What To Do If My Senior Dog Is Having Diarrhea At Night
As dogs age, they can start to experience different health issues. One of those issues could be diarrhea at night.
Diarrhea for senior dogs can be a little more serious and should be looked at by a vet sooner than younger dogs. This is because they have an increased chance of having an underlying health issue due to their age.
It doesnt mean theres definitely something serious causing their diarrhea, but theres a higher likelihood than when theyre an adult or puppy.
Because of this, they should see a vet if their diarrhea persists longer than 24-48 hours.
What Is The Most Common Cause Of Diarrhea In Dogs
Diarrhea in a dog can be caused due to many issues.
It includes-
When Is Dog Diarrhea An Emergency
If your dog is showing any other symptoms along with their diarrhea, such as vomiting, lethargy, loss of appetite, etc., it could be a sign of something more serious and warrants a vet visit.
If your dog is also showing signs of dehydration, such as sunken eyes, dry or tacky gums, excessive panting, etc., this is a sign of an emergency, and you should take them to the vet immediately.
Essentially when their diarrhea is paired with other symptoms is when its something that needs to be taken more seriously and be looked at by a vet.
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Diarrhea With Vomiting In Dogs
When dog diarrhea occurs with vomiting, a new section of the gastrointestinal tract has entered the picture. Gastroenteritis is the group term for inflammation of both the stomach and the upper GI tract.
Sometimes a high-fat treat, even a small one, can trigger pancreatitisa condition wherein the pancreas, which produces digestive enzymes, among other things, becomes inflamed. This condition can cause acute vomiting and diarrhea as well as abdominal pain. In very severe cases, pancreatitis can even be fatal.
Vomit that contains blood can look red, brown, or black. Unlike a small amount of blood in the stool, any amount of blood in vomit is concerning and should result in a trip to the vet right away.
Why Can Diarrhea Be Dangerous In Puppies
The first and most obvious reason diarrhea can be dangerous is the cause, and whether or not its something serious.
If the cause isnt serious then it depends on a few other things.
One of the main things to consider is how long the diarrhea has been going on, since prolonged diarrhea can cause serious dehydration as well as metabolic disturbances after a while.
If this happens then your dog could need to be hospitalized for intravenous fluid therapy.
Diarrhea is also more dangerous in very young dogs, as well as very old ones, very small ones, or dogs that are already having health problems.
So you need to be on the look out for signs that the diarrhea is dangerously affecting your dog such as a loss of appetite and/or thirst, lethargy and/or depression, pain and/or discomfort, blood in the stool, vomiting, and reduced or absent urinations. If you think the diarrhea is causing your dog to become seriously ill then you should contact your vet.
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Causes Of Acute Sudden Diarrhea In Dogs
What gives dogs diarrhea? Certain types of breeds can come down with diarrhea more than others. Also, young puppies are more likely to get diarrhea due to parasites than adult dogs. Acute dog diarrhea can be caused by several factors. These causes can be:
- Sudden dietary changes
- Poisonous substances that are ingested
- Ingestion of an object
- Reaction or allergy to a substance
- Infection, either bacterial or viral
- Inflammatory bowel disorder
- Cancer of the digestive area
Anxiety And/or Emotional Distress
An anxious or emotional dog can also be prone to diarrhea, and this can often set in at night when hes eaten and has been exercised out. Just like humans, the body physically responds when there is a sudden change in their life, including a move or a change of family status, etc. Even something as simple as bringing home another dog or pet could give him or her the runs as he adjusts.
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How Do You Treat Nighttime Dog Diarrhea
Treatment depends upon the severity and cause of diarrhea. If you know the cause of nighttime diarrhea, you can easily treat it and make your dog feel better.
Dogs with simple cases of diarrhea caused due to food allergies or sensitivity make an almost immediate recovery once the offending food is removed from their diet. As a dog parent, you should track new additions to their diet and watch out for any adverse reactions.
If medication is the culprit of diarrhea, your vet will likely provide you with a solution to treat it.
Once diarrhea presents itself, do not give them their regular food. Allow time for their upset digestive tract to rest and heal itself. Ideally, you should withhold all food and let their tummy settle for up to 12 hours.
After the fasting period, introduce bland foods such as rice or any other prescribed dog foods which will not further irritate their inflamed digestive tract.
Probiotics are also a great way to correct the disrupted microbiome of the gut. They will lend support to the immune system and replenish healthy bacteria in the intestine.
Diarrhea also leads to a major loss of water in the body. Make sure the water loss is compensated with plenty of hydration.
In addition to home remedies, certain over-the-counter doggy diarrhea medications will also be effective in controlling the problem. However, always seek advice from a professional and use them with caution.
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Due To Underlying Illness
Diarrhea may be a cause of some underlying disease and sometimes this can be dangerous too. You must keep in check if there is blood in your dogs diarrhea. This can be a sign of cancer or a tumor. Ignorance can simply worsen the disease. If not treated on time, it can be dangerous and fatal to your dog.
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Recent Dinnertime Food Change
If youve recently changed your dogs food, it could be the cause of the diarrhea. Dogs have sensitive stomachs, and it can take a while for them to adjust to new foods.
*Remember, when switching foods, do so gradually over the course of a week or two to give your dogs digestive system time to adjust.
If youre feeding your dog new food and the diarrhea continues for more than a few days, its best to consult your veterinarian. They will be able to help you determine if the food is the cause of the diarrhea and, if so, recommend a different food that may better suit them.
Is Your Dog Suffering From Chronic Or Acute Diarrhea
Acute diarrhea has less severity compared to chronic diarrhea. Usually, when your dog has chronic diarrhea but acts fine, its because he has gotten so used to the disease that he doesnt behave any differently.
Acute and chronic diarrhea have distinct symptoms and severity. Lets see how they differ.
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Help Your Puppy With Nighttime Diarrhea
If your puppy experiences diarrhea, you do not need to immediately worry. Call your veterinarian right away if the symptoms continually become progressively worse.
Most of the time, your puppys diarrhea is due to a minor stomach bug or something it ate. To remove these toxins, make your pet fast for 12 hours, re-introducing bland foods after.
Even if you have an adult dog, you do not need to worry about diarrhea. They experience this symptom for many of the same reasons that puppies do. You can also treat diarrhea in the same manner.
Home Care Or A Vet Bill
Typically, diarrhea is not serious, and home care is the most common solution.
If your puppy is still behaving normally and diarrhea has only been happening for a day, your vet will likely recommend home care.
Here are a few signs you might have a more severe problem on your hands:
Stool. Your puppys stool should be a nice chocolate brown. If it is green, this could indicate excessive grass consumption or a more serious problem.
If the stool is black and tar-like, brown with red streaks, brown with white flake-like material, or gray and greasy, a serious problem is likely happening in your puppys body and you should call a vet immediately.
Other symptoms. If the diarrhea is accompanied by fever, white gums, discomfort, pain, or vomiting, the cause is likely serious.
If you know your puppy swallowed something toxic. If you know your puppy wasnt supposed to eat what it ate , call the vet immediately.
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When Should I Worry About Puppy Diarrhea
As frightening as your puppy having diarrhea is, it shouldnt immediately cause a trip to the vet. Even in healthy dogs, diarrhea happens once in a while, and its most prevalent at night. However, there are times when it could be something serious.
You should worry about the issue when you notice the diarrhea isnt stopping or its getting worse. If the episodes become frequent each night, then a trip to the vet should be in order.
Also, if you notice your pups appetite changing, that they are drinking more than normal, or is generally frantic and uncomfortable, then it may point to issues with illness, poison, or something else. Anytime diarrhea in your pup is paired with some other symptom, consider taking them to the vet.
What Do I Feed A Puppy With Diarrhea
First, you should introduce fasting for your puppy experiencing diarrhea. Withholding food for 12-24 hours and providing water in small amounts frequently can help clear out the cause and allow your pups digestive tract to settle.
Before embarking on this, make sure your puppy is healthy enough to handle it and consult your vet to see if its a good idea to do so.
After a fast, you should introduce food slowly, and you should start with binders to normalize stool consistency. Opt for bland and easily digestible foods like rice water, white rice, canned pumpkin, boiled potatoes without skin, cottage cheese, yogurt, cooked macaroni or oatmeal, high protein foods like eggs or chicken, herbs like fennel, specially formulated dog foods for the stomach problems, and probiotics.
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What Treatment Is Recommended For A Dog Suffering Persistent Diarrhea
Never give your dog human medications without consulting your veterinarian. Many over-the-counter medications that work well for people can be toxic to dogs.
If your dog has had one or two runny or soft stools, you may want to give your dog some time to recover by fasting for 12 – 24 hours.
A bland diet for a couple of days may help to resolve your pup’s issue. Plain-cooked white rice with a little chicken and some canned plain pumpkin may help quell their intestinal issues. When symptoms subside, gradually reintroduce their regular food back into their diet.
Natural yogurt, probiotics, peeled boiled potatoes, cottage cheese, egg with no oil added, and specially formulated dog foods are all good dietary alternatives to help keep your dog comfortable while they are sick.
In chronic cases of diarrhea in dogs, your vet might prescribe medication to alleviate discomfort and harden their stool.
When it comes to your best buddy’s health, it is always best to err on the side of caution. Preemptively seeking advice from your vet at the first sign of concern allows them to guide you on the most effective treatment plan to get your dog up and running again!
Note: The advice provided in this post is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice regarding pets. For an accurate diagnosis of your pet’s condition, please make an appointment with your vet.
Four Reasons Why Puppies Have Diarrhea At Night And Not During The Day
If you really think about it, when your puppy has diarrhea it could be related to when they wouldve pooped anyway.
Which means that the first reason that your puppy could be having diarrhea at night is because theyre eating too late and then need to get up in the middle of the night to go poop whether it be diarrhea or not.
So do you need to feed your puppy much earlier in the evening?
My second reason is based on personal experience.
When your puppy goes out for their last toilet break before bedtime, they might be finding something to snack on.
And whatever they are eating doesnt agree with their tummy and gives them diarrhea.
I live next door to a field of horses and this is where my dogs go to the toilet just before bed.
It doesnt happen so much with my adult dogs but I could imagine that if I got a puppy again it would be tempted to snack on horse poop, which could cause diarrhea.
I think that this opportunist snacking is much more likely to happen with puppies who use a local park or a local field for their bedtime toileting rather than puppies who are using a garden.
And the reason for this is that our gardens are less likely to contain any nasty surprises!
And if the diarrhea is caused by a stress trigger then it could be that your dog is getting nervous around bedtime.
My third reason is stress related.
Your puppys diarrhea is caused because they are so stressed and anxious.
And it is the culmination of this nervousness that causes the diarrhea.
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Puppys Anxiety Or Stress
Okay, not to be too graphic, but I think weâve all had those moments when stress caused our bowels to get kind of wonky. As more studies are done, stress continues to be seen as a major factor in our sleep patterns, our mental and physical health, and how our bodies operate. Puppies are no exception to diarrhea and stress.
Whether you acquired your puppy from its momma, a shelter, or somewhere else, that little guy is dealing with a lot of change. You may be the best person on the planet for your new four-legged packmate, but itâs still stressful, scary, and hard for him to adjust.
Puppies canât talk to us. They canât share whatâs making them worried when theyâre tired, if they are scared or if they donât like sleeping alone in the dark. Instead, their stress may manifest in other ways, like not eating, not sleeping, whining, or irregular bowel movements.
Iâve even brought dogs home from the shelter who have not peed for over 72 hours! When I took them to the vet to find out what was wrong, they told me it was normal. Puppies are sometimes scared to pee because they donât want to get yelled at.
How Do I Stop My Puppy From Having Diarrhea
You can prevent your puppy from having diarrhea by:
- Getting medication for your dog that doesnt affect his gastrointestinal tract causing him diarrhea. Your vet should be able to advise you on this.
- Avoid switching your dogs diet all of a sudden. Introduce a new diet slowly to allow your dog to adjust.
- Ensure your dog is emotionally happy and doesnt feel stressed out and neglected.
- Carry out regular deworming to kill parasites that may cause diarrhea.
- Feed your dog food that is appropriate for its breed to prevent food allergies and intolerances.
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Can Bones Cause Diarrhea In Puppies
If your dog has been chewing on a bone and swallowed a significant amount of it, it can cause diarrhea.
Bones are not digestible to dogs, and as such, your puppy may have diarrhea as it tries to pass this foreign object safely through its system.
A good rule of thumb with all non digestible chew toys is to always observe your puppy. Do not let it consume what will be harmful to it, and no problems should occur!
Heather Abraham is an owner of two dogs, one cat, a leopard gecko, and a parrot , and an avid blogger. From the time she was a young girl, she always felt a connection with pets. She brings her love of every type of pet to you, with information on animal nutrition, medication, toys, beds, and everything else in between. Along with newly-on-board veterinarian DVM editor Elena, she puts pups first while offering other various fun tidbits along the way.
Food Intolerance Or Allergies
Allergies are the bodys immune response against certain foreign substances. Dogs are as prone to allergies and food sensitivities as humans. Their sudden nighttime diarrhea might be an indication of an allergic reaction to their food.
It could also indicate intolerance. The difference between allergies and food intolerance or sensitivity is that the latter does not involve an immune response.
Dogs can present with a sensitivity or allergy toward proteins found in certain foods such as eggs, dairy, beef, gluten, chicken, etc. They can also be allergic to other uncommon offenders.
If you suspect your dog has a food sensitivity or allergy, eliminate the culprit from their diet and gradually introduce a hypoallergenic diet.
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