Last week we had a really big scare. Our dog got sick and we were all in a panic how to take care of her. She was suffering from diarrhea and she refused to drink or eat anything. It was late at night but I still drove her over to the pet clinic. That was how I really became curious about diarrhea in dogs and how it can be prevented and treated. I sure didn’t what that experience repeated. I want my dog to stay as healthy as possible.
But dogs will be dogs and so they are bound to experience diarrhea sometimes. The problem is when they experience it for a prolonged period just like what happened to our dog. When that happens, you have to do something real quick for treatment, otherwise your dog will weaken because of the loss of fluid and nutrients in the body. The first thing that you need to know is when can you say that a dog has diarrhea? The best method for trying to determine if your dog is having diarrhrea is to think of your dog as a baby. Babies might have soft stools from time to time. That might be caused by a new kind of food that they are not familiar with. Seeing that may not cause you to seek medical help for them. That would be the same thing with your dogs. They might have an occasional soft stool that you need not worry about, but if the diarrhea becomes really uncontrollable then obviously, that would be the time to take your dog to a veterinarian.
In puppies that are really active, diarrhea is normally caused by parasites and viruses that can enter a dog’s body with ease, because it loves to take things into its mouth. It would be a good idea to provide a stool sample to the vet so that it can be determined if the sickness is caused by microorganisms invading your dog’s body. There are also some dogs that get diarrhea because of stress. They can get the stress from traveling, from being away from home or going back. Like humans they can get terribly excited, and all that emotion can have adverse effects on their body.
When your dog gets diarrhea their bodies become a lot weaker than normal. You have to make sure that you do not ignore their condition because they are more prone to other kinds of sickness when their body becomes weak. A good home treatment for a puppy is to give it a short fast, but you only do this if they are not showing any signs of dehydration. If they are starting to get weak already then do not make them fast, as it will aggravate their condition. The fast would allow their stomachs and digestive system to rest for a while, allowing it to recover. You can start feeding them again with some bland food that will not be difficult to digest. That would help them to get on their way to a full recovery. However, if in doubt, it is always better to err on the side of caution and take your dog to the vet or an emergency pet hospital. You know your dog and your intuition will go along way to helping them.