One of the biggest problems that dog owners can face with their pet's health is canine diarrhea. While there are many other dog health problems that are potentially more serious than loose bowels for a dog, there are few that cause as much day to day heartache as diarrhea.
According to surveys by the national Veterinary group, canine diarrhea is the third most common problem they treat in their offices. If your dog has ever had this problem, you know how much this can affect your daily routine. Canine stomach problems may results from an overgrowth of bacteria in their digestive system or intestinal tract, or they may simply be due to excessive feeding and dietary indiscretion. More serious causes include bloat and even stomach cancer.
If your doggy's tummy problems are not showing up with vomiting and/or lack of appetite, the problem might be mild and you can handle it yourself. And here's some tips you might be able to use if your dog has diarrhea. But if your little dog is vomiting or showing blood in his feces, you need to put him in the car and drive directly to the vet's office.
But sometimes stomach problems and loose bowels are just side effects from diet changes, super snacking or digging through the trash in the kitchen. Other reasons for this might involve worms that can make bacteria grow in your dog's intestinal tract.
If worms are present in your dog's tool (its gross to think about, but you have to look for these) like spaghetti-like roundworms or rice-like tapeworms, an over-the-counter dewormer can be purchased and these meds usually would be enough to do the trick. However, certain parasites like Giardia and other non-visible worms are not easily treated by dewormers. This will result in continuous stomach problems and further loose bowel movements. When this happens, you need to scoop up some of your dog's stool and carry it off to the vet office for further testing.
Its possible that you can handle mild stomach problems just by withholding food from your pet for a day. This with the assumption that all else is normal with your dog's health, with the exception of the loose stool.
After the 24-hour fast, feed your dog with a prepared meal of boiled chicken or hamburger with all the fat drained off in a preparation mixed with boiled white rice. Feed your dog 5 or 6 small portions a day until the bowel movements normalize and the stool turns back to normal consistency. Sometimes, the vet would recommend small bits of yogurt so that beneficial bacteria can grow safely in the dog's stomach.
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