My dog has severe diarrhea and is panting heavily. What should I do?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Takoda! Causes of diarrhea are: intestinal parasites, viral or bacterial infections, dietary indiscretion (ate something gross), pancreatitis, toxin ingestion, medications, food allergy/intolerance, new treat/food/table scraps. The straining is due to inflammation and that he feels like he has to defecate but there is little to no stool left. The scooting can be from anal irritation, stool stuck to his anus (check and clean) or his anal glands are full If the diarrhea is bad, then I recommend fasting him for 12-24 hours to rest his GIT and to stop adding "fuel to the fire." Then start a bland diet of boiled chicken or hamburger with rice. Feed 1 cup per 20 lbs per day until 2 normal stools. If the diarrhea continues, he stops eating or starts vomiting he should see your Vet. I hope this helps and I wish Takoda a speedy recovery!

Poor guy. It sounds like your pet Shiro has a bout of colitis (inflammation of the colon) which can often be caused by intestinal parasites. I would highly recommend having him seen by your vet soon for a fecal exam and medications to help resolve his colitis. Only antibiotics can help resolve this in most cases, which has to be prescribed by your vet. Until you can get him seen you can start a probiotic with him, such as Culturelle over the counter or Fortiflora. This can help with some of the inflammation by restoring the good intestinal flora. I hope that your furry friend Shiro feels better soon! Best of luck and take care.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. You need to seek veterinary care for her. Her symptoms have gone on long enough that they will unlikely resolve without treatment. The difficulty breathing is worrisome as well. She will need fecal testing and possibly laboratory work depending on her exam findings. Based on these results, treatment can be prescribed. I would discuss the probiotic with your veterinarian as well. There is a large variation in quality and some have actually been found to contain pathogenic bacteria. I hope this information helps and she is feeling better soon!

Sorry to hear that Zavanna isn't feeling 100%. As long as the diarrhea hasn't been going on for very long, you can first try fasting her for about 24 hours. After the fast, feed a bland diet of boiled chicken / hamburger + rice for about 2-4 days, before gradually resuming her normal diet. In addition, you can add a probiotic designed for dogs such as Fortiflora to the food. This can help right the ship in terms of the good bacteria in the intestinal tract. I would also grab a fecal sample and bring it in to your veterinarian. A GI parasite can definitely cause the problem you are reporting. If the diarrhea doesn't clear up or it continues to worsen, make an appointment to see your vet. Hope this helps!

Poor Jolene. Good job starting the bland diet! She likely feels poorly from the diarrhea, and it may be she has a fever causing the panting and shaking. If you can take her temperature rectally, I recommend doing that. A dog's normal temperature is between 101-102.5F. If her temperature is above 103F, take her into a vet right away. Otherwise, wait and see how her poop looks while on the bland diet. If she continues to have diarrhea, have her seen by a vet.

Poor Dharma, I'm sure you are very worried, but you will be able to get her sorted. So with diarrhoea by far the most common cause is gastroenteritis. This is inflammation of the gut and can be caused by many reasons ranging from eating something rancid to infection. Usually it takes a mild form where the dog will feel poorly for a day or two, but it will resolve by itself. In other cases they will need veterinary treatment as there can be more severe infections etc. My general advice in the first instance of diarrhoea, is to starve the dog for 24 hours as long as it is drinking and keeping water down. This allows the guts a chance to rest as if they do eat it will simply run through them. Then following this feed plain chicken and rice until faeces return to normal. Now, if Dharma is in a lot of pain, bearing in mind some will be expected as it is uncomfortable, or she starts to vomit or experiences blood in her diarrhoea, I would take her to the vet as it could be a more serious issue. Alongside starving her make sure she is up to date on wormer. Many vets sell an over the counter paste which helps to restore good bacteria in the gut, you could give this a go also. Similar to a human it can take a few days to get over diarrhoea so don't worry overly. However if she is not improving within another 24 hours, or starts to deteriorate, please take her in for an examination.

I would suspect both the heavy running and bone may have upset his stomach. Heavy breathing can be a sign of pain coming from his stomach and intestines, or he may have a lung issue if the breathing is labored and making it hard for him to get in enough oxygen (Blue tongue, gasping for air, congested airway, etc). If he seems to be getting enough oxygen then he is likely just painful and this is likely the cause of his panting. You can try feeding him a bland diet of boiled plain chicken and rice or cottage cheese for a few days, along with Culturelle (probiotic) over the counter to see if this improves his loose stool and discomfort. Also 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin can help solidify the stools as well. If he does not improve or at any point seems to get worse within the next 24-48 hrs then it’s best to take him to your vet for further care. Usually a short course of antibiotics along with the probiotics and bland diet are all that’s needed for uncomplicated cases of stomach upset. I hope that your pet Jay Junior is able to make a full and speedy recovery from his illness. Best wishes and take care.