If you own a dog, the issue of diarrhea is going to come up anytime. The question is not when your dog might have diarrhea? It’s when it is going to happen. Different reasons can cause diarrhea. But some of the typical causes are food-related, food allergy, intolerance, or it can be infectious.
If your dog started having diarrhea after having Merrick dog food, then your dog is not alone here. Many dog owners have the same complaint. Then why Merrick dog food caused diarrhea – why does it happen? Sometimes dogs are conditioned to eat one kind of food by their owners, which is not ideal nutritionally or physiologically. Let’s discuss the reasons!
Merrick Dog Food Caused Diarrhea – Why Does It Happen?
Three common reasons that cause dogs diarrhea –
- Change of diet
- Infections
- Food allergy
In this article, we will discuss what causes diarrhea, how to prevent this from happening, And how to treat it.
Category Of Diarrhea
Two different kinds of diarrhea can be seen in dogs.
1. Large Bowel Diarrhea
This kind of diarrhea is originated from the colon. Large bowel diarrhea signs include frequent bowel evacuations with occasional mucous and blood. Most large bowel diarrhea is classified as colitis, being caused by dietary indiscretion.
2. Small Bowel Diarrhea
The causes of small bowel diarrhea are many, from parasites to infectious agents.
Reasons For Diarrhea
A whole range of different causes can cause diarrhea. It’s quite a tricky symptom to know from the bottom why it’s happening. If you want to recognize why it’s happening, you’ve got to know the reasons behind it.
1. Food-related
Sometimes food causes diarrhea, as your dog might have eaten something that has disagreed with his digestive system. His body can not process it, as it did to the food he is familiar with.
2. Infections
Infections often cause diarrhea. Many dog owners heard of the virus called Parvovirus. Parasites, Worms, Giardia cause this virus. Etc. Because some dogs are indiscriminate eaters. They put into their mouth anything they found while roaming around. So it’s often causing them infections which later lead them to diarrhea.
3. Change Of Diet
If a dog has been consuming the same food for an extended period, then a sudden shift in diet can cause him diarrhea. That’s why experts suggest putting variety in your dog’s diet. The goal is to diversify your dog’s diet to include a variety of different foods so that it helps him to become strong and resilient to be able to process different food.
4. Food Allergy
Food allergies is another reason for diarrhea. Many vets call it Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBS. It causes GI irritations, IBD and IBS, intermittent loose stool, or diarrhea as a potential side effect. So you need to think about that if your dog has intermittent loose stools regularly.
Stress causing diarrhea: Dogs do feel and suffer as humans do. It can become symptomatic. In this period, they can show various symptoms of stress. One of which is diarrhea. What causes the stress?
5. Sudden Changes:
Dogs are susceptible to changes in their environment and daily activities. Not getting their walk or food on time can make them think they are being ignored. This is why suddenly changing their hours of exercise or mealtime can lead to stress.
6. Lack Of Sleep
Lack of sleep can be a stressor to a dog, even triggering a significant health problem. That is why you must be extra careful about the dog’s sleeping schedule. Always make sure that they have a comfortable bed to rest in.
7. Lack Of Socialization:
Dogs are pack animals, and they are social by nature. It is vital for a dog’s mental health to socialize with humans and other animals to be happy. Lack of socialization not only makes them stress out but also can change their behavior.
8. Proper Exercise
Dogs need to regenerate their energy. They accumulate and discharge it through walks and other activities. Walking for 20 minutes or less is not enough to release their energy. It builds frustration and stress among them. That is why proper walk or exercise is very much needed for their mental health.
9. Being Alone
Whether a dog is suffering from anxiety or spending too much time on their own will eventually lead them to stress. It can happen with any animal.
Consult Vet
Most of the diarrhea cases end within 24-48 hours. But unfortunately, if it lasts longer than 48 hours, then turn up to your vet immediately. Some signs can help you to understand when you need to consult your vet –
- Sign 1 – If you see blood with diarrhea
- Sign 2 – If your dog becomes depressed
- Sign 3 – Not having food
- Sign 4 – Not being active
- Sign 5 – Fever
- Sign 6 – Weakness
These are the common sign that you need to understand before consulting your vet.
How To Treat This?
It’s always good to consult your vet for any medical emergency. But if you do not notice any serious issues or signs in your dog, you can take care of your dog by yourself. There are some initial steps that we are going to talk about which will help your dog to recover soon at home.
- Step 1 – Stop giving him food. For at least 24 hours, do not provide him any kind of food except water.
- Step 2 – Do not let him dehydrated. Often dehydration causes some serious health issues during this period.
- Step 3 – Let him rest. Make sure he is getting enough rest in this time. Otherwise, it might get worse.
- Step 4 – Try to stay around him. In this time, they become vulnerable, and not seeing their human around them will make them upset, which can cause some severe problems.
- Step 5 – After the fasting period is over, do not jump into a regular diet. Try to feed him digestible food, often in small quantities but more frequently throughout the day.
- Step 6 – Do not forget to check his stool after every meal. It will help you to understand if you are on the right track or not.
- Step 7 – Continue like this for three days. If the dog acts fine, then you can continue his previous diet.
Conclusion
If your dog is a victim of a very monotonous diet, end this right now, and from today on, try to improve his dietary diversity. Feed your different dog kinds of food. But always make sure this transition happens slowly. If your dog doesn’t have a healthy gut, you need to transition to new food very slowly. Because sudden dietary can cause profound diarrhea, it might take days to a week to get used to the new diet.
You might think Merrick dog food caused diarrhea to your dog, but Merrick is one of the most well-known brands to dog owners. They use high-quality ingredients in their product to make sure their quality.
If you keep feeding your dog the same food day after day then suddenly switch food, that’s enough reasons to have terrible explosive diarrhea. In this situation, it’s really important to remember it’s not the new food’s fault. It’s that your dog’s gut has been conditioned to process only one type of food.
