Puppy Diarrhea
How to Deal with Puppy Diarrhea?
Puppy diarrhea is a common problem that a dog owner will have to deal with because puppies do tend to chew on things indiscriminately. Diarrhea can vary from a slight softening of the stool to liquid feces. Your response will have to depend on the extent of the diarrhea and on the surrounding circumstances. Most of the time a minor tummy upset is something that will settle by itself but a responsible dog owner should carefully monitor the puppy’s health to understand the cause and initiate the appropriate measures to help the healing.
A probably instigator of puppy diarrhea is stress or anxiety. If you have just brought a new puppy home, he or she may be feeling some anxiety about being in a new environment and that may be causing the stomach trouble. Be patient with the puppy and allow her time to adjust to her new environment. You can help her settle down by defining her space, avoiding an excitable or hyper-active environment, and setting up a recognizable routine. So, while you may not be directly dealing with the diarrhea, you will be helping it get better indirectly. You should also make sure that your puppy stays hydrated.
The most common cause of puppy diarrhea is a change in the diet. Sometimes, you may have changed the dog’s brand of food or introduced a new element into the puppy diet which is causing a change in the bowel movements. So, the ideal way to introduce your puppy to a new treat or brand is to do a slow transition. Introduce the new item in small doses and gradually increase the amount of new versus the old and this will help your dog acclimatize to the change better. You should plan on handling the transition over a period of seven days or so.
Given puppies’ tendency to chew on all kinds of things and ingest even some non-food items, puppy diarrhea should not really be surprising. Keep an eye on your puppy to see if there is something particularly inappropriate that he is in the habit of eating other than the food you are serving. Some puppies root through left-overs or kitchen garbage which may be accessible to them and this may lead to an upset stomach. Puppies who play in the garden end up eating flowers sometimes and this can also lead to diarrhea. By watching out for the usual hot zones around the house, you can decide whether you need to puppy-proof your house or limit the areas he can visit. You may need to take these drastic measures if your puppy continues to have diarrhea over a period time especially if you are worried that the puppy may end up eating something toxic.
Sometimes an infection can lead to puppy diarrhea. Coccidia and Giardia are caused by parasitic infection and in these cases the stool is very loose and there is also a strong stench. Puppies can also suffer from roundworms and this can cause diarrhea. There are also some serious puppy illnesses for which diarrhea is a symptom and in these cases the stool is watery and may have blood or mucous in it.
If the puppy is generally active and has an occasional episode of diarrhea and it settles down quickly you can safely assume that it is because of something wrong that the puppy ate. In these cases you should just ensure that the puppy stays hydrated and do not have to intervene in any other way. However, if the puppy diarrhea is accompanied by listlessness, lethargy and overall downturn in health you should take your dog to the vet right away. This is particularly true if there is blood in the stool or if there is vomiting and other indications of disruption in the digestive system. With immediate intervention most causes of puppy diarrhea are treatable.