What Should You Feed a Dog With Diarrhea?

When your dog suddenly needs to run out to poop hourly, you may have a lot of time to stand in the yard wondering things like: What’s a good bland diet for dogs? Is pumpkin good for dogs with diarrhea, and how much is the right amount? All I have is this canned pumpkin-pie filling; will that work? How will I know when my dog’s poop is totally normal again? How is that much poop coming out of a dog that size?

Here’s your answer.

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What to feed a dog with diarrhea

Having a dog with diarrhea can be stressful, even if your dog seems to be feeling fine otherwise. In addition to worrying about smelly accidents in the house, pet parents want to feel like they’re helping to get their dog better as quickly as possible. While home remedies for dog diarrhea can be a part of the solution, they may not be sufficient in all cases.

Dogs get diarrhea for many, many reasons. Viruses, parasites, intestinal diseases, cancers, stress, poisons, bacterial toxins, and diet changes are just some of the common causes of diarrhea in dogs. Diarrhea is unpredictable, too. Some dogs can eat a pile of rotting garbage without experiencing the slightest tummy rumble, while others seem to get the runs just looking at a tasty treat.

One of the mainstays for getting diarrhea under control is feeding your dog bland, easily digestible food. Finding a bland diet for dogs with diarrhea that works for you and your dog can be a challenge. Homemade diets can be cost-effective but time-consuming to prepare. Prescription canned food is convenient, but can become expensive quickly, especially for large dogs.

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When to feed a dog with diarrhea

It’s tempting to change your dog’s eating habits when they’re having diarrhea. Some pet parents have told me they want to feed more because their dog doesn’t have time to absorb anything before it comes out the other end. Others worry that feeding just triggers more diarrhea, so they think that withholding food will stop the diarrhea.

My suggestions for when to feed dogs with diarrhea are often based on their other symptoms. In dogs that are vomiting and feeling puny in addition to having diarrhea, other treatments, like fluid and anti-nausea medication, are usually needed to get them to a place where they can think about eating again. Dogs who have diarrhea but feel well otherwise can often eat on their usual schedule.

Should I fast a dog with diarrhea?

Some pet parents report success with fasting their dog with diarrhea. While this used to be a common recommendation for treating diarrhea, it has fallen out of favor as evidence has shown that early feeding helps intestines heal more quickly.

Some types of diarrhea result from injury to the cells lining the intestines. These cells (called enterocytes) help control the water and electrolyte balance in the body by absorbing water from digested food as it passes through the intestines. When enterocytes are damaged by viruses or toxins, they don’t absorb water from the intestines like they should, resulting in diarrhea. Enterocytes get most of their nutrition from the food passing through the intestines, so continued feeding is important in helping them to heal.

Most dogs with uncomplicated diarrhea can eat on their normal schedule. Dogs with problems like vomiting, foreign body ingestion, or exposure  to certain toxicities may need to fast briefly before gradually restarting food.

Is pumpkin good for dogs with diarrhea?

Pumpkin is frequently recommended to help resolve diarrhea in dogs. I’ve certainly advised pet parents to add some canned pumpkin (usually a teaspoon or two for a small-to-medium dog or a tablespoon or two for a large dog) to their dog’s food to help with a mild case of diarrhea. The thought is that the added fiber in canned pumpkin can provide nutrition to the “good” bacteria in the colon and help their poop firm up more quickly.

But is pumpkin puree good for dogs with all types of diarrhea? It generally falls into the “may help, but probably doesn’t hurt” category, if added in reasonable amounts. Fiber has been shown to be helpful in resolving large-bowel diarrhea in dogs more quickly. Canned pumpkin puree — the plain stuff, not the pie-filling mix — is high in moisture and low in calories, but it only contains a moderate amount of fiber.

Psyllium husk (found in over-the-counter fiber supplements) is a more concentrated source of fiber and a more effective way to add fiber to your dog’s diet. It is possible to overdo fiber supplementation though. Giving too much fiber can result in constipation, gassiness, or — surprise — diarrhea. It’s best to supplement fiber only under your vet’s recommendation, and after the type of diarrhea has been determined.

The bland diet for dogs with diarrhea

The question of what to feed a dog with diarrhea is a common one. There are a lot of suggestions, but it’s hard to prove which strategies are most effective because the truth is that most uncomplicated episodes of diarrhea will resolve on their own within a matter of days. Dogs with severe diarrhea will usually need more than just a diet change to get them feeling better. Signs that a bout of diarrhea is more severe include:

• Loss of appetite

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea with blood

• Diarrhea lasting more than three to four days

• Black, tarry stool

• Frequent, watery diarrhea

• Lethargy

• Weakness

• Abdominal discomfort

• Straining to defecate

If your dog is showing more serious symptoms with their diarrhea, see a veterinarian as soon as possible. Home remedies for diarrhea aren’t the right place to start when the problem is more complicated than some soft stool.

Dogs with minor episodes of diarrhea can often be fed a bland diet to help speed the recovery process. Bland diets come in many different forms, and most veterinarians have some basic formulas they rely on to help pets suffering from diarrhea. These diets often include:

• Low-fat, cooked meats: I commonly suggest using shredded pieces of plain, boiled, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Dogs usually go crazy for that. Other options are lean ground beef, chicken, or turkey. Get the leanest (often 98 percent lean to two percent fat) ground meat you can find. Increased fat content can cause or worsen conditions like pancreatitis and may prolong diarrhea. Make sure that any meat is cooked fully — you don’t want to risk bacterial contamination worsening your dog’s diarrhea and prolonging their recovery.

• Cottage cheese: Cottage cheese can be used as a protein source instead of meat. This is especially helpful for dogs with allergies to commonly available lean meats or for meat-free households. Stick to cottage cheese with 2 percent fat to provide a little fat in your dog’s bland diet without overwhelming their digestive system.

• White rice: Plain white rice is an easily digestible source of carbohydrates. It is often combined with a protein source like lean meat or cottage cheese to help dogs recover from episodes of diarrhea. Although dogs usually love it, please realize that a lean meat (or cottage cheese) and rice diet is not nutritionally balanced for long-term feeding. It’s fine for a few days while your dog is feeling sick, but dogs should be transitioned off this diet and back onto a nutritionally complete food within a week.

• Bland veterinary diets: There are many bland, easily digestible diets made specifically for dogs available. Although most of these diets are balanced for long-term feeding, you may need a prescription from your veterinarian to purchase them. Canned diets can be especially great for dogs with diarrhea because they contain a lot of extra water to replace the increased fluid losses from diarrhea.

• Plenty of water: Dogs with diarrhea should have water freely available at all times. You may notice your dog drinking more than usual to keep up with the extra that’s going out. If your dog isn’t big on drinking, try adding a little water to their bland food. Most are so excited about their “special” new food that they’ll lap up anything with it.

When to consult a vet

A bout or two of loose stool isn’t usually a big deal, as long as it doesn’t contain blood and your dog is feeling well otherwise. Most dogs bounce back from mild episodes of diarrhea quickly and are feeling better within a couple of days. Always contact your vet if you are concerned that your dog got into a toxin, ate a foreign object, has blood in their stool, begins vomiting, stops eating, or is just feeling poopy (pun intended).

Although seeing your vet may not always tell you why your dog has diarrhea, it can give you reassurance that your dog isn’t falling behind on hydration and guidance on how to treat the runs. Antibiotics like metronidazole are no longer recommended for most cases of diarrhea due to minimal differences in recovery time when using the drug and concerns about contributing to antibiotic resistance. Instead, your veterinarian may recommend a probiotic to help restore the population of good bacteria and promote intestinal health.

Related article

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References

• Fritsch, Dale A., et al. “A Prospective Multicenter Study of the Efficacy of a Fiber-Supplemented Dietary Intervention in Dogs with Chronic Large Bowel Diarrhea.” BMC Veterinary Research, vol. 18, no. 1, 24 June 2022, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-022-03302-8. Accessed 11 Aug. 2022.

• Kiela, Pawel R., and Fayez K. Ghishan. “Physiology of Intestinal Absorption and Secretion.” Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology, vol. 30, no. 2, 10 Feb. 2016, pp. 145–159, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4956471/, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpg.2016.02.007.

• Lappin, Michael R., et al. “Efficacy of Feeding a Diet Containing a High Concentration of Mixed Fiber Sources for Management of Acute Large Bowel Diarrhea in Dogs in Shelters.” Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, vol. 36, no. 2, 17 Feb. 2022, pp. 488–492, https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16360.

• Lecoindre, Patrick, and Frédéric P. Gaschen. “Chronic Idiopathic Large Bowel Diarrhea in the Dog.” Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, vol. 41, no. 2, Mar. 2011, pp. 447–456, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvsm.2011.02.004. Accessed 7 Oct. 2021.