Doggy diarrhea is a nightmare for everybody involved. But, it’s also bound to happen. Just as we as humans suffer from loose bowel movements (even if we don’t want to admit it) so do our dogs.

With that said, there are many common causes for diarrhea in dogs that we can prevent. Not only will this be healthy for our pup, but it will keep us from having to clean up puddles of poo inside your house.

With that said, diarrhea can be very serious. It if persists for more than 48 hours, then take your pup to the vet. 

Give Them a Probiotic

A probiotic supplement contains living, good bacteria.

Because of the modern-dog diet, which we’ll talk about later, most dogs today lack the influx of healthy gut bacteria that historically have been a part of their diet, such as what they’d get from raw meat. (Which, historically, is what dogs ate.)

One of the best ways to halt the flood of diarrhea quickly, then is to give them a quality probiotic. 

Additionally, it will help their overall digestion, and it’s a low-risk intervention.

However, like pet foods, as we’ve written about, pet supplements have very little regulation.

That means you should look for a probiotic from a company that’s both transparent in their manufacturing practices, and third-party tested.

Naturally, we’re biased towards our own probiotic, as we formulated it with the health of your pup as our number one priority. You can learn more about our probiotics here.

Go On a Doggy Fast

Intermittent fasting has become incredibly popular in the last few years for humans. While we don’t know much specifically about intermittent fasting for canines, we do know that time away from eating will give the digestive system a break.

This can hopefully help them get their gut back in balance.

However, do not extend the fast too long, and do not go with this method if the dog is in poor health. Puppies and elderly dogs, especially, probably shouldn’t fast. Even if you do have them skip a meal, only have them fast for 12 to 24 hours.

Keep Your Pup Hydrated

The biggest cause for concern with regards to diarrhea dehydration.

If your pup has diarrhea, that means the water is not being absorbed by the gut and sent to where it needs to go, and instead goes right through the whole digestive tract.

This is a dangerous sign and will cause dehydration. As your pup suffers through the diarrhea episodes, keep nudging them to sip on water. Keep the bowl near them, and make sure it’s filled.

Other way to help them stay hydrated throughout the diarrhea episodes is to add extra fluids to their food. You may give them less food than normal too, but increase the volume by adding water. This is especially true if they eat dry food.

Rice Water

Rice water is one of the most well-known diarrhea remedies in humans, and it works for our canine friends as well.

Simply make rice, then remove the rice grains before all the water is boiled. It should be a white soupy pool of water.

Add Electrolytes

Ideally, add broth to the rice water. Broth contains sodium and other electrolytes that dogs lose in their diarrhea episodes. These lack of electrolytes are also a big problem with dehydration, because sodium and other electrolytes are crucial for hundreds of bodily processes.

The importance of hydration during this time cannot be overstated, so keep an eye on your pup’s fluid intake.

Check Stools For More Signs of the Problem

If you can look into those puddles for a moment before cleaning them up, there might be clues to the problem.

If it’s excessively green, they may have gotten into eating grass, which is common for dogs to do even though they don’t digest it.

If there are grainy-looking substances, almost like a grain of rice, that’s a sign of tapeworms. Don’t jump to conclusions if you suspect this, but you should definitely take them to a vet. 

If it’s black or red, then that could be a sign that there’s blood entering the digestive tract, and you should also take them to the vet.

If all you see is normal brown, then that’s most likely a positive sign that it’s temporary and will pass within a few hours. However, if it doesn't, you should still take them to see a vet.

More on Doggy Digestion

As owners, we are in the position where we are almost 100% responsible for what our pups consume. And we should take that very seriously.

After all, we want to give our pups the best and longest life we can. I know we here at Pup Labs want to do that for our best friends.

That means, even after the diarrhea episodes pass, we should take very seriously what you should feed your pup.

Otherwise, you won’t only be dealing with diarrhea and stinky dog farts, you could be hurting your pup. After all, they also need a nutritious diet just like we do, to feel their best and be their healthiest.