Dogs are an important part of their families, and just like it hurts to watch your child when she's sick, it also hurts to watch your dog when he's sick. It never hurts to call your vet when your pet exhibits signs of distress, but there are a few home remedies you can try first when your dog has diarrhea, is vomiting or loses his appetite.
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Diarrhea
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When your dog gets diarrhea, remove food for 24 hours. Make sure you keep water readily available but watch your dog for other symptoms to indicate a more serious problem. If she is keeping water down and the diarrhea is coming to a stop, put her on a strict diet on day two.
You can give her Kaopectate and feed her four or five small meals of boiled chicken and rice (at room temperature) for five days. Then you can add cooked eggs and begin mixing small amounts of her regular food in with the chicken and rice. Gradually increase the amount of regular food and decrease the special diet until she is back on her normal schedule.
If your dog has diarrhea with blood, it's black, she's on new medication or she's vomiting and not keeping any liquids down, call your vet immediately.
Vomiting
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Vomiting easily leads to dehydration, especially in dogs. Take precautions and watch your dog closely. The most common reasons for your dog to vomit are eating bones, table food, trash, tin foil or gulping his food too quickly.
Remove food and water, and give him Kaopectate or Pepto-Bismol to coat his tummy. Give him ice cubes to lick, which will supply some water to his system. Once he stops vomiting, give him chicken broth, boiled chicken or baby food in small amounts. Wait two hours to see if he keeps it down. If so, give him some more and reintroduce water. He can resume his normal diet the following day.
If your dog's vomit has blood, he's just started a new medication, he's in severe pain, running a fever or trying unsuccessfully to urinate, take him to the vet right away.
Loss of Appetite
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As with diarrhea and vomiting, a sudden loss of appetite can indicate something is seriously wrong with your dog. Try changing her food, or adding something special on top to see if this makes the food more appealing to her. Give her fresh food every day, even if she didn't finish the previous bowl.
She might have lost her appetite because of a new pet being added to the home, a sudden change in the season or weather, moving, medical problems, constipation or maybe someone is sneaking her treats between feedings.
If she continues to avoid her food bowl, take her to the vet as serious conditions such as heart, liver or kidney disease, and cancer also cause a loss in appetite.
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