Diarrhea is common in dogs since they tend to eat anything they find, therefore, it is necessary to maintain a clean environment without garbage bags that the dog can tear apart. But other than that, you must know about everything you need to immediately treat your dog’s diarrhea.
There is a large number of possible causes of diarrhea, so, in the first instance, we recommend that you take your dog to the veterinarian so that it can be treated professionally and with appropriate treatments depending on the result of the laboratory tests the dog was submitted to. In the case that the nearest veterinarian is on vacation, or you’re not able to take it until the next day, we will recommend some tips on how to treat diarrhea (as a symptom).
How to treat a dog’s diarrhea?
The first thing to ease a dog’s diarrhea is to treat the disease that causes it, which is why we recommend that you visit the veterinarian as soon as possible if your dog has abundant diarrhea. If the diarrhea is a symptom, or as a result of your dog having eaten something in poor condition, we advise you to hydrate the dog constantly, because it will surely have lost a good amount of fluids that must be replaced.
Besides, it is necessary to change the way you feed your dog so that the diarrhea process does not continue, so, instead, it can reduce and finally vanish.
After visiting the veterinarian, he may recommend changing your dog’s diet after a short period of fasting. The diet that will most likely recommend is the soft diet, which consists of giving your dog soft foods that can be easily digested.
It is necessary to stop feeding your dog with industrial croquettes or with homemade food that you have been feeding it over time, and now it’s time to move to an adequate diet for its delicate state of health. It will also be necessary that the dog goes more hours on an empty stomach so it can rest from frequent defecation. When it is time to feed it, proceed with the soft diet for dogs with diarrhea.
Characteristics of the ingredients of a soft diet for dogs
The ingredients you use in a soft diet must contain certain characteristics that will make its body return to normal. Some of them are:
- All ingredients must be low in fat.
- No seasoning should be added to the ingredients except a little salt.
- Fried or prepared foods with plenty of oil should not be supplied to the dog, only grilled or boiled foods are recommended.
- The dog should not be given food from the BARF diet during diarrhea, all food must be cooked very well before it is supplied.
Among the ingredients that you should feed your dog during diarrhea are:
Yogurts: this type of food causes the intestinal flora to grow at an accelerated rate. But first make sure that your dog is not allergic to lactose, which could only worsen the diarrhea process.
Rice: in good quantities.
White meat: among which we highlight turkey, chicken, and whitefish.
Vegetables: carrots, well-cooked potatoes, pumpkin and apples (without seeds).
Water: it is the most important element since it will prevent dehydration. You can make the dog enthusiastic about drinking water if you present it as chicken broth.
On each plate of food, you must provide the dog with 70% white meat fish, chicken or rabbit, without bones or fat. The rest must be divided between water (which can be broth), vegetables and tubers.
The frequency of daily feeding when a dog has diarrhea will depend greatly on the animal, its mood and whether it is a gluttonous breed. Usually, four meals a day (that meet these requirements) will be enough to see your healthy dog again, but always remember to take it to the veterinarian if diarrhea lasts more than two days.