DIARRHEA
Diarrhea is not a disease, but a symptom of a disease 01 infestation of parasites. It may also be caused by a malfunction of the intestinal tract, triggered by faulty diet or the swallowing of foreign matter. While functional diarrhea is more common in young puppies, older dogs are also affected. A soft bowel movement is not diarrhea; a watery or bloody, loose movement is diarrhea.
To clear up ordinary diarrhea, you will first have to determine the cause. Check the dog's diet. It's possible that his food is too laxative. Dog foods containing liver are apt to be on the laxative side. Eliminate them. Add cooked starchy foods to the diet. Boiled rice, macaroni or barley will help solidify bowel movements in ordinary functional diarrhea. If you feed the dog milk, boil it. The commercial diarrhea medicines, such as Peptobismol, will bring ordinary diarrhea under control. For a 7- to 10-week-old puppy, 1 teaspoonful every 4 hours will bring quick results. In the case of bloody diarrhea or when the condition persists for more than a day or two, take a specimen of the dog's bowel movement to the veterinarian. The dog may have worms or intestinal parasites.
|
