My dog has diarrhoea. What should I do?
Diarrhoea is an intestinal reaction to an external “insult” and can have different causes and degrees of severity.
When we are talking about a small dog, diarrhea can be very serious, and can even lead to death if left untreated, due to the dehydration it causes.
The most common causes of diarrhea in a dog are:
- Intestinal parasites
- Very sudden dietary changes
- Dietary indiscretions
- Diarrhoea caused by viruses, namely parvovirus, distemper and canine coronavirus
Therefore, it is easy to understand that when we have a dog with diarrhea we should immediately take him to a veterinarian for consultation.
On the other hand, when we talk about adult dogs, the most common cause of this diarrhoea is dietary indiscretion, that is, eating things that are not appropriate.
It can also happen due to very sudden changes in feed or infection by parasites or viruses when the animals are not vaccinated. Other common causes are infection by Leptospira sp. and the ingestion of foreign bodies.
Whenever your dog has an episode of diarrhoea, you should tell your veterinarian and get advice on how to proceed.
It is always useful to take a photo of the feces and send it so that the veterinarian can best assess the situation.
If the case is related to a sudden change of food, it is a situation that we can easily avoid by making a correct food transition: 2 days in which we mix 75% of the old food + 25% of the new food, 2 days with 50% of each, and 2 days in which we reverse the first ratio.
Normally, when we talk about dietary indiscretions, a change of diet to chicken cooked only in water without salt, with rice cooked without salt for a day or two should be enough to stop diarrhoea.
Any of the other situations mentioned require veterinary evaluation as soon as possible, as well as bloody diarrhoea, whether or not accompanied by vomiting or episodes lasting more than 2 days.
Vet.Point – Oeiras Veterinary Clinic
24h emergency | 927896112 • 211918923 | geral@vetpoint-ivl.com
