My german shepherd has diarrhea. What should I do?

Question

Just curious. I'm worried that he's like seriously sick. This has been going on for a week now. Should I take him to the vet? Or is there a home remedy that works? He's currently eating Nutro Natural Choice dry dog food. Have there been any recent recalls on that dog food?

Okay, so it hasn't been a week, since Saturday. Gosh, some of you make it sound like I'm an animal abuser or something! For goodness sake, no I LOVE MY DOG DEARLY!! Why else would I be asking what I should do? Gimme a break!

Answer 1

Here are the first five ingredients of one type of Nutro Natural Choice food:
Lamb Meal, Ground Rice, Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E)
I have no issue with poultry fat, but of the first five ingredients THREE are RICE PRODUCTS and this is not the only time rice is mentioned.
My GSD did not do good on Nutro. GSD's often have sensitive stomachs and imo, Nutro, most varieties are harder to digest. I am not too crazy about any prepared product, but for sensitive stomach and not too much grain, I'd recommend either Nature's Recipe Venison and Rice or Wellness Duck and Sweet Potato. Both are great for dogs with sensitive stomachs and good for skin and coat.
Better yet, consider either a home cooked diet (google Dr. Pitcairn for balanced canine recipes) or raw diet:
http://www.rawdogranch.com
First, check with your Vet to be sure that the diarrhea is not from an illness like a virus or parasite or something else.
You can give your dog some pumpkin pie filling (plain- not spiced or sweetened. The plain kind is just pureed pumpkin) and that will help the dogs stool to firm up. Ask your Vet about that. My Vet is the one that told me about it and it's the best thing I have found for diarrhea/ upset stomach.
Don't give your Shepherd any Pig's Ears, Rawhides, Dog Jerky or Cooked Bones. Instead, for teeth and gums give Busy Bone (once a week) hard biscuits like Bark Bars and other healthy hard kinds. In the section of pet stores that have supplements you'll find dental treats that are good for breath and teeth and shouldn't make your dog sick. Raw bones in a raw diet won't hurt your dog either. If you are worried about your dog gulping food, you can grind the raw meaty bones part of the diet.

Answer 2

German Shepherd Puppy Diarrhea

Answer 3

German Shepherd Diarrhea

Answer 4

Get him to the vet ASAP! A week is too long. Your dog is probably dehydrated. Do not feed in the A.M., give fresh water & maybe some pedialyte. Call your vet immediately. Your dog could have a number of problems. Depends on age, if your dog is vaccinated, has had the ability to ingest things from outdoors, changing food can give diarrhea, parvo, etc. Anytime diarrhea or vomitting last for more than a day, there is a problem & needs medical attention. You may notice blood in the stool which at this point is normal, especially after a week. I am not aware of any recalls at the moment. Good luck.

ADD- Normally if it were a mild case of diarrhea or vomitting I would suggest rice & boiled chicken, no fat. However, I would just be concerned getting into see a vet.

Thumbs down or not, this is solid info & should not be ignored. I don't care about ratings, just that you get proper care through a vet.

Answer 5

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RE:
My german shepherd has diarrhea. What should I do?
Just curious. I'm worried that he's like seriously sick. This has been going on for a week now. Should I take him to the vet? Or is there a home remedy that works? He's currently eating Nutro Natural Choice dry dog food. Have there been any recent recalls on that dog food?

Answer 6

Yes, you should certainly take him to the vet. Also, take a sample of his stool with you, as the vet will probably want to screen for parasites. Is the change to Nutro a recent thing? It's possible he's allergic to something in the food.

There are a number of things that can produce chronic diarrhea, some relatively minor, some quite serious. Without meaning to scare you, these can include parasites, such as giardia, coccidia, or whipworms, fungal infections, bacterial overgrowth, food allergies, changes in panceatic function, pancreatitis, irritable bowel disease, cancer, plus others.

There is a condition called Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) that seems to appear in GSDs more than other breeds. There is a blood test for this, which you may want to consider at some point. But the beginning point is certainly to consult your vet and begin trying to develop a plan to determine what is causing your dog's diarrhea. Hopefully, it's something simple to treat, like whipworms.

Answer 7

If he has been having diarrhea for a week it is definitely time to take him (or at the very least a stool sample) to the vet. Diarrhea caused by dietary indiscretion (ate something he shouldn't have) should only last a few days at the most. He could have parasites, bacterial infection (one of my shepherds had off again on again diarrhea every few months for the first few years we had her...fecals always showed a gram negative bacterial infection, my vet added a snap test for giardia (a gram negative bacteria that requires a longer dose of antibiotics than most other bacteria) and it turned up positive...no problems since we treated the giardia).

Answer 8

I have a German shepherd who gets an upset gut very easily. Is your dog acting normally otherwise or does he act as if he's sick?

If this has been going on for a week, he needs to see the vet. He may need a prescription to clear it up.

Answer 9

A week to allow diarrhea is much too long . Good chance of dehydration. Get him to the vet pronto.

Answer 10

Yes take him to the vet. Would you want diarrhea for a week