A good diarrhea diet for dogs should be part of every dog owner's handbook on the care and treatment of their dogs. Since dogs are part scavenger, they will sometimes eat things not considered part of a normal dog diet, such as tree branches, fabric or paper. When these indigestible objects hit the dog's stomach, his body will attempt to purge them, either through vomiting or through diarrhea.
Sometimes dogs will pick up a bug that irritates the intestinal tract and they will try to get rid of them through vomiting or diarrhea. These occasional problems are considered acute diarrhea and will usually resolve themselves within 24 to 48 hours with a little help from the dog's owner.
Resolving Acute Diarrhea
The dog owner can typically resolve a case of acute diarrhea in their dogs by following these guidelines:
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Take away all food for 24 hours. This will give the dog's stomach and intestinal tract a chance to relax a bit while he attempts to expel the foreign material or bug without struggling to digest anything else. Don't worry, it will not hurt him to avoid food for 24 hours, no matter how mean it might seem to you.
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Provide plenty of water during the fast. If your dog is disinclined to drink, try adding some low salt beef or chicken broth to his water to encourage him to drink.
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After 24 hours, feed him a small meal of the diarrhea diet, about ¼ of what he would normally eat in a day. If his system is able to handle that meal, feed him another ¼ in four hours and continue on the four-hour schedule until his day's rations are eaten.
Diarrhea Diet
Unless your dog is already eating a very low-fat diet, you will need to make up something special for him if he has diarrhea. Take a pound of ground beef and boil it for ten minutes or until all the pink color is gone from the meat. Drain and rinse the meat well, removing as much fat as possible. Combine the ground beef with two cups of cooked white rice and feed this instead of your dog's normal diet using the same amount of the cooked food as you would his normal food.
If you don't have any ground beef available, you can use skinless chicken or turkey, boiling it until cooked through and running it through the blender or food processor before combining with the rice.
A third alternative, and one most dogs love although it can be expensive, is to use jarred baby meat instead of cooking your own.
When to See the Veterinarian
If your dog is not showing improvement within 48 hours, or if he seems weak and lethargic, you should contact your veterinarian.
If the dog is experiencing explosive diarrhea, if there is blood or heavy yellowish mucous in the stool, if the diarrhea is accompanied by vomiting that contains blood, if he passes out or seems weak or unsteady on his feet, call your veterinarian right away.