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Diarrhea is common among dogs, especially those who just love digging through the trash. Canines love exploring the world through their mouths, which exposes them to various substances that could piss their stomach. Sometimes, their food isn’t compatible with their digestive system, which may also lead to an explosive problem. No matter what, you can always find a natural cure for dog diarrhea to ease the discomfort of your pooch.
Your dog’s stool
The consistency, color, and shape of your dog’s poop say a lot about its health. Diarrhea, for one, is a sign that something’s wrong with their tummy.
Dog diarrhea stinks – literally and figuratively. But even if it’s gross, you really have to check what’s on your doggo’s poo. For this part, you need to check for Four Cs: Color, Coating, Consistency, and Contents. When it comes to diarrhea, we will focus on two, color and consistency.
**Color
Dog poop can have varying colors, from the typical light brown, yellow, black, dark brown, greenish, and even reddish. A brown-colored poop is the healthiest.
However, if your doggo’s excretion becomes black with a maroon tinge, it’s possible that they had bleeding in the small intestines or other upper parts of the digestive system.
Meanwhile, chocolate brown poop with white spots means that your dog has parasites or worms. As for a yellowish poop, you have to act right away because it indicates problems on your dog’s liver, pancreas, or gallbladder. If accompanied by lethargy, it’s best to head to the vet as soon as possible
Lastly, if your pet’s poop is reddish in color, that means there’s bleeding in the lower part of the GI tract. This could raise a health concern, but it could also be blood from anal fissures or wounds around the anus due to stiff poop.
In this video of Mercola Healthy Pets, we’ll get a quick look at each stool color and what it means:
**Consistency
Consistency refers to how firm the poop is. Here’s a chart from Nestle Purina indicating the appearance of the poo and what it means. It’s gross, but it’s necessary to understand what’s going on your dog’s belly:
Of the seven poop consistency, number 2 is the healthiest. Anything above or below that denote a problem in your dog’s diet or health. However, if your doggo experiences number 7 or diarrhea, you have to do something to prevent further problems.
Take note that the shape, texture, and consistency of your dog’s poop say a lot about its health.
Understanding a dog’s digestive system
Dogs have very different digestive systems than humans. Unlike humans, canines have strong jaws that can rip, tear, and crush food morsels. Also, they have salivary enzymes intended to kill bacteria on their food. This explains why dogs tend to tolerate food items that could possibly send a person to the ER.
Meanwhile, human mouths are made for chewing and tearing down food morsels to bits. Also, our salivary enzymes are meant to start the digestion of food.
Also, canines have digestive acids that are three times stronger than humans. So even if they can’t rip or chew food well, they can digest it just the same.
So if dogs can kill bacteria better than humans, why are they so prone to diarrhea?
Well, as much as they have this gift, dogs don’t know if a certain substance or item is harmful to them. Dogs will chew almost anything, eat anything that tastes good, and lick surfaces that they find interesting. And sometimes, their salivary enzymes and digestive acids aren’t too strong to fight off some irritants. This will lead to diarrhea and other digestive problem.
Common causes of dog diarrhea
For you to provide the best solution for diarrhea, you have to know what caused it in the first place. Also, this will help you prevent the condition in the future.
The following are some of the culprits behind the messy poop:
**Parasites
We’ve seen this in a lot of dogs and it’s quite easy to spot. Parasites like roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, and whipworms will all wreak havoc in your dog’s digestive tract. This will lead to diarrhea on which some of the parasites will also get purged.
If you notice any white spots or long white stripes on the poo, it may be a parasite. It’s best to consult a vet about this as you probably need to have your dog dewormed.
**Poisonous plants
Does your dog come home with diarrhea after playing outdoors? Your pooch may have eaten a poisonous substance or plant.
Take note that some of your lovely backyard foliage like azalea, daffodil, tulip, and oleander are all poisonous to dogs. If your pooch happened to ingest a decent amount of this plant’s leaves, stem, or flower, you should seek the help of a veterinarian right away.
For mild cases, a natural cure for dog diarrhea will work for at-home treatments.
**Allergies and intolerances
If your dog wasn’t exposed to any poisonous items or didn’t have parasites, you have to consider allergies or intolerance as the reason for diarrhea.
Allergies are related to the dog’s immune system. The dog’s immune system could perceive some harmless substances like food ingredients as a threat. When this happens, the body reacts harshly; thus, the occurrence of allergies.
Your dog could have allergies on a specific ingredient of its food. Take note that protein sources are the most common culprit for this.
Meanwhile, intolerances happen in the digestive system of your dog. It takes place when a canine can’t digest a particular food ingredient. Fat sources are the usual problem here, but it will vary widely among canines.
Signs of intense diarrhea
So is your dog experiencing diarrhea? You can confirm it by ticking some of these symptoms:
-Watery stool
-Lethargy
-Possible vomiting
-Frequent elimination with a watery consistency
-Irritability
The moment that you saw a puddle of liquid poo, you should monitor your dog in the next hours. For some canines, it’s just a one-time excretion. However, if watery elimination persists, you should consider calling a vet while giving your pooch a natural cure for dog diarrhea.
When does diarrhea become fatal?
Diarrhea isn’t usually fatal upon its start. However, you should keep your dog hydrated as the frequent elimination will suck out the fluids in their body. By doing so, you can prevent other harsh symptoms from worsening and you’re also preventing the condition from being fatal.
If you have tried all possible means to alleviate your dog’s diarrhea and it persists for more than 24 hours, you should send your pet to the vet right away. This is already an emergency and diarrhea can get fatal by the hour, much so if your dog is declining any source of hydration.
Natural cure for dog diarrhea – 5 Things You Can Do
If your dog suffers from diarrhea, you can use a natural cure for dog diarrhea to help treat the condition. Most of the time, these five tricks will work as expected. However, if nothing seems to ease diarrhea, only the vet can help you.
**Fasting
The first thing you have to do is to remove all food for 8 to 12 hours upon the start of diarrhea. This is to prevent worsening the condition if their diet is the culprit.
This process will also help clear up the GI tract of your dog as it poops the remaining irritant. You should allow your dog to flush out the remaining poo properly.
However, while doing this, you shouldn’t forget to apply the next natural cure for dog diarrhea.
**Hydration
When it comes to dog diarrhea, hydration is a must. Watery poop removes a great deal of fluids from your dog’s body. To help your dog recover, you must give it small amounts of water frequently.
Some dogs could be too lethargic to drink so you can use a blunt syringe (the one with no needle) to force-feed the water.
If possible, you can also offer your dog a diluted chicken broth with a little salt. This will encourage them to hydrate, plus the ions from the salt will help retain water so the pooch won’t get dehydrated quickly.
**Pure pumpkin
If your dog’s condition progresses, you can now give the pooch something to eat. This will help them regain their strength and to ‘reset’ their GI tract.
We recommend pure pumpkin as many pet owners have already attested to its ability to ease diarrhea. Pure pumpkin is packed with fiber that will help soothe an upset belly. Also, it will help bring the order back to your doggos’ tummy.
Also, pure pumpkin helps slow down your doggo’s digestion and it also retains water.
Just make sure that you’re giving your pooch pure pumpkin and not those with pie filling. You can give half of the can to your dog and freeze the other.
Once your dog is producing firmer stool, you can now offer the next natural cure for dog diarrhea.
**Switching to a bland diet
Once your dog can handle eating solid food, you can switch them to a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice. Do this while you wait for the vet’s appointment since you’re not yet sure if their previous food is causing diarrhea.
Try to give your dog small amounts of rice and chicken to make sure that the pooch is going to eat it. Once the doggo is regaining its strength, you can serve a bigger portion.
By that time, you should have visited the vet and ruled out any possible problem on your dog’s previous diet. If the dog food isn’t the cause of diarrhea, you can re-feed it to your dog in small amounts. Do this until you have fully switched the doggo back to its old diet.
Do you need to change your dog’s diet? Check our top dog food selections for diarrhea and sensitive tummies!
**Probiotics
A big part of maintaining a healthy digestive system is the presence of good bacteria. This can be found on yogurt, pickles, and so on. Most dog food products nowadays are packed with probiotics that promote better digestion.
If your dog needs more probiotics, the vet can prescribe a special chew or capsule to augment that deficiency.
How to prevent dog diarrhea
Once your dog recovered from diarrhea, it’s your responsibility to prevent it from happening again. Here are some things you can do:
-Don’t let your dog chew the trash
Some dogs are mouthy than others, but you should always keep them away from the garbage bin at all times. Garbage bins are stinky, which dogs find intriguing. Worse, it contains bacteria that will result in a bad case of diarrhea.
-Ditch spoiled food
Some dog owners take a chance on spoiled food because they don’t want to waste money. However, since the spoiled food is mired with bacteria, it will likely spoil a dog’s tummy as well.
The rule is this: for wet food, never let your dog eat it if it has been in their dish for more than two hours. Usually, kibble lasts longer, but you should also check for molds and bad smell.
-Mind what you plant
If you can’t remove poisonous plants in your garden, you might as well limit your dog’s access to it. This way, they won’t chew or ingest any of its parts. But to be sure, it’s best to keep the poisonous plants potted and elevated so your pet will not have the chance to explore it.
-Update your dog’s vaccines and deworming
To protect your dog from infections, make sure that it has received the necessary re-vaccinations or booster shots. Also, you should deworm your dog regularly as advised by a vet. As you know, parasites are the leading causes of diarrhea.
Final words
Dog diarrhea could be common, but it can also be fatal if not treated properly. You can use a natural cure for dog diarrhea to ease the condition. However, if the symptoms persist or worsens, you should bring your dog to the vet immediately. This way, you can stop diarrhea from taking a fatal turn.
Did your dog experience diarrhea before? How did you handle it? Share your own tips in the comment section!
