Why is my dog scratching and having diarrhea after raw food?

Poor Meeka! The diarrhea could be due to many conditions including eating something she shouldn’t have, bacterial over growth, parasites, the raw diet or even organ disease. Since the diarrhea has continued beyond 24 hours, I recommend to have her examined by the veterinarian. With continued diarrhea, there are often bacterial shifts in the gut that will make matters worse regardless of the initial cause. Make sure to bring in a sample of fresh stool. The doctor will check her for parasites and bacterial over growth. Many times a bland diet can help and then a slow, gradual introduction to the normal food can be done. A bland diet can consist of 25% boiled white meat chicken and 75% boiled white rice. This should all be plain. Raw diets can contain bacteria that could be responsible for the diarrhea: https://www.petcoach.co/article/raw-and-homemade-diets-what-you-need-to-know/ Additionally, you need to ensure the diet is balanced and complete or you could run into problems long term. The diet should be AAFCO certified. Make sure to alert the veterinarian about the diet change. Any immunocompromised people in the clinic need to be cautious (just in case). I hope Meeka starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Azrael! Yes, it very likely is the food. A lot of dogs tolerate raw diets but there is a higher risk of food borne pathogens like Salmonella. But regardless of raw vs commercial dog food if he has a food allergy to the protein source (chicken, etc) he will vomit, have diarrhea, lose weight. He may also have inflammatory bowel disease which is usually treated with a special diet as well as steroids. Another possibility is pancreatic conditions like Exocrine Pancreatic insufficiency. EPI is common in German Shepherds and it is when the pancreas doesn't produce the appropriate digestive enzyme and it needs to be supplemented. I would deworm him, do general blood work, do a B12/folate/TLI/PLI test, change his to a prescription hydrolyzed diet like Royal Canin HP or Ultimino or Hill's Z/d or Purina HA. Give him 2 months on that diet to see if his issues resolve. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Diarrhea can be observed with conditions such as colitis, gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, among many other possibilities. This could be a sensitivity to the food that she is currently eating. You can start by changing her diet to a sensitive stomach type diet to see if she improves. If no improvement is noted, I recommend that you have Stella evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may choose to check for parasites and to start medications for diarrhea depending on the results. Good luck! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

It is possible it is the raw food diet diet causing Charley's bloody diarrhea. That's because raw meat carries bacteria that can make your dog sick. It could also be due to intestinal parasites, so make sure she is up to date on her deworming treatments. Withhold food for 12 to 24 hours then feed her 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 a commercial dry dog food for her. I would recommend feeding the commercial day dog food diet to her because there is no risk of poisoning from bacteria, either to her or you. If Charley isn't fully vaccinated, there is a chance she could have parvovirus, but given that she is happy and energetic, it's more likely related to her diet. If she does become very lethargic or the bland diet doesn't help the diarrhea, I would take her into the vet.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poop eating is usually behavioral or a taste preference. I do not recommend feeding raw especially home made. Home made raw runs the risk of being deficient in nutrients and not appropriately balanced. Raw runs the risk of food born illnesses in the dog and human (salmonella). You can try changing puppy foods and supplementing with a vitamin but it usually isn't due to diet. I would walk Lisa and immediately pick up her stool. have her learn the "leave it" and "come" commands so you can distract her from eating the stool. I like the muzzle gentle leader harnesses as they make it easy to pull the face away from things. Overall it is a disgusting habit that has to be managed by the owner. I wish you and Lisa the best!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Feeding BARF diet is not recommended and can be the cause of the diarrhea and yellow poop that you are seeing. Any raw food, or bones of any kind (cooked or raw) put the GI tract at danger for a nasty infection (just like you or I eating raw food, there is bacteria that can cause food poisoning). Bones have the potential to cause obstructions, perforations, bone-hardened constipation, and severe gastritis and pancreatitis. Especially in a puppy that is only 4 months old, as their immune systems are not fully developed. I would recommend feeding a high quality puppy food. If you would like to home cook that is great, and a combination of meat and vegetables (onions, garlic, grapes and raisins are toxic) is fine, just cook the meat as you would for yourself. If you wouldn't feed it raw, then it isn't good for your domesticated pet raw either. Adding as much oil and other 'stuff' to his food as well could be too hard on his system, as oil is fatty and dogs don't tolerate the amount of fat that we eat in our diets. Pumpkin is very good for teeth (raw pumpkin) and cooked it is a good source of fibre. Best of luck with Marvel!

Raw diet is not easily digestible. If you want to continue o give raw diet, you could try to add something else to increase the density of the feces. Boiled rice or potatoes could be the right option. If the signs persist despite this addition, I would switch her back to old diet. Every variation of the diet should be made gradually over one week.