There’s much to celebrate when welcoming home a new puppy. However, anyone who’s ever cared for a four-legged bundle of joy can tell you that it’s not always a walk in the dog park. For puppy owners in particular, providing daily care often means cleaning up messes and occasionally dealing with health emergencies. When a puppy comes down with diarrhea, it can mean juggling both jobs at once.
Three Common Causes of Diarrhea in Puppies
One of the reasons diarrhea can be so stressful for puppy owners is the sheer number of potential causes. Loose or watery stool might be a relatively benign response to everyday stressors, a reaction to something your dog ate, or signs of a potentially deadly condition.
Diet
Puppies have sensitive stomachs, and even subtle changes to their diets can result in unpleasant side effects like diarrhea. This is often a temporary nuisance, but it’s all the more reason to work closely with your veterinarian to devise a feeding plan. In addition to their dog food, curious young puppies may make a meal of anything they happen to find appealing. Garbage, feces, and other non-food items may lead to brief bouts of intestinal distress or present serious complications inside your dog’s digestive tract.
Infections
Your puppy’s digestive system isn’t the only part of its body that takes time to reach its full resiliency. Their immune system will get stronger and more resilient during their early months as well. This can leave growing dogs vulnerable to a range of both bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. Make sure to discuss an appropriate vaccination schedule with your veterinarian to preemptively address conditions like distemper and canine parvovirus, which can sicken or kill unvaccinated puppies.
Stress
Daily life can be stressful, especially for a young puppy experiencing exciting firsts and milestones. Stress in dogs can cause symptoms like diarrhea, just like it can for humans! Thankfully, most puppies grow out of it.
Three Steps for Caring for Your Puppy’s Diarrhea
If the cause of your puppy’s sudden diarrhea isn’t obvious, follow these steps to help make sure you don’t both have a health emergency on your paws.
Monitor Your Dog’s Symptoms
Pay close attention to your dog and their bowel movements when they’re experiencing diarrhea. As symptoms resolve or worsen, dog owners should report changes to their veterinarian while providing hydration and comfort.
Introduce a Bland Diet
Veterinarians often suggest that older dogs skip meals when they’re experiencing bouts of diarrhea. For growing puppies, fasting is usually not advisable. Bland, stomach-soothing foods like boiled chicken, rice, and pureed pumpkin can temporarily help your pup manage symptoms while keeping something in their tummies. We have had great success treating diarrhea with the mix of streamed white rice and Royal Canin Starter Mousse.
Get a Sample
It’s nobody’s favorite part of caring for a puppy, but collecting stool samples could be the fastest way for your veterinarian to diagnose the cause of symptoms like diarrhea. Testing your dog’s feces can help identify the underlying cause, or at least rule out potential culprits, and develop a treatment plan. Lastly, when handling a puppy with diarrhea, always practice good hygiene and wash your hands after dealing with them, particularly in homes with very young children or immunocompromised individuals.