There are unpleasant tasks involved in dog ownership. No dog owner on the planet enjoys picking up their pet’s waste. However, it’s a duty that goes along with the job. Despite the horrifying sights and odours your dog leaves behind, you must pay close attention to what is emerging from your dog’s body.So what if my dog has diarrhea but is acting fine?
Dogs are unable to communicate their suffering or medical conditions. In fact, most dogs will take extra precautions to conceal issues in order to not appear weak.
Diarrhea is among the most ominous sights to see. Not only is it difficult to clean up, but it also shows that your dog is in agony.
Acute diarrhoea is rather typical. At some point, it happens to all dogs. Canines typically show some indicators of distress. They may stop eating or begin to appear lethargic.
What if, though, your dog is performing totally normally? The presence of diarrhea in your dog while he or she is otherwise acting cheerfully can be perplexing. Why is it happening, and should you be concerned? We must discuss what initially causes diarrhoea in order to gain a better grasp of what is happening.
Acute Diarrhea vs. Chronic Diarrhea: What’s the Difference?
First things first, you should think about how frequently your dog has diarrhea. Acute diarrhoea is when symptoms suddenly arise. These problems are typically brought on by something that is directly impacting your dog’s digestive system.
Depending on the offender, you could need veterinarian assistance. However, most situations resolve themselves. Acute diarrhea will stop and the stool will return to normal as soon as the underlying problem is resolved.
On the other hand, persistent diarrhea is a frequent occurrence. No matter what you do to bring relief, dogs who have chronic diarrhea will continue to experience frequent episodes. Chronic diarrhoea is typically brought on by an underlying medical condition.
Therefore, if the diarrhea doesn’t go away, you should take your dog to the veterinarian.
7 Typical Reasons for Acute Diarrhea
Acute diarrhea is fairly typical, as we just mentioned. Dogs are inquisitive animals that use their jaws to investigate their surroundings. So, gastrointestinal disturbances are to be anticipated. These are a few typical causes of severe diarrhoea.
To decide whether this is an urgent issue or something more serious, take into account your pup’s exposure to these problems.
1. Parasites
Numerous issues might be brought on by parasites in the body of your dog. They cling to the intestinal tract of your dog and drain its nutrients and blood flow. Hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms are some of the most prevalent parasites that your dog may contract.
The good news is that treating these pests with medication is not too difficult. Additionally, they are typically easy to identify in your dog’s faeces. Mucus accumulation and mushy stools are symptoms of parasites.
2. Food Allergies
Dogs can develop allergies to a number of foods, just like humans can. The body of your dog won’t always agree with you. It may not occur to you, but the problem could be brought on by substances in your dog’s kibble. Visit your vet for the necessary testing if you think that might be the case.
3. Unintentional Poisoning
You should treat unintentional poisoning seriously, regardless of how your dog became poisoned, whether they ingested canine-toxic food or got into chemicals. The belief that poisoning always results in death is widespread. The opposite is true, as you can see.
However, it’s possible that the symptoms your dog is experiencing will cause that. Take a moment to scan your house. Seek veterinarian attention if you notice any indications that your dog may have gotten into something inappropriate.
4. Bad Food Reactions
Dogs can have diarrhoea from food that is not hazardous to them. Have you ever noticed your dog getting a tummy ache after receiving a brand-new treat? This happens frequently. Veterinarians advise a gradual transition anytime you change diets because of this.
If your dog has been eating the same food for years, introducing anything different suddenly could result in stomach issues.
5. Bacterial Infections
Your dog may contract one of several different viral or bacterial diseases. All of these have distinct effects on dogs, but they can all seriously harm the digestive tract.
Bacteria can weaken cells, which ultimately causes problems with absorption. The result of your dog’s inability to adequately absorb nutrients is the watery stool.
6. Blockages
A physical obstruction in their intestines is another factor that may contribute to malabsorption. If your dog plays with little toys or chews on bones, there’s a good chance that something is already ingested. The thing might sometimes pass.
Sometimes veterinary assistance is needed. To find out which one it is, don’t wait. Your veterinarian will be able to run the necessary tests and choose a course of action.
7. Adverse drug reactions
Unwanted side effects of several canine treatments include diarrhea. Typically, it is advised that you cease giving your dog the medication and look for a replacement.
What if I’m unable to identify a cause?
The good thing about acute diarrhea is that you can usually identify the source of the issue. Simply reflect on what your dog performed that day and search your house for any hints. Furthermore, bodily symptoms are frequently linked to abrupt problems.
Your dog may have a chronic ailment if you can’t identify the cause of the issue and they dog is still performing normally. Dogs who experience pain on a frequent basis won’t show obvious behavioural changes.
They are already accustomed to putting up with the discomfort they are experiencing. So, it’s more difficult to understand what’s happening. You should search elsewhere if your dog isn’t exhibiting any odd behaviours that might be related to diarrhea.
Things to Think About
Just because your dog seems fine doesn’t necessarily indicate that something significant is wrong. Every dog experiences diarrhea at some point, although some are more accustomed to it than others. Think about the following elements before you start to worry.
Diarrhea Frequency
You need to keep an eye on things once you’ve discovered diarrhea. Dogs in good health will eliminate as frequently as they are fed. But diarrhea makes dogs urinate more frequently. Due to the discomfort, they could feel like going outside multiple times throughout the day.
It’s likely that the issue has become chronic if it continues after 24 hours. In that situation, you must visit your veterinarian.
Dimensions of the Stool
Examine your dog’s excrement and keep an eye out for any warning signals. You’ve already established that your dog has diarrhea at this stage. You must therefore pay attention to the stool’s other components. Color and contents are a couple of these.
Numerous things might cause discoloration. The hue of healthy faeces is somewhat akin to milk chocolate. Any other hue in your dog’s excrement could be a sign of health problems or vitamin deficits.
Blood is the most crucial item to look for. It’s important to take blood in the stool seriously.
Contrary to popular belief, blood won’t cause your dog’s excrement to turn brilliant red. It might instead render it dark. Sometimes the blood does not completely permeate the stool. It will therefore look as dark streaks.
Bloody stools alone are reason for alarm. However, the problem becomes significantly more problematic when you combine it with diarrhea.
The presence of parasites or other items should also be suspected. Because they are attached to the intestines, most parasites will leave the body with the faeces. It’s possible to spot little worms crawling about or bright white eggs.
You might also notice fully developed adult worms hanging out of the rectum, depending on the extent of the infection.
Additional Medical Signs
Keep an eye out for your dog. This will aid you in identifying any more strange symptoms your dog may display. When you’re not looking, they might, for instance, be mildly throwing up outside. Vomiting frequently occurs after or before diarrhea.
However, having both problems at once is really worrying. This can be a sign that a major sickness is at work.
Potential Medical Conditions That Might Cause Diarrhea
Even with careful monitoring, a vet’s diagnosis is the only way to know for sure what is wrong with your dog. Diarrhea can result from a number of medical conditions.
Many of these issues at first glance seem unimportant. They might, however, get worse over time. This is particularly true if your dog doesn’t get the care they require.
Renal disease
The metabolism of the food that your dog consumes involves the kidneys in a significant way. Unfortunately, dogs can develop renal disease abruptly and with little warning. Consuming poisonous foods or substances is a common cause of acute renal failure. As they age, dogs can potentially get kidney disease.
Diarrhea is a common symptom of renal failure brought on by kidney disease. You must get treatment right away because this illness has the potential to be lethal.
Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, affects people of all species. Dogs can also go through it. However, veterinarians don’t fully understand why it occurs. The illness is thought to be brought on by inflammation of the gut lining.
Certain foodstuffs can make the issue worse. Diarrhea occurs because the intestines can’t work properly.
Ulcers
It hurts when you have an ulcer. However, ulcers typically appear gradually and very occasionally infect dogs. As a result, a diagnosis of ulcers based solely on behaviour is challenging. Depending on how bad the ulcer is, it could bleed or result in significant malabsorption issues.
Colitis
Colitis is the last condition. Colon swelling in general is known as colitis. It frequently coexists with another disorder. Due to the colon’s malfunction, colitis can directly induce diarrhea.
What to do if your dog is vomiting and diarrheal
There are certain things you can do to offer some assistance, regardless of whether your dog is battling with an acute attack of diarrhoea or major underlying concerns. Always check with your veterinarian before making significant dietary changes for your dog.
Your veterinarian may suggest a different course of treatment if your dog has a medical problem that is the root of the diarrhoea. If not, the following advice is a terrific method to get your dog’s system back in order and get things back to normal.
Solutions For Your Dogs Diarrhea
Fasting
A nice temporary solution is to fast. It works well for treating dogs who suddenly develop diarrhea after eating. Basically, the idea is to get rid of all the painful substances and give your dog’s stomach a chance to rest.
Your dog is welcome to go without food for 12 to 24 hours. They shouldn’t eat even a single bite of food during this time. Your dog won’t like it! Once they begin eating again, they will thank you for the relief.
Make sure your dog always has access to fresh water during the fast. Dehydration can occur from diarrhoea quite quickly. Your dog is dehydrating quickly and needs a lot of water to replenish it. Additionally, it will help them feel full if they are hungry.
Dull diets
Following that brief time of fasting, you can start your dog on a bland diet. A bland diet is what? It is just as it sounds, I suppose. It consists of meals free of any items that might be disturbing.
The diarrhea might return if their regular meal is introduced, particularly if an allergen was at blame. You need to take it easy for a while because your dog’s stomach is still delicate.
There are lots of bland foods on the market. They frequently merely have the bare minimum of components. To assist with these kinds of problems, many veterinarians often keep plain kibbles on available.
You can also prepare your own dog food as an alternative. Simply boil some meat, chicken, or turkey. To ensure that the stool hardens a little bit, boil the beef to eliminate the majority of the fat and grease. Combine some steaming white or brown rice with the cooked meat.
All you have to do is that. Most likely, your dog won’t even notice the lack of flavour because they’ll be so excited to eat.
It’s important to feed this bland diet gradually. Feed your dog every four to six hours for the duration of the first day, dividing the meal into quarters.
By doing this, you can prevent stomach aches brought on by consuming too much food quickly.
Keep an eye on your dog’s faeces. If you notice a change, you might divide the meal into two portions for the next day.
Till your dog’s poop returns to normal, limit yourself to two meals per day. You can now switch back to the regular kibble at this stage. Just remember to move slowly! Start by substituting the kibble for one-fourth of the bland food.
Make a mixture of half and half the following day. On the third day, conventional dog food should make up three-quarters of the meal. On the fourth day, you can finally prepare a complete supper of dog food.
Fiber and probiotics
It can make a world of difference to add some beneficial probiotics and dietary fibre to your dog’s daily meals. The bacteria in the gut are to responsible for many occurrences of severe diarrhea. Digestive health depends on a healthy bacterial population. Stomach issues emerge once things start to go awry.
Probiotics can be administered to your dog through supplements. Your veterinarian could also be able to provide you with products that introduce healthy microorganisms. These items are typically delicious pastes made to distribute flora throughout your dog’s body.
Fiber is also crucial. It helps to maintain your dog’s dog’s regular system. Fiber can actually absorb fluid in the case of diarrhea to keep stools firm.
Similar to probiotics, the market is flooded with fibre supplements. As an alternative, you can give your dog healthy treats high in fibre like pumpkin and sweet potato.
Conclusion
Even while dogs occasionally experience diarrhea, it’s not customary for them to show no behavioural changes. If your dog has diarrhoea but otherwise seems to be performing normally, you should think about all of your options.
It’s not necessarily a given that something more sinister is taking place. To be safe, though, is preferable to being sorry. To ensure that your dog isn’t suffering in quiet, see your veterinarian.
