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What Should a Dog with Diarrhea Eat?

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In this situation it is necessary that the pet is fasting for 24 hours, since if he is irritated by intestinal bacteria, they will die because of lack of nutrients; from there, you need to give him a bland diet and keep him hydrated

Last update: 09 April, 2018

Diarrhea is a very common sickness that affects many dogs. This could be something more serious than what we imagine, especially if we do not know how to treat it. The animal could run the risk of dehydration, or in the worst of cases, greater damage because of intestinal bacteria. We are going to tell you what a dog with diarrhea should eat so that it goes away.

A dog with diarrhea, why?

Before knowing how to treat diarrhea, we must know why it happens to our pet. It could be caused by different factors:

Intestinal bacteria.Our animals walk on the street and lick everything that they find. Besides the fact that they have direct contact with other animals, it is easy for an intestinal bacteria to attack them. This is one of the most common causes of diarrhea.
Bad food. A dog with diarrhea could have eaten food that had gone bad, for example, something in the garbage. Even if we keep tabs on them, we can’t control absolutely everything that they put into their mouths, whether at home or in the street.
Food allergies. Maybe your pet wasn’t allergic before, and so you didn’t give it any more importance. But now an allergy or intolerance to some food could have shown up that you didn’t know about. The best thing to do is take the dog to the veterinarian if you see that the diarrhea is very constant and you are not capable of connecting it with any food that your dog ingests.

Some other object. Dogs carry everything in their mouths. Even though they normally don’t eat things that are not food, it is true that sometimes they could have swallowed something. Although the most common way to get it out is through vomiting, he could also have diarrhea.
Poor diet. Maybe you are not feeding your dog as you should. Perhaps you have opted for a raw, but unsuitable diet. Possibly you have decided to feed him dog food and you give him more than necessary. Or maybe you give him food that he should not eat. Talk to your veterinarian if you think that the diarrhea happens one after the other and ask her for recommendations on the best diet to follow. Follow her advice regarding quality and quantity.

What a dog with diarrhea should eat

Once we have identified the causes of the dog’s diarrhea, now it is time to know how to stop it. The main way of doing so is through his diet. Therefore, we must:

Make him fast

A dog with diarrhea should not eat anything at least for 24 hours, so giving him food will only make the situation worse. If the diarrhea is caused by bacteria, they would keep feeding on what you give to your pet. However, if he is fasting, the bacteria will die of hunger.

Give him a lot of water

Water is essential in these cases. As we said at the beginning, diarrhea could dehydrate your animal, so you will need to keep him hydrated. It’s possible that at the beginning he throws it up. But be patient and keep giving him it little by little, with a syringe if necessary. You will see that he will get better little by little.

Bland diet

Important: NEVER IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS. As we have said, the animal should be fasting for 24 hours and if he has gotten better after that time, and only if he has gotten better, we will be able to start to give him a bland diet. If he does not get better, we will have to go to the veterinarian.

A bland diet can include a little bit of chicken and rice, without salt, or cooked fish if he likes it. It depends what your animal likes the most. Give him small portions that are distributed three or four times a day. Do not worry if your dog has diarrhea: it is a common illness, but if you follow our advice, it will be over faster than you think.