Causes of sickness and diarrhoea?
A General bug, picked up on walks or from day cares
A reaction to at home cleaning products
None natural food or treats
Bile vomit also known as hunger pukes
Regurgitation (which is actually very natural for dogs to do as they tend to gorge then more to a safe place then regurgitate before re-eating it)
Recent Vaccinations, Flea or Wormer treatment can cause reactions including itchy, vomiting, diarrhoea, hot spots and much more!
A true protein intolerance or allergy although this is actually a rarer instance on a raw diet!
Stress / Anxiety, any signs of behaviour change including lethargy can also cause sickness and diarrhoea
Try not to panic, all our dogs go through this at some point in their lives. It’s usually nothing to worry about, however...
Seek professional veterinary advice if:
There has been 3 instances or more of vomiting or diarrhoea or both in the last 24hrs.
Any amount of Vomiting or diarrhoea in a dog with medication or health condition
Any signs of lethargy, behaviour changes, pain or injury
if in doubt, do not ask Facebook. Do contact your vet
The Recovery Process
The below plan should be used for a maximum of 5 days, using boneless food. This can be purchased from raw pet food suppliers or supermarket freezer aisles.
If your vet advises you that you need to feed cooked food to your dog for up to 10 days please add in fruits & vegetables (see the guide on fruits & vegetables for some popular options).
If your vet needs you to feed cooked food for longer than 10 days please consider a gently cooked / lightly steamed pre-made option such as Different Dog, until you can return to raw.
Note: It is common for dogs to be reluctant to eat after being unwell, small meals with the daily feeding amount split between 5-6 meals can help.
Step one: Boil and feed any of these 3 BONELESS options, including some of the liquid from cooking once its cooled (helps to replace any fluids lost during the illness):
Chicken
Turkey
White Fish
Step two: Get a good gut support added into the meal, this will help sooth from the inside and help firm up any diarrhoea. If UK Based we find adding one of these helps:
***If your dog is prescribed medication always discuss supplements with them. If your dog is on antibiotics Four Leaf Rover Saccharomyces Boulardi is required as it is clinically proven to not affect, or be affected by antibiotics
Step three: Include some bone broth for additional gut support as well as getting extra hydration into them whilst getting important nutrients as well.
Either a homemade bone broth or a branded dog safe pre-made broth can be used. If UK based some options for pre-made bone broth are:
Once the sickness/ diarrhoea has passed you can return to previous diet. If feeding a raw diet then we recommend sticking to a gentle 80.10.10 protein for the first few days such as turkey or chicken. We would recommend using River & Wren Botanical Detox after any medications are completed, to help to detox your dogs body from the effects these can have. Alternatively, Prodog Raw Revive may be another option for you to help aid your dog through their recovery
The Truth about the foods most commonly recommended on social media
You often hear about people including some of the following to their pets diet when poorly however these are not foods we would suggest feeding whilst sickness or diarrhoea are occurring and this is why.
Rice: Rice should be avoided as is high on the glycaemic index which will cause a spike in the blood glucose levels. Due to the starchy nature of rice it will increase the inflammation in the GI tract.
Sweet Potato: Provides a great source of vitamins and minerals however not all dogs can tolerate them. Sweet potato contains natural sugars, like any root vegetable, that can build up a yeast infection. If feeding this ensure it is lightly steamed to aid digestion.
Pumpkin Flesh: Pumpkin flesh should be fed with extreme caution. It is packed with vitamins that can boost the immune system whilst recovering from illness & is a good source of soluble fibre however it can cause some dogs to become itchy or yeasty. If feeding this never ever feed Pie filling
Human Gravy: Instant / powder / granule gravy is high in salt and fat, some common ingredients found in human gravy are Palm oil, potato starch & onion these are all ingredients to avoid for dogs. Ingredients such as wheat flour is high calorie and pro-inflammatory.
Additional hints & tips
These are some additional extra’s that can be added during the recovery section to help aid in recovery and just give an extra boost for your dogs.
Wormcount: Get a Wormcount kit if you haven’t recently carried one out, get a kit that includes a giardia test as this helps to further rule out something more serious.
Eggs: Loosely scrambled egg, but still wet, while recovering can help add hydration and its naturally binding too. Eggs are packed with every essential amino acid needed to sustain life and includes antioxidants!
Prebiotics: Prebiotics can help control inflammation around the body as well as providing antioxidant nutrients. Helps to stimulate appetite and fights virus’ and infections
Probiotics: Probiotics help replace bad bacteria with good bacteria. Kefir, especially when formulated for dogs specifically, can contain up to 61 strains of bacteria making it a potent choice as a probiotic.
Vitamin Water: Special shout out to Stef from Stef’s Pet Pantry for this idea, creating vitamin water by using dog safe fruits and herbs (such as blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, cucumber, nettle, dandelion) can give that extra boost to the body. (Use caution in dogs with known health conditions)
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