Puppies are adorable and rambunctious, yet their growing bodies are still fragile. Like babies and young children, puppies are prone to illnesses because their immune systems aren’t fully developed. One of these illnesses is puppy diarrhea – a messy, stinky situation.
Diarrhea can range from mild to life-threatening in puppies. Acting quickly when your puppy has diarrhea will help your puppy recover and get back to living and growing into their best life.
Puppy Diarrhea: Is It Common?
Puppy diarrhea is common. Whether or not it’s more common than diarrhea in adult dogs is hard to say, but puppies’ immature immune systems put them at high risk for diarrhea.
In addition to having underdeveloped immune systems, puppies are small, making fluid loss much more severe than fluid loss in a larger, adult dog. Therefore, diarrhea in puppies often requires prompt treatment to prevent serious and potentially life-threatening dehydration from fluid loss.
Why Does My Puppy Have Diarrhea: 6 Possible Causes
There are six main causes of puppy diarrhea:
Diet Change or Food Intolerance
A puppy’s digestive system relies on routine eating habits, including the type of food. Abrupt food changes can disrupt a puppy’s digestive system, potentially causing diarrhea.
Also, puppies may not be able to tolerate a particular ingredient, such as chicken or beef. Food intolerance can upset the digestive system and cause diarrhea.
Intestinal Parasites
Intestinal parasites, such as roundworms and hookworms, can wreak havoc in a puppy’s digestive system. For example, they can prevent proper nutrient absorption, causing food to pass through the intestines too quickly, leading to diarrhea. Puppies may be born with these parasites (passed from mom to pup in utero) or pick them up in the environment (e.g., eating poop).
Bacterial Infections
Bacteria that can cause diarrhea in puppies include Escherichia coli, Clostridium, and Salmonella. Bacterial infections in a puppy’s digestive system also cause other symptoms, such as vomiting, loss of appetite, and fever.
Viral Infections
Parvovirus and canine distemper are the leading viral culprits of diarrhea in puppies. These viruses are contagious and are most dangerous in puppies that are either unvaccinated or under-vaccinated. They can cause life-threatening diarrhea, warranting immediate and aggressive veterinary treatment.
Stress
It can be hard to be a puppy! Puppies are constantly exposed to new people, pets, and environments as part of their socialization. Plus, they’re undergoing obedience training, teething, and potty training. Understandably, puppies can get stressed as they learn to navigate their world. Stress can disrupt a puppy’s digestive system, causing diarrhea.
Ingestion of Toxins and Foreign Bodies
Puppies are naturally curious, leading them to eat things they’re not supposed to, such as a toxic plant or foreign body (e.g., sock). This dietary indiscretion may lead to not only diarrhea but also intestinal blockage if the foreign body can’t pass through the intestines.
Types of Diarrhea in Puppies
Looking at dog poop probably isn’t any pet parents’ idea of a good time. However, observing the appearance of your puppy’s diarrhea can give clues to what’s going on and guide your veterinarian’s treatment plan. Here are some common appearances of puppy diarrhea:
Bloody Diarrhea
A few specks of blood in the diarrhea usually aren’t a cause for concern. However, large amounts of blood in puppy diarrhea indicate severe colon inflammation (colitis). Bloody puppy diarrhea requires immediate veterinary treatment.
Diarrhea with Mucus
Mucus in diarrhea is another sign of colitis often seen in puppy diarrhea. Small amounts of mucus in the diarrhea are normal but call your veterinarian for guidance if your puppy has troubling symptoms besides the mucus.
Liquid Diarrhea
Diarrhea is softer than regular poop. In cases of puppy diarrhea, puppies may start having soft stool that progresses to diarrhea. Diarrhea is typically very loose to watery.
Yellow Diarrhea
Yellow diarrhea indicates that food is moving through the intestines too quickly, called ‘intestinal hypermotility.’
Yellow diarrhea can also be caused by a chicken-and-rice diet, frequently recommended when puppies have diarrhea. Therefore, if your puppy’s diarrhea turns yellow after you fed them chicken and rice, you’ll know why the diarrhea turned that color.
Diarrhea with Vomiting
Vomiting is due to inflammation of the stomach and upper small intestine. Diarrhea with vomiting is a double whammy for fluid loss. Puppies that are vomiting and have diarrhea are at high risk of life-threatening fluid loss. They are extremely sick and require immediate veterinary care.
What to Feed and How to Help
Puppy diarrhea often requires veterinary care, but you can do a few things at home to care for your puppy. If your puppy has diarrhea, contact your veterinarian before starting home care.
Let’s say that your puppy has diarrhea but is still playful. Rather than rushing to your vet’s office, feeding a bland diet may be enough to help their digestive system ‘reset,’ with the diarrhea resolving on its own. Examples of bland diet foods are listed below:
- Boiled, unseasoned chicken (no skin)
- Cooked, unseasoned rice
- Canned, unsweetened, pureed pumpkin
- Cooked, unseasoned sweet potato
The pumpkin and sweet potato provide dietary fiber, adding bulk to the feces. The rice is a highly digestible carbohydrate that is easy for the digestive tract to process. The chicken adds a healthy source of protein.
It is generally not advisable to withhold food from puppies with diarrhea. Compared to adult dogs, puppies can experience extreme drops in blood sugar if they don’t eat for a long time. Do not withhold food unless your veterinarian advises you to do so, and never for more than 24 hours.
Offer your puppy plenty of fresh water. Fresh water will help your puppy replace the fluid lost from the diarrhea. If your puppy needs enticement to drink, consider adding a small cube of sodium bullion to the water to add some flavor.
Over the counter (OTC) medications, such as Pepto Bismol and Kaopectate, can help relieve a puppy’s diarrhea. Talk to your veterinarian before giving your puppy any OTC medications — they can advise if it’s safe and what dosage to use.
If you have other pets, isolate your puppy with diarrhea from the other pets, just in case the diarrhea’s cause is infectious.
When to Worry About Puppy Diarrhea
Not all puppy diarrhea is severe, but there are symptoms to watch for that warrant an immediate trip to the veterinarian or emergency veterinary hospital:
- Bloody diarrhea
- Diarrhea for more than 24 hours
- Diarrhea with vomiting
- Black, tarry stools
- Weakness
- Collapsing
- Liquid, watery diarrhea
- Tremors or seizures
- Appetite loss, not drinking
- Fever
- Abdominal pain
- Suspicion of toxin or foreign body ingestion
When you take your puppy to the veterinarian, they will perform diagnostic tests to determine the diarrhea’s underlying cause. Diagnostic testing includes bloodwork, fecal analysis, and abdominal imaging.
Although unpleasant, taking a sample of the diarrhea to your appointment is helpful. Pick up the sample carefully, place it in a plastic bag, and thoroughly wash your hands afterward.
Veterinary Treatment for Puppy Diarrhea
Puppy diarrhea treatment depends on the underlying cause. For more severe cases, a puppy must be hospitalized for treatment.
In-hospital treatment can be intensive and includes what is listed below:
- Intravenous fluid therapy
- Antibiotics for bacterial infections
- Antiemetics to manage nausea and vomiting
- Dewormers to treat intestinal parasites
- Stomach protectants to soothe the stomach lining
- Surgery to remove foreign body
If a toxin is ingested, activated charcoal may be used to bind the toxin and prevent absorption.
Preventing Puppy Diarrhea
Puppy diarrhea is no fun for your puppy or you, so it’s worth your while to try to prevent it from happening. Here are some prevention strategies to consider:
- Block access to the garbage and toxic substances.
- Block access to plants that are toxic to dogs, such as aloe, poinsettias, and Lily of the Valley.
- Transition your puppy to a new diet slowly over several days.
- Keep your puppy current on vaccinations.
- Give your puppy a monthly dewormer.
- Pick up your puppy’s poop promptly.
- Maintain a regular daily routine (eat, play, sleep, bathroom) for your puppy to reduce stress.
- Feed your puppy a nutritionally complete and balanced puppy food.
