My Puppy Has Diarrhea!

If you are in the process of switching your puppy’s food, you may have switched faster than his tummy would have liked. Scale back on the newer food and add a tablespoon of canned, pure pumpkin puree to his food. Make sure it is pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, which has milk, sugar and spices added to it – no good for a puppy tummy that is already upset. Once his stools are back to normal, you can stop adding the pumpkin to his food and continue with the switch, slowing down the rate at which you add the new food.

If you stop adding the pumpkin to his food and the diarrhea returns, fast your puppy for one meal. This will allow everything to empty out of his tummy. Feed him a bland diet of rice and boiled chicken. You can make this by poaching a chicken breast in four cups of water – do not add anything to it, no salt, pepper, oil, butter or spices. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and add two cups of white rice. Cook as usual. The broth will add flavor to the rice for your puppy. Cool and feed approximately one cup of rice, with approximately a quarter of the chicken shredded and mixed into it. If your puppy’s stools return to normal, then gradually add back his dry kibble.

The diarrhea could be caused by either switching his food too quickly, an intolerance of the new food you are switching to or could be a sign of something more serious. You should always consult with your vet if your puppy has diarrhea lasting more than a couple of days. Diarrhea can be a symptom of something very serious with your puppy.