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Why is my dog having diarrhea after tick disease antibiotics?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Female | spayed | 3 years and 2 months old | 60 lbs

My shepard, heeler/husky mix is 2.5 years old and I adopted her 15 days ago. She finished a month long round of antibiotics to treat 2 tickborn diseases 8 days ago (Ehrlichia and Lyme.) The past 2 days she has had diarrhea and is needing to go out every 1.5 to 2.5 hours. I started giving her probiotics yesterday per previous vet recommendation. Her temperament and energy level is normal. Should I be concerned that this may be related to the previous tickborn illnesses? I did not change her food

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Anna M., DVM

Answered By Anna M., DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 16th, 2021

Hi there, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Diarrhea is not typically a symptom of tickborne disease so this is probably unrelated. Sometimes diarrhea can be a result of antibiotics, but usually it starts earlier in the course of treatment, so the timing doesn't seem related to that either. More likely she got into something that upset her tummy.

As long as she's feeling fine, probiotics are a great idea, and you can feed a bland diet of boiled chicken with white rice for a few days. Once her stools improve, mix the rice/chicken mixture with her kibble to gradually switch her back.

If the diarrhea doesn't improve over the next few days, and certainly if she starts acting sick (decreased appetite, vomiting, lethargy, etc), then a vet visit is in order.

Hope this helps!
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