How to treat watery stool in dogs

(January 9, 2012)

What causes dog diarrhea and vomiting?

Dog diarrhea is not an uncommon condition, and it may be caused by a variety of factors. Some of the dog vomiting and diarrhea causes are listed as under:

• One of the prime causes of dog diarrhea and vomiting is microbial infection of your pet’s digestive tract. This may be caused by bacteria or virus, and also some of the helminthes including tapeworms, whipworms, and roundworms.

• The infection of stomach may be caused due to seasonal factors when the infectious organisms are prevalent. Such seasons are acute summer and monsoon.

• If your dog enters a trash can and eats the remnants in the bin, it is bound to fall sick and suffer from diarrhea and vomiting.

• If your dog is being given poor quality dog food available in the market, it may be hard on the stomach of the pet, causing diarrhea and vomiting.

• Keeping your dog in unhygienic conditions and/or giving your pet stale and old food will also result in diarrhea and vomiting.

• Sometimes, the same may be a symptom of a more serious underlying disease. So if all other factors are ruled out, it is best to get a proper diagnosis.

As such, the best way to prevent the animal from the condition is to include sufficient amount of water in the diet of pet, maintain hygienic conditions for the dog, and serve a balanced and nutritious diet for your pet. If it is something serious, a routine medical check-up for the dog would help diagnose the symptoms of the condition at an early stage, increasing the chances of quicker recovery.

How to get rid of diarrhea in dogs?

Diarrhea in dogs is mostly caused by diet-related factors; it could also be a symptom of some serious illness. The diarrhea may be acute or chronic, depending on the duration the condition lasts for. When it comes to treatment for diarrhea in dogs, it is best to consult a vet for proper diagnosis.

Some of the home remedies for diarrhea in dogs are as under:

• First of all, you must keep your dog on fast for at least 24 hours. This will allow the stomach of your dog to recover from the strain it has endured during the bout of diarrhea.

• After the fasting, you must give simple foods to ease the strain on the bowels. You may give your pet boiled chicken and rice.

• You can also give plain yogurt or some cottage cheese to your dog to reinforce the bacteria in the bowels for normal digestion and metabolism.

• One of the best remedies for treatment of diarrhea in dogs is to keep your dog hydrated at all times. During diarrhea, your pet loses a lot of body water, and if not hydrated, the condition may worsen.

• You can also give boiled sweet potato to your pet to replenish the lost carbohydrate content in the body.

If you notice a change in the color of gums of your dog to pale gray or white, you must take your pet to a vet immediately.

Just as it is a very common occurrence in human beings, diarrhea is equally common in dogs and will affect every dog at one point of time or the other during the course of their lives. In most cases, the condition will persist for a couple of days, but when it seems to last for a considerable period of time, it may be a rather serious concern that may need to be looked at more closely. There are a number of likely causes for the occurrence of dog diarrhea. These causes include an infection, the ingestion of foreign objects (something that is very common in dogs), food intolerances as well as food allergies. Unknown to a number of pet owners, eating too much is another very likely cause of diarrhea as some dogs may tend to over eat when they are used to getting only 1 meal over the course of the day. Instead, make it a point to feed your dog small meals throughout the day in order to prevent this from happening. With the easy availability of a wide variety of brands that offer pet food, it is easy to look for cheap alternatives that are advertised as being as good as any other brand on the market. However, you must make sure that the food you are feeding your pet is healthy and nutritious as the dog’s stomach will not necessarily agree with the lower grade of food it is being served.

The symptoms present will help you identify the root cause of the condition. For example, the disease when caused by the disease residing in the small intestine will induce symptoms such as large stool with the increase in the number of bowel movements over the course of the day from roughly 3 to 5. When the disease is present in the large intestines, the stool will be relatively smaller, but occur more than 5 times a day.

The best method to help cure the condition would be to add some probiotic powder to the dog’s water or include some probiotic content to your animal’s meals. 100% pure pumpkin is known to work wonders with diarrhea in dogs and, given that most dogs are very fond of pumpkin will be quite easy to administer. The unique fiber present in pumpkins is known to be very effective in regulating bowel movement. Since dogs suffering from diarrhea are likely to dehydrate very quickly, it is essential that you keep a fresh bowl of water ready for consumption throughout the day.

Read on what to feed a dog with diarrhea