Diarrhea in a dog: causes, home treatment

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 12:45

The number of bowel movements in dogs depends on how much food they eat and the quality of the food. Most often, these animals go to the toilet 1-4 times a day. But sometimes the gastrointestinal tract of a dog fails. In this case, the animal usually begins to behave restlessly - whines, spins in one place and calls the owner for a walk. This happens most often, of course, with diarrhea.

What could be the reasons

Diarrhea in dogs can develop with various diseases. But most often, diarrhea in dogs is observed due to poor-quality food. Stale foods can easily cause a pet's gastrointestinal upset. Also, diarrhea in a dog often happens due to:

• overeating;
• dramatic transition from homemade food to commercially prepared food or vice versa;
• swallowing carrion;
• interceptions of something tasty;
• swallowing poisons from rodents, cockroaches, etc.;
• get foreign objects into food.

In addition, diarrhea in a dog can be a consequence of:

• allergies;
• parasitic invasion;
• tumors.

Sometimes causes of dog diarrhea are:

• ulcers;
• dysbiosis;
• enteritis;
• colitis.

In any case, if diarrhea occurs, a pet should definitely be taken to the veterinarian. An accurate diagnosis in this case can only be made by conducting appropriate laboratory tests.

It is believed that a pet should be taken to the veterinary clinic (or a specialist should be called at home) if the pet has diarrhea for more than a day. The reason for an immediate visit to the doctor may be such symptoms accompanying diarrhea, such as:

• temperature increase;
• unexpected weight loss;
• dark faeces.

Be sure to consult a specialist, of course. and if the dog has diarrhea with blood.

Symptoms of poisoning

Intoxication of the body in dogs due to poor-quality food manifests itself approximately 7-8 hours after eating. When swallowing household chemicals - washing powder, soap, etc. - diarrhea in a dog will most likely be observed after about 6 hours. Poisons act on the dog's body, of course, even faster. The first signs in this case will appear after 4-5 hours.

Besides diarrhea, the main symptoms of food poisoning in dogs are:

• lethargy and apathy;
• sharp weakness;
• uncontrolled vomiting.

If a dog has been poisoned by poison, it will most likely also have:

• severe convulsions;
• stretching the body into a string;
• pre-paralysis condition (with arsenic poisoning).

Dry food poisoning can be suspected if the dog has blood in diarrhea and is vomiting. Also, signs of such a problem may be:

• darkening urine;
• hair loss;
• thirst and itching.

Very often, dogs that have been poisoned by low-quality industrial feeds also show various kinds of nervous pathologies. In this case, the dog may experience: impaired coordination of movements, trembling in the body, convulsions, as with poisoning, loss of consciousness. A dog that has been poisoned by dry food often also becomes aggressive.

How to help a dog with poisoning

So the dog has diarrhea. What should the owners do in this case? Simple food poisoning in these animals usually resolves fairly quickly and without any complications. But if the dog ate the poison, things could, of course, end badly. In this case, only a veterinarian can help the animal.

Of course, first aid to a poisoned dog and the owners themselves should begin to be provided immediately. While waiting for the veterinarian, to clear the stomach, the dog must be given some kind of emetic. It can be, for example, a cool solution of soda or s alt. To prepare such a remedy for a dog costs a double dose. After all, part of the liquid during forcible soldering can spill.

Next, the dog should be given 1 tablet of activated charcoal or some other sorbent per 5 kg of weight. No food on day of diarrheathe dog does not need to offer. This will put an additional burden on the upset digestive system and the animal may become even worse.

On the second day, the dog should be offered some rice porridge. This product contains a lot of gluten. And this substance is able to envelop the walls of the stomach and relieve pain from inflammation. In addition, rice is a natural adsorbent and is able to absorb toxins. Another useful property of this cereal is that it belongs to astringent products.

If it becomes noticeable that the dog's condition is gradually returning to normal, from the third day he can begin to give him regular food little by little. After a week, the animal is usually completely transferred to its usual diet.

Dog has diarrhea: what to do with allergies

You can suspect this disease in a dog if, in addition to diarrhea, it has the following symptoms:

• constant itching;
• increase in dandruff;
• discharge from ears;
• bad mouth smell.

Of course, the owners of a sick dog in this case need to first of all identify which product caused such a reaction in him. This will most likely be easy to do. With a probability of up to 100%, this will be some new food - one that the dog has never tried before. Pet owners will simply need to remember when the dog first showed signs of allergy.

Of course, the food that caused the allergic reaction should be excluded from the dog's diet. After that, the unpleasant symptoms in the dog will disappear,most likely very quickly. To be sure, with food allergies, the dog can also be offered some kind of antihistamine. This will ease the condition of the animal and speed up recovery. Very often, dogs with allergies are given, for example, drugs such as Suprastin, Zyrtec, Fenistil, etc.

Infectious diseases

If a dog swears, among other things, it can be suspected of some kind of viral or bacterial disease. Very often, for example, diarrhea occurs in dogs with enteritis. This disease is caused by a dangerous and very tenacious virus that affects the gastrointestinal tract and mucous membranes.

Most often, dogs become infected with enteritis in the fall from other dogs. This disease can be observed in animals of any age. But puppies and very young dogs are most susceptible to it. That is, those dogs whose body is not yet strong enough and resists infection worse.

There are two main types of enteritis in dogs:

• parvovirus;
• coronavirus.

When enteritis diarrhea in dogs is observed with blood. Signs of the parvovirus form are also:

• refusal of food and stringy vomiting;
• putrid smell from litter;
• severe abdominal pain.

Vomiting in dogs with this form of enteritis, once started, usually does not stop for a very long time. In young puppies, parvovirus can, unfortunately, also affect the heart. In this case, the animal usually has a weak pulse and cyanosis of the mucous membranes.

Main symptomscoronavirus forms, in addition to diarrhea with blood, are:

• weakness and lethargy;
• loss of appetite.

Coronavirus enteritis is considered a much milder form compared to parvovirus. Only very small puppies can die with such an infection, and then usually just from a secondary infection. Parvovirus enteritis is a very dangerous and serious disease. The probability of a lethal outcome in its diagnosis, unfortunately, is quite high. The mortality of animals with this disease, according to veterinarians, can reach 10%.

Treatment of enteritis

The dog has vomiting and diarrhea - what to do? If the dog also has severe pain in the abdomen, and a putrid smell comes from the feces, you should definitely call a specialist immediately. Enteritis is a serious disease, and only a specialist can help the dog in this case.

Treatment for enteritis in dogs is usually antibiotic. Also, sick dogs are fed immunostimulating and painkillers.

Treatment of diarrhea in a dog in this case is carried out exclusively by administering prescribed drugs intravenously or intramuscularly. Tablets are not used for this disease. The medicine in this form with enteritis, unfortunately, is not absorbed at all and only additionally irritates the gastric mucosa.

How to treat diarrhea in a dog with parasitic diseases

Diarrhea in dogs can also appear when infected with worms. For example, a dog can vilify,ill:

• Dipilidiosis. This disease causes cucumber tapeworm. Diarrhea in a dog in this case will alternate with constipation. In this case, the dog will either stop eating completely or become too voracious. Symptoms of this disease are also thinness and pallor of the mucous membranes. In small dogs, dipilidiosis is treated using Felixan (0.4 g per 1 kg of weight), in large dogs - Fenasal (0.1-0.2 g).
• Ascariasis. Symptoms of this disease are vomiting, diarrhea, emaciation, food perversions, cough. Sometimes ascaris can be seen in the feces of an animal. In this case, the answer to the question of what to give a dog for diarrhea and to get rid of parasites is, for example, drugs such as Drontal, Dirofen, Helmintal.

Diphyllobothriasis. This disease causes a wide tapeworm. Its symptoms are vomiting, emaciation, perverted appetite, sometimes seizures and convulsions. In the feces, in some cases, the owner may notice body parts of the worm. This disease is also treated with anthelmintics

Diarrhea due to swelling

For this reason, diarrhea occurs most often in older animals. Diarrhea in a dog is observed, for example, with adenocarcinomas. Cancer in dogs can be localized in the colon or rectum. Sometimes the tumor occurs directly in the area of the anal glands.

In addition to diarrhea, symptoms of bowel cancer in dogs include:

• vomit;
• weight loss;
• frequent accumulations of gases in the stomach and intestines;
• the presence of blood infaeces.

Of course, the main treatment for cancer in dogs is surgical removal of the tumor. In this case, along with the pathological formation, unfortunately, a part of the animal's intestines is also cut out. In the treatment of cancer, males, among other things, are also castrated.

After surgery, the animal may be given chemotherapy. It is quite common for dogs to experience fecal incontinence after cancer treatment. It goes by pretty quickly. But for the first time after surgery, the dog usually needs a special, easily digestible diet.

Diarrhea due to ulcers: symptoms and treatment

Sometimes diarrhea in dogs happens for this reason. Like humans, dogs can be diagnosed, for example, with a stomach ulcer. In addition to diarrhea, the dog in this case will experience:

• deterioration of general condition;
• oppression and weakness;
• vomiting blood the color of coffee grounds.

A dog suffering from a stomach ulcer sometimes assumes a "praying" position. A dog with this disease often vomits. Therefore, she eventually becomes anemic.

Treat stomach ulcers in dogs through surgery. After the operation, the owners of the animal, of course, need to eliminate the causes that led to the disease. The dog is assigned a special diet, which includes mostly liquid and semi-liquid food. It can be soups, milk porridges with butter, milk, etc.

In order to reduce the intensity of the production of hydrochloric acid and pepsin in the stomach of a dog, she is prescribedblocker drugs. It can be, for example, Ranitidine, Cimetidine, Famotidine.

Colitis: symptoms and treatment

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in dogs are quite common. The length of the digestive tract in these animals is very small. Therefore, many types of food are poorly digested in the digestive tract of dogs. Because of this, in turn, inflammation can occur. Most often, this problem manifests itself in the large intestine of a dog. This disease is called colitis.

If a dog has diarrhea with mucus and blood, it is possible that she has developed inflammation of the colon. Diarrhea is the main symptom of colitis in dogs. Also, signs of this disease can be:

• frequent false urge to defecate;
• presence of mucus and blood in the feces;
• greenish discharge;
• bad smell from secretions;
• thick sticky feces.

Colitis can develop in dogs:

• spicy;
• chronic;
• recurrent.

This disease is treated with, for example, drugs such as Trichopolum and Sulfasalazine. The dog is also given dietary fiber.

Dysbacteriosis

Since the dog's digestive tract is short, even just with bowel movements, almost all the beneficial microflora is washed out of it. The uncontrolled use of antibiotics for these animals can be very dangerous at all. The microflora in the intestines of the dog is killed in this case instantly. As a result, harmful bacteria begin to develop in the digestive tract of dogs at a tremendous rate.

Whendysbacteriosis can also be seen in dogs with bloody diarrhea. What to do in this case? To prevent the development of bacteriosis of animals after a course of antibiotic treatment, it is imperative to drink probiotics. Very often, with dysbacteriosis, dogs, for example, are given the drug Linex.

It is possible to suspect that the dog has developed this particular disease, even if not only blood, but also mucus is noticeable in his feces. In principle, dysbacteriosis does not pose any particular danger to a dog. Usually this disease in dogs passes quickly. But, of course, you need to try to help the animal with dysbacteriosis.

Prevention of diarrhea

Treatment of diarrhea in a dog at home in many cases should only be done under the supervision of a veterinarian. The choice of drugs for diarrhea depends on the specific disease that caused it. Feces with blood in a dog, therefore, can be a sign of poisoning or symptoms of diseases such as enteritis, ulcers, or dysbacteriosis. A putrid smell is a reason to suspect enteritis or colitis in an animal. Diarrhea with mucus in a dog may mean that the dog is suffering from dysbacteriosis or intestinal inflammation.

It is, of course, possible to cure an animal with diarrhea in most cases. If the dog has diarrhea - what to do at home in this case, we found out. Food poisoning in dogs usually resolves quickly. If there are additional symptoms of any other disease, you should definitely consult a doctor. But of course, the owners of the animal first of all need to make sure that such problemstheir pet has never had it. Preventive measures against diarrhea include, for example:

• timely treatments for parasites and deworming;
• timely vaccinations;
• pet control on the street.

When walking with a dog, you need to ensure that it does not pick up waste from the ground and does not take food from other people's hands. Of course, the dog should not be allowed near garbage cans and bins.

To preventive measures against diarrhea, among other things, of course, include a properly designed diet. You can't overfeed your dog. You should also avoid snacking between main meals. And, of course, the main thing is to constantly monitor the condition of the dog and follow the recommendations for caring for this particular breed.