What Should A Dog With Diarrhea Eat?

Diarrhea is a very common disease that affects many dogs. However, this symptom could hide something more serious and, if not treated properly, represents a serious risk to the general health of your four-legged friend. The main dangers obviously concern dehydration. In the worst case, it can be diseases related to some type of intestinal bacterium. In this article we will explain what a dog with diarrhea must eat in order to fight it and, possibly, stop it.

Why does your dog have diarrhea?

Before knowing how to treat diarrhea, we need to understand  the causes that plague your pet. This defecation disorder can result from several factors:

• Intestinal bacteria. As dogs walk down the street, they put their noses and mouths into just about anything they find. Furthermore, they often come into direct contact with other animals, which could be carriers of various intestinal diseases. Diarrhea is certainly a consequence of this high interaction, with the environment and social.

• Poor food. A dog with diarrhea may have eaten food that is out of date or even in poor condition, such as what it can get by rummaging in the garbage. Even if you are the best owner in the world, it is not always possible to see everything a dog puts in its mouth.
• Food allergies. This possibility should be taken into consideration especially in cases where diarrhea occurs in a very abundant way and lasts for a longer period of time. Some dogs develop allergies early on, others may suffer from them as they grow up. In any case, it will be necessary to take the animal to the veterinarian in order to achieve a clinical picture and therefore be able to exclude from its diet the foods that cause these allergies.

• Objects ingested accidentally. Often your dog, pushed by his irrepressible throat, brings various types of objects to his mouth, ingesting them even without chewing. Sometimes, they can easily be expelled through vomiting. But diarrhea is also an excellent self-defense system. So check if you see any strange particles in his stool.
• Bad nutrition. You may not be feeding your pet as well as you should, and there could be a variety of causes. It could be an excess of wet food, or the administration of unsuitable food for the breed, age or even, perhaps the quantities are excessive. Also in this case it is good to go to the veterinarian, in order to exclude worse eventualities and take the necessary countermeasures.

What to feed a dog with diarrhea?

Once the causes of diarrhea in dogs have been identified, it is time to know how to stop it. The main way to do this is through food. There are three basic tips, simple but effective, which we invite you to follow carefully:

1. Get the dog to fast

A dog with diarrhea shouldn’t eat anything for at least 24 hours, so feeding him would only make the situation worse. If the diarrhea is caused by bacteria, they will continue to feed on what you give your pet. On the contrary, thanks to fasting, these parasites will starve.

2. Give your pet plenty of water

Water is essential in these cases. As we said at the beginning, prolonged diarrhea could lead to dehydration. Although he may even vomit at first, gently insist that he drink plenty of water. Be patient and provide it little by little, with a syringe if necessary. Your health will improve, gradually but noticeably.

3. Light diet… but only after 24 hours!

We wrote it in the title and we repeat it. After a bout of diarrhea, after you have fasted your dog and ensured adequate hydration, you can start feeding him again but only after 24 hours have passed   and only if he has improved.

By “light” diet we mean some cooked rice and chicken, without salt, or cooked fish, if you prefer, depending on what your pet likes best. Always start with small portions with a frequency of 3-4 meals a day. The digestive system of the animal, little by little, will recover and perhaps there will still be some last discharges, before complete recovery.

Don’t be afraid  if your dog has diarrhea. It is a very frequent disorder and which, as you have seen, can be treated and overcome quite easily. Always remember to start by trying to understand the causes of this disease in order to deal with it as effectively and quickly as possible.