My dog has diarrhea from her pain medication. What should I do?

Hi and thank you for your post on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! One of the most common side effects of pain medications used in dogs can be vomiting and/or diarrhea. There can be other causes for diarrhea as well such as parasites, bacterial or viral infections, IBD, food allergy, or organ dysfunction, so I would talk to your veterinarian if the diarrhea becomes more frequent or gets worse. Sometimes plain canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in the food can help with transient diarrhea. You may try that and see if it gets any better. I hope this helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sorry to hear your dog is having stomach issues on a medication. Typically, a bland diet (such as boiled white meat chicken and white rice) can be helpful for medication-induced GI upset. If your dog isn't eating, vomiting, having diarrhea or otherwise feeling ill, then I would recommend having him evaluated by his veterinarian, as something more than just a medication reaction may be going on. Good luck!

I hate to hear Chicken Noodle is not feeling well! Yes, this can be a side effect of the medication but other causes are also possible. I recommend to start by calling your veterinarian. They will ask you several questions and help to determine if the medication should be continued or if additional care is needed. There are a couple things you can do at home that may also help. A bland diet for 48 hours can help. A bland diet can consist of 25% boiled white meat chicken and 75% boiled white rice. This should all be plain. A probiotic may also be beneficial. Purina carries a nice one called FortiFlora if you can find it. Your vet will also have a nice one as well. You can add additional water to her food to help prevent dehydration. At home, your pup should rest today so no walks or playtime. I hope Chicken Noodle starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Any medication you give a lactating dog will be passed through the milk to the puppy. I do not suggest any human medications and if her diarrhea is severe you should have her examined by your Vet and a fecal test ran to rule out intestinal parasites. It easily could be the food you are feeding as she should be eating a puppy food. I would try a bland diet of boiled chicken and hamburger with rice for a few says. A probiotic should be fine, I like Purina Fortiflora. I hope this helps!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Sammi. Poor girl. I can give you a home remedy for her to see if that helps. Withhold food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in her normal diet. If the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, she refuses to eat the bland diet, she starts vomiting food, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, she will need to see a vet right away. I hope this helps!

I am not sure if you are talking about a prior question you posted here. You don't mention the name of the anti-inflammatory you have on hand, but if it is an NSAID (non steroidal anti inflammatory) it would NOT be recommended to administer to a dog who has gastrointestinal upset as NSAIDS can in fact cause GI upset as a side effect. There are some over the counter anti diarrhea medications at pet stores that contain kaolin and pectin that can be useful in some diarrhea. Another over the counter consideration would be a probiotic.

Gilley probably has discomfort with the chronic diarrhea. I would expect improvement by now with the diarrhea and abdominal pain. Please check with your veterinarian to see if they can give additional medication to control the diarrhea. Usually once the intestinal inflammation is controlled the dogs will feel better. You are doing a good job with your feeding schedule. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Gilley.