Moo: How long should diarrhea last due to a change of food?
I changed my dog's food and now she has diarrhea. I know this is normal due to food change, but how long should it last before I start to worry?
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Answers and Views:
Answer by Megan
About a few days or so. It shouldn't take long for her system to get used to the new food. If it's any longer than a week, I'd start worrying & take her to a vet.
Answer by Christie
A lot depends on the food, really. I have a Great Dane pup, and I tried to feed him Eukanuba like my other two dogs that were ok with it. My pup had severe diarrhea, and it didn't stop after deworming and anti-diarrhea pills that the vet had given him. So I tried to switch to grain-free Orijen Six Fish, and it worked. But it was too expensive so I switched again to Taste of the Wild Hi Prairie. I liked it even better!
Now I feed all my three dogs with it, and I want to try their fish kibbles called Pacific Stream. Both foods are for adult dogs but I don't want to feed my Dane some puppy food because he shouldn't grow too fast (it's bad for heavy breeds).
Answer by Paul K.
A sudden change in your dog's food can lead to acute or momentary diarrhea. However, when diarrhea in your dog lasts more than 2-3 days, it may be called chronic diarrhea or chronic colitis. Throughout its duration, the dog must be well hydrated by making him drink because the body can lose a lot of water and mineral salts.
In the vast majority of cases, the cause of dog diarrhea is linked to a dog's diet unsuitable for its biological and natural needs.
- Diets rich in vegetables and fruits that are indigestible to the carnivore.
- Poor quality of the proteins used in your kibbles. If you see the words "animal by-products" or too much protein hydrolysates (> 2%), this food is not suitable for your dog’s good health.
- Food rich in starch (> 33% of plant carbohydrates: cereals, vegetables, etc.), that gradually leads to constipation which subsequently turns into colitis and chronic diarrhea in dogs.
So, what you should do now.
- Remove the irritating food that is not adapted to the intestinal transit of your dog.
- Don’t feed your dog for 24 hours! It is essential to relieving his intestines, otherwise, he will have trouble suddenly changing his diet, even if the latter is good. Note that in some dogs it is necessary to refrain from food for 48 hours.
- On the 2nd day, you can give your dog half a portion but make sure to give him good quality dog food.
- On the 3rd day, your dog can eat a normal portion as he used to.
In some cases, it is strongly recommended to go to the vet:
- There are signs of dehydration in which case the dog needs to be infused.
- A fever of 39 ºC or more.
- There’s blood in the dog's stool.
Any significant change in the diet of your dog or puppy should be done gradually. This dietary transition should be carried out from three days to one week. Your dog can then adapt to new food and will not exhibit diarrhea.
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Answer by Frodd
The two most common causes of diarrhea in dogs are dietary indiscretion and intestinal parasites. Many canine infectious diseases are also associated with acute diarrhea.
Food takes about eight hours to pass through the small intestines. During that time, the bulk of the food and 80 percent of the water is absorbed. The colon concentrates the remainder. At the end, a well-formed stool is evacuated. A normal stool contains no mucus, blood, or undigested food.
With rapid transit through the bowel, food arrives at the rectum in a liquid state, resulting in a loose, unformed bowel movement. This type of rapid transit accounts for the majority of temporary diarrhea in dogs.
Dietary indiscretion is a common cause of rapid transit. Food intolerances can also cause rapid transit. Foods that some dogs seem unable to tolerate can include beef, pork, chicken, horsemeat, fish, eggs, spices, corn, wheat, soy, gravies, salts, spices, fats, and some commercial dog foods.
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Answer by Piete
You should always do a SLOW transition to a new food, at least a 6-day transition.
Your dog may have diarrhea for several days. Make sure he drinks lots of water.
Answer by hd112596
A few days. You should really do a slow switch versus just changing over in one day. This is easier on her system.
Answer by meek
If you're switching your dog's food, do it gradually or your dog might get sick or have diarrhea.
Some dogs do not react well to canned dog food. Consider feeding your dog a premium dry food, or a mixture of canned and dry.
Don't give your dog new foods that they have never eaten while you are still treating diarrhea.
Know better? Give your own answer to this question!
Kim 1 says
I had to start my Lab (9 years old) suddenly on new dry dog food because I didn’t know that Walmart was going to discontinue this brand all together. I tried purchasing it elsewhere with no success. I went from Kal kan to Pedigree roasted chicken. I have 3 labs and my one female has had diarrhea for two days now. I began the food on Friday morning and the diarrhea began on Sunday. I have given her a tbsp. of pepto bismal once each day. How long should I allow this to last before I need to worry and call my vet?
Mark says
You seem to be an experienced dog owner. Pedigree is not the best dog food but it’s not worse than Kal kan. Try to compare the components in both foods, how they differ. Try to put your girl on boiled rice and chicken diet like it was said here. It doesn’t help every dog because some of them do not accept rice but it often helps. If your two other labs are fine with Pedigree then there might be some other reason for diarrhea, especially if there are other symptoms. If it doesn’t stop in a couple of days it’s better to call your vet.
Akela says
Pedigree is the worst and cheapest dog food there is. I just bought a new puppy and both the vet and workers at petsmart not to gradually switch him over to just switch his food and deal with the diarriah because pedigree is the worst thing to give a dog.
Carrie says
My dog is constantly scratching himself. Even when he’s given an allergy pill. So i switched him from beneful dog food to a grain free natural dog food. Now he has diarrhea and it was pretty bloody and mucus. I made the mistake of not doing it gradually. Is this normal and will it go away.
Dora says
Switching from one food to another should not lead to bloody diarrhea. I would show the dog to the vet.
Leta says
I thought I was switching the food slowly….but today the diarreha started… She is so upset…she wont eat or drink water (normally she is a water guzzler). Do I just wait it out for a day? I have a dropper and have had her drink a little… but she has no interest in even licking it off her paws.
First time puppy owner…
Vicky Dean says
I am always wondering if I am feeding my dogs the right food. I have a 10 year old West and a 6 year old and the both have dirraha. I changed there food to in the wild. I have gone through two bags food and they still have dirraha
RussianDog says
Diarrhea is not always because of the food. Quite often it’s the worms and other parasites. Taste of the wild usually doesn’t cause it. Such a long diarrhea is a good reason to speak to the vet and make the fecal tests.
Candance says
My yorkie I gave him a new flavor of chicken and duck purine sart one. He has diarrhea severe for two days with some blood on the third day. I have been giving him boiled rice and chicken for two days and tonight his poop was starting to form but loose
Amanda Werner says
Gave my 5 month old puppy purino one smartblends i just changed the flavor i thought it was just a bigger bag of what i was getting but he got diarrhea i gave him some white rice mixee with a tiny anount of food for a day and that seemed to help and then he was ok yeaterdag gave him food with no rice and started having it again .. can i just go back to old flavor of food ? Should i continue with the rice and slowly taper that off ? Help
Theo says
1/ Don’t move too fast from one food to another.
2/ Keep alert because diarrhea is not always because of the change of food!
3/ Less food and more water is better to be on a safe side.
4/ If it’s because of the food, a rice and boiled chicken diet usually helps.
5/ Try some grain free food. Read the first components in its formula. It should be preferably meat and rice. But not too much protein because it may also cause diarrhea. As an example, Acana and Orijen have a lot of meat in their formula, and they are definitely good but both need quite a time to adjust to them.
6/ Not every food suits every puppy. Little by little you will find the one that suits him best.
7/ If diarrhea doesn’t stop, you should take your puppy to the vet.