Diarrhea & what to do

Every pup/dog will get Diarrhea at some point. It's as well to know what can cause it, and how to deal with it.

Sometimes it's just a mild upset caused by a change in the weather/food/routine etc. These episodes can normally be treated with starving for 24 hours (not young puppies) and giving something like Arrowroot to settle the stomach.

However, sometimes it's worse & can be an indicator of something nasty going on.

There are many causes of Diarrhea, but here are some of the common ones:
http://www.denes.co.uk/advice/fact_sheets/colitis_and_diarrhoea.php

As to treatment, here are a few tips........
1. If your dog has loose, unformed stools but seems to be ok in every other way then starve for 24 hours but at the start give an arrowroot mixture to calm the stomach.
2. If your dog has runny stools but is otherwise ok, as above, but if it's no better in 48 hours, a trip to the vets could be called for.
3. If your dog has very watery stools, especially with blood, then a trip to the vet should be asap. Don't try to treat it yourself, as you could make it worse.
4. If your dog has ANY of the above, AND is seeming restless, lethargic or just 'not his/her self' then a trip to the vets asap.

Be especially careful with pups. Prolonged Diarrhea in pups will very quickly dehydrate them & they can go downhill rapidly.

If anyone has any home remedies they'd like to share, please feel free.

I always starve for 24 hours for an adult, and 1 or 2 meals for a pup.

I use arrowroot either sprinkled over some food (a tablespoon or so), or I mix a couple of teaspoons of it in a little water to make a cream, then gradually add about a quarter of a pint of water. Transfer to a saucepan & bring to the boil, stiring continuously. As soon as it begins to thicken, remove from heat (add some honey to sweeten if you want) & allow to cool. Dogs usually love it & it's quite soothing to the stomach.

I've also used Kaolin & Morphine, but only 5ml once to see if it will help. If it doesn't work 1st time, I don't try it again.

just something else i would like to add on this subject, when you see a pup with this you should treat the matter seriously and make immediate efforts to bind the dogs motions. if you are feeding him/her meat they should be taken off this straight away, confining his/her feed to milky meals. possibly with some arrowroot added. the dog can return to meat meals within two or three days when the condition has been corrected.

Thanks for the input Shane.

Any more?

Caryll wrote:Thanks for the input Shane.

Any more?

loads more but i have to go and collect the little fella from school now in 5 mins

Hear from you again soon then!!

To avoid your dog getting diarrhea you should keep him on their normal diet, i found that staffys stomachs are very sensitive when it comes to certain types of food especially rich foods, never give your dog soup especially oxtail as i found this will run straight through them and will give them a dose of diarrhea. as caryll said you should fast your dog for at least 24 hrs when they get a bout of diarrhea. i would also give my dog plenty of water mixed with glucose powder to stop them from getting dehydrated and this will give to dog a much needed energy boost as diarrhea drains away a lot of a dogs energy, you can also get a product from the vets its called pro-kolin this can be syringed into the dogs mouth twice a day this will counter act the bout of diarrhea, you can also get a special hydrated medicated dog food from the vets as well this should be enough to bring your dog back to their normal self, if none of these methods work on your dog then i would seek veterinary advice to stop the diarrhea as it could be caused by something more serious.