherwise dock. “
What are the causes of diarrhea in your dog?
- Abrupt change of feed: new brand or variety, from dry to wet feed or to raw meat
- Food that is rich in fat or too cold
- spoiled feed
- Food intolerance or allergy
- Parasite infestation such as roundworms, hookworms and whipworms
- Infection by protozoa, such as coccidia or giardia – you can find out more about giardia here>
- Side effects of a drug or anthelmintic
- Liver, pancreas or kidney disease
- Poisoning from insecticides, such as from sprayed grass
- Poisoning by poisonous plants (this also includes parts of the potato or tomato plant)
- Poison bait poisoning
- As a result of fear, nervousness or other psychological causes
- Swallowed foreign bodies, e.g. stones, pieces of plastic toys
- Chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal area
How do I test if my dog is dehydrated?
- lay your dog on its side
- slowly pull the skin up into a fold in the shoulder and neck area
- as soon as you let go of the fold, it should recede immediately
- if your dog is long-haired or has a very thick coat, you can use your hand to feel whether and how the wrinkle disappears
- You can also measure the number of seconds it takes for the wrinkle to recede
What else can you do to help your dog with diarrhea?
Your dog should drink, drink, drink
Always offer your dog fresh water and try everything to motivate him to drink. Maybe you boil up some organic chicken broth and offer it to your dog when they have cooled down? Mix a little liver sausage into the water. Or use the meat water when you have cooked the light food.