Puppy Diarrhoea - What to Do if Your Puppy Has Diarrhoea?

Diarrhoea in puppies is a common problem that unsettles many new dog owners. A puppy's digestive tract is particularly sensitive in the first few weeks of life. In this Guide, you will find out why puppy diarrhoea occurs and how you can help your puppy - especially with the right diet. 

Diarrhoea in puppies - when should they see a vet? 

Firstly, differentiate between these two situations. If the puppy passes soft faeces once and this regulates itself within 2-3 days, then there is no need to worry. However, if the puppy is constantly passing soft faeces or has liquid/watery diarrhoea, and in the worst case mixed with mucus or blood, then a vet should be consulted.

Development of the digestive system 

Puppies still have an immature digestive system. New types of food or treats, too much food and treats or eating too quickly can lead to soft faeces or acute puppy diarrhoea. Food changes, constant changes of food type or too many different foods and snacks that are mixed together can therefore trigger puppy diarrhoea. Too many treats, for example during training at dog school, can also be responsible for puppy diarrhoea.

Teething can lead to puppy diarrhoea 

During the change of teeth, the puppy may repeatedly react with diarrhoea. On the one hand, this can be due to inflammation in the mouth, which can occur when the new tooth pushes through the gums, or it could be that the puppy swallows the old tooth and it lies heavily in its stomach. 

Sometimes, however, the snacks offered to the puppy are responsible. This is because during the change of teeth, large, solid chews are usually fed to support teething. If too much is fed, this can lead to puppy diarrhoea. 

You can find out more about teething and how you can support your dog in our Guide "Teething and dental hygiene in dogs".

Allergies and food intolerances can be responsible for diarrhoea in puppies 

Unfortunately, young dogs can also be affected by allergies and food intolerances. Although puppies are not born with food intolerances, they can easily develop them. An example is if the puppy had giardia, was wormed too often too early or had to be given medication for other reasons, this can overstimulate the digestive tract. If puppy diarrhoea occurs whenever you feed a particular type of food or meat source, you should take note. 

You can find out more about allergies in our Guide "My dog is allergic - what now?".

Parasites, infections or chronic intestinal diseases can cause diarrhoea in puppies 

Worms, giardia or bacterial infections are not uncommon in young dogs. Especially in the case of severe, persistent or bloody diarrhoea in puppies, you should definitely consult a vet. You can find more information about Giardia in our Guide "Giardia in dogs", while our Guide "Natural feeding for worm infestations in dogs and cats" provides information about worms. 

Ingested foreign bodies as a trigger for diarrhoea in puppies

A swallowed foreign body can be responsible for diarrhoea in puppies. It can be a dismantled toy part or a swallowed built-in squeaker. Stones, acorns, chestnuts, the remains of a stick that has been played with, fluff from a tennis ball, shoelaces, etc. - all these things can be very interesting for a young dog and may easily be swallowed. Many young dogs are constantly on the lookout for something to nibble on, especially during the teething stage. At best, they are quickly excreted via puppy diarrhoea or vomit - at worst, they cause an intestinal blockage that must be treated immediately by a vet.

Stress, excitement and lack of training can lead to puppy diarrhoea

Stress can disrupt intestinal motility and cause puppy diarrhoea. A house move, new surroundings or unfamiliar people can trigger stress, which can also affect the puppy's gastrointestinal tract. 

A lack of training can also lead to diarrhoea if the "cute puppy" is not taught any rules. Rules should be implemented with loving consistency. If the rules are missing and dogs are not given any structures, they tend to go crazy. They want to go everywhere, sniff, play, meet people and other dogs - and they can hardly be stopped. Without clear guidelines or a clear training structure, behavioural problems can develop in the long term, which can accompany the dog for a lifetime and cause permanent diarrhoea. Stress-induced diarrhoea in both puppies and adult dogs is not unusual.

If the puppy is not given opportunities to rest, withdraw and take breaks, for example because it is disturbed while sleeping or constantly kept on the go, this can lead to problems with puppy diarrhoea. 

Also, make sure that you do not let your puppy romp around after eating. They should rest for at least 1.5-2 hours before they are allowed to play again after eating. This reduces the likelihood of diarrhoea and stomach torsion.

Side effects of medication can cause diarrhoea in puppies 

After the administration of medication, the puppy may develop diarrhoea. Puppies may also react temporarily with diarrhoea after a worming treatment or vaccination, but this should regulate itself within 1-3 days.

Poisoning and infectious diarrhoea in puppies

Bacteria or toxins, such as salmonella or E.coli, can stimulate the intestinal cells to actively release water and electrolytes into the intestine. The body cannot absorb this water quickly enough, resulting in watery puppy diarrhoea.

What to do with puppy diarrhoea? 

If your puppy has diarrhoea, it is important that you observe the situation to get an idea of the severity. 

Puppies get diarrhoea quite easily, for example, when they are given a new type of food or a new snack, when they are teething or when the day has been exciting or stressful. However, the puppy's stool then usually simply becomes a little softer or there is only mild diarrhoea, while the puppy is still lively and active. Such "mild" diarrhoea usually regulates itself within a few days, and you can also support your puppy with the tips that you will find further down in this Guide. 

Diarrhoea in puppies - when to go to the vet? 

Puppy diarrhoea can quickly become dangerous for young dogs should they  suffer a high loss of fluids. You should therefore consult a vet immediately if you notice the following signs to clarify the cause of puppy diarrhoea.

• Your puppy seems exhausted and weak and refuses to eat
• They have diarrhoea and vomiting at the same time
• Their stomach is very firm or bloated
• They have a fever or low temperature

Other signs that you should consult a vet:

• Your puppy has a lot of watery diarrhoea, several times a day
• You see blood or mucus in the puppy's diarrhoea
• Puppy diarrhoea lasts longer than 24 hours

Measures in the event of puppy diarrhoea

Measures that are recommended for diarrhoea in an adult dog do not necessarily make sense for a puppy. You should not starve your puppy if they have diarrhoea. The loss of fluids can be enough of a problem for them, and if also deprived of food, things can quickly become critical. Offer your puppy plenty of fluids so that they can drink enough and contact your vet. The vet  is best placed to judge whether you should visit the practice or not.

Mild puppy diarrhoea - these acute measures help 

If your puppy's soft faeces or mild diarrhoea is due to a busy day, a new snack or similar factors, then it is not necessary to see a vet immediately - as long as your puppy continues to eat and is lively and active, you can support them with a few feeding-related measures to get mild diarrhoea under control without the help of a vet.

• Observe your puppy. How often does the diarrhoea occur? Does the dog remain lively? Does the mild diarrhoea last less than 24 hours?
• Provide sufficient fluids. Puppies lose a lot of fluids when they have puppy diarrhoea, especially if they are very young or belong to a small breed - so make sure they drink enough.
• Avoid Snacks, Chews & Treats. You should currently avoid anything that can irritate your puppy's intestines, including unknown types of food or snacks, as well as solid chews or greasy treats.
• Prepare a light diet. You can offer your puppy cooked rice with carrots and chicken (unsalted, of course), as this light diet can help to settle the stomach more quickly. Do not feed cold food ("fresh" from the fridge), as this can also promote diarrhoea. As an alternative to home-prepared light food, you can feed your puppy our puppy meals with chicken or lamb and also add our Canis Extra Granulated Carrot. Feed your puppy several small meals a day, as this relieves the digestive system.
• Visit the vet. If there is no noticeable improvement in the diarrhoea after 24 hours, consult a vet and ideally bring a faecal sample with you for examination.

Home remedies for puppy diarrhoea

There are some home remedies for diarrhoea that are said to help with puppy diarrhoea - and in some cases they certainly do. However, you should be aware that, depending on the cause of puppy diarrhoea, the various measures could improve the situation or make it worse. If your puppy is already unwell, you should not experiment, as the situation can quickly worsen. If your puppy simply has soft faeces and is otherwise well, you can try these home remedies. However, if these do not bring any improvement and your puppy has diarrhoea for longer than 24 hours, please consult a vet. 

Carrot soup for puppy diarrhoea 

For a long time now, a long-cooked carrot soup, known as Moro soup (from Moro's carrot soup), has been recommended for all kinds of gastrointestinal complaints in order to support the intestinal flora. Carrots that have been cooked long enough, form a slimy film that is said to protect the intestinal walls. They are also said to bind harmful bacteria in the intestines and thus stabilise and promote the dog's intestinal flora.

Fibre for mild diarrhoea in puppies 

A similar principle applies here as with carrot soup - because it is also said that the positive effect on diarrhoea is due to the dissolved dietary fibre. Dietary fibres are indigestible food components which, in appropriate quantities, slow down the intestinal transit, nourish the intestinal flora and can also bind liquid. This can help to give the digestive tract more time to absorb excess fluid on the one hand, and on the other hand, the fibre helps to bind a certain amount of the excess fluid. High-fibre supplements include psyllium husks, carrots and oat flakes.

Healing clay against diarrhoea in puppies

Healing clay is said to bind toxins produced by pathogenic bacteria that have become prevalent in a disturbed intestinal flora and in this way help to ensure that they can be excreted from the body more quickly. 

What influence does diet have on puppy diarrhoea?

Diet has a major influence on diarrhoea in puppies. It can be both the source of the problem and its solution. 

Preventing puppy diarrhoea through correct feeding 

Puppies have a very sensitive digestive system that can quickly react to changes or the wrong food with diarrhoea. To avoid this, a natural and high-quality diet is crucial. Food containing synthetics and low-quality ingredients such as stalks, husks, feathers or claws can lead to puppy diarrhoea, as the body recognises these things as not appropriate for the species and tries to get rid of them in the quickest possible way, i.e. via puppy diarrhoea. Our natural foods, such as the cold pressed Canis Plus® Puppy & Young Dog Food or our gently cooked puppy meals, are produced without these synthetics so that the body is not forced into a permanent detoxification process. Our Canis Plus® natural food provides a healthy foundation that relies on high-quality ingredients that provide a wide range of natural nutrients while avoiding preservatives and synthetic additives. This allows the delicate body to develop a healthy and stable intestinal flora, which is essential for long-term health. If required, you can also add our 100% natural supplements that can further promote intestinal development. 

Our Guide "Healthy Puppy Food - Species-appropriate from the start" provides you with detailed information about natural puppy food and gives you feeding recommendations and tips on changing your puppy's food.

Preventing puppy diarrhoea by  changing your puppy's diet 

A change in feeding can be made abruptly in a healthy puppy without gastrointestinal complaints. In the case of a pre-existing digestive tract problem, a gradual changeover using small portions should be discussed with our team of experts. Under no circumstances should extruded food be mixed with cold-pressed food. An intestinal cleanse using Canis Extra Petflora can also help with the changeover.

Food intolerances, allergies and puppy diarrhoea 

Food intolerances and allergies can manifest themselves in different ways in puppies. Some dogs suffer from severe itching, dandruff or reddening of the skin, others vomit regularly, have constant problems with their anal glands or recurring problems with mild diarrhoea. It is therefore worth contacting our team of experts to find a suitable type of food for your dog.

A puppy is not born with a food intolerance, but it can develop as a reaction to parasites such as worms or giardia, worming treatments, early antibiotics, vaccinations or medication that has irritated the digestive tract. Comprehensive intestinal rehabilitation tailored to the puppy, for example with Canis Extra Healthy Bowel, Mineralmoor, Ceolife® and Petflora, can help to quickly get your puppy's metabolism back on track. 

If a puppy is allergic to mites, such as food mites, we recommend feeding our gently cooked tinned puppy meals. These have the great advantage that they do not need to be stored for long periods. This is because there is a high risk of mites getting into the food during storage and by this point it is actually too late for a sensitive mite allergy sufferer. Even if you freeze the food before feeding it, it is very likely that your young dog will react to it. This is because although freezing can kill the mites, neither the mites nor their droppings, i.e. the mite faeces, are removed from the food by freezing. 

Feeding for mild puppy diarrhoea 

If your puppy has mild diarrhoea, they need a stomach-friendly and easily digestible diet to help them recover. Make sure that you feed several small meals a day, as these are easier to digest for an overstimulated digestive system than large portions. 

Our Canis Plus® Chicken Puppy Meal contains tender, easily digestible chicken meat, with courgette and pumpkin rounding off the special recipe. The Canis Plus® Lamb Puppy Meal is available for puppies with poultry allergies. Lamb is particularly tender and easily digestible, while parsnip, pumpkin and blueberries help to regulate digestion. 

In the case of mild irritation of the digestive tract, switching to these puppy meals in phases is usually sufficient to ensure that digestion quickly regulates itself again and you can save yourself the trouble of cooking light meals. If required, you can also mix a portion of our Canis Extra Granulated Carrot into the puppy meals. 

If the slight irritation of the digestive tract is already more advanced. Your puppy will benefit from a reduced meat diet. A meal consisting of approx. 50% meat and a 50% vegetable dish of cooked rice and boiled carrots has proven to be effective. You can calculate the amount of light food depending on your puppy's weight.

Light food recipe for puppies. How to calculate the quantity 

Puppies up to 7 months of age should be fed approx. 5-8% of their body weight per day, for puppies from 7-12 months of age this is reduced to approx. 3-5%. In our example, the puppy is 5 months old, weighs 15kg and tolerates feeding at 6%.

15kg x 6% = 0.9kg total feed quantity

• 900g is the total amount of food your dog should eat per day.

900g x 50% = 450g meat content 

• You can use our Canis Plus® Pure Chicken or Lamb or another meat source from our Meat Pots or Meat Rolls if your puppy is allergic. Alternatively, you can also offer cooked chicken or turkey.

900g x 50% = 450g vegetable side dish

• The vegetable side dish should consist of 50% cooked rice or millet and 50% cooked carrots:
  450g x 50% = 225g cooked rice or millet
  450g x 50% = 225g cooked carrots

The amount of food for a 15kg puppy is therefore made up of 450g of meat, 225g of cooked rice or millet and 225g of cooked carrots. You now only need to divide these quantities into the number of meals you want to feed per day. Please bear this in mind, the more small meals you feed per day, the better for your puppy. In this example, the puppy should receive 5 meals a day: 

450g meat through 5 meals = 90g
225g rice or millet through 5 meals = 45g
225g cooked carrots = 45g

• With 5 meals a day, the puppy should receive 90g of meat, 45g of cooked rice or millet and 45g of cooked carrots.
• You can also supplement this with our Canis Extra Granulated Carrot.

Moro carrot soup for puppies

In addition to the meat-reduced meals, your puppy can benefit from a cooked carrot soup. If you cook this yourself, however, it is important that you leave the soup to simmer for at least 90 minutes (this is the only way to produce the effective oligosaccharides).

Carrot soup recipe for puppies

You need 500g of carrots, at least 1 litre of water and time.

1. Peel the carrots and cut them into pieces.
2. Simmer the carrots in one litre of water for at least 90 minutes.
3. Puree the carrots or pass them through a sieve.
4. You can top up the resulting porridge with water to approx. 1 litre to give it a soupy consistency.
5. You can mix light stock, a pinch of salt, some organic coconut oil or a small amount of our whole goat's milk powder into the carrot soup if your puppy doesn't like to eat it otherwise.

How much Moro soup to feed?

The amount of soup you should offer your puppy depends on their age and weight. In addition, you should never force them to eat the soup, but simply offer them the soup every 2-3 hours, warmed to room temperature.

The following recommendations are rough guidelines:

• Small puppies (under 5kg): approx. 50-100ml
• Medium-sized puppies (5-10kg): approx. 100-150ml
• Larger puppies (over 10kg): approx. 150-200ml 

How long should you feed a light diet? 

For mild gastrointestinal irritations, you can offer your puppy this light diet for 2-3 days, after which the problem should have settled. If this is not the case, you should consult a vet. However, if your puppy is struggling with severe diarrhoea, you should consult a vet immediately and seek their advice. Depending on the vet's treatment concept, you can then support the recovery process with these light food recipes.

Feeding after puppy diarrhoea

When the puppy's condition has improved, you should slowly return to normal feeding to avoid relapses.

Feed the familiar, home-cooked light diet for several days, but mix in more and more Puppy Food. Make sure that the Puppy Food contains easily digestible proteins and little grain, as in our gently cooked tinned puppy meals. 

If you want to feed our cold pressed Puppy Food and your puppy has tolerated it well so far, it is now possible to offer the puppy individual pellets as a snack to see how they react to them. If you notice that they are having problems again, it is better to stick with the tinned puppy meals for a few more days. Once they are sufficiently recovered, they should be able to tolerate the cold-pressed Puppy Food without any problems.  From this point onwards you can replace one of the light meals with our cold-pressed Puppy Food. If they tolerate this well for 2-3 days, you can replace the next meal and continue this until you are only feeding the cold-pressed Puppy Food. Now it is time to slowly reduce the number of meals. 

During this phase, it is still important that you feed probiotics to support the intestinal flora during the recovery process. You can supplement with our Canis Extra Petflora and Canis Extra Mineralmoor, as these can promote the regeneration of the intestinal mucosa and the build-up of intestinal flora in the digestive tract.

Also make sure that you avoid any experiments with new snacks etc. Your puppy is still recovering from puppy diarrhoea and so its diet should be kept as constant as possible during this phase.

Conclusion on feeding puppies for puppy diarrhoea

The right diet has a major influence on puppy diarrhoea in many different ways. A natural Puppy food such as Canis Plus® can help to prevent puppy diarrhoea in the first place thanks to its high-quality ingredients and high digestibility. What's more, by avoiding synthetic additives such as artificial vitamins or preservatives, the puppy's digestive tract is given the opportunity to develop as healthily as possible, free from harmful influences. 

This can strengthen the body's overall defences so that it can recover more quickly from all kinds of gastrointestinal problems. In daily life, it's nearly unavoidable for a puppy to pick up something outside or become exposed to infections through contact with other dogs.

A healthy gastrointestinal system, which can also be supported by natural food, is the best basis for a long, healthy dog life.