Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 8/8/2010

Question
I have Chihuahua, who is about a year and a a half old, with up to date shots.  He is as healthy as a horse and very active, like a normal dog should be. However, for the past 3 days he has been passing runny stool.  I placed a "puppy pad" down in my room for him because he has to go to the bathroom a lot and this morning I woke up to 3 bowl movements on it.  2 were pure liquid and 1 was semi-normal, the two liquid stools were very light brown, almost tan with a hint of red in them.  When I went to clean up the puppy pad, I noticed underneath that the liquid stools were red on the underside.  He is fed Puppy Chow, but also receives table scraps, no chocolate though.  His behavior is still the same; happy, wants to go for walks, lovable.. The only difference is he sleeps a lot more. I know, recently, I have the stomach flu and had the same symptoms he does.  I am just starting to get over this virus now, my only guess was that maybe from licking my face (he kisses a lot) that I transferred the virus.  Minus the sleeping and liquid stools, he appears as if he's in no pain or is even sick.  Manchester, the Chihuahua, literally never leaves my side, the only thing I have seen him eat is some grass on our walks, but that is nothing unusual.  I was hoping you could shed some light on this for me, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thank you for your time.

Answer
It's always hard to find our dogs are sick, isn't it? It isn't just the mess but we don't want them to feel bad.

Diet could have a lot to due with why your dog is sick right now. He is a year and half old, which means for the last 6 months he has been eating a food too high in protein and fat for his age requirements.
No dog over the age of one year should be eating puppy food and no dog should be eating Purina Puppy Chow at all. This food is one of the worst foods on the market today. On top of that, this food is coated with milk and no dog, after being weaned from their mother, should ever drink milk. All cats and dogs are lactose intolerant after weaning.

Milk and all dairy products made from cow's milk causes diarrhea in these animals.

Purina is not a high quality food at all, and it is never made the same way twice. This is because Purina, Nutro, Iams, and most diets out there are made with open formulations. What that means is that the pet food manufacturer will buy whatever is cheapest on the docks that day. So from batch to batch the ingredients do not stay the same. What that does is cause digestive upsets in dogs and cats.

These foods also claim to be of the proper nutrition but the truth is that dogs don't get the nutrition they need from this food so they eat more and more to meet their energy needs. In doing so, they become obese. Table food adds to this. No dog or cat should ever be fed table scraps at all. These will cause digestive upsets and can lead to pancreatitis- which can be fatal very quickly and which little dogs are prone to getting.

Dogs do get viruses, and sometimes they can catch them from us, but most of the time they do not get stomach viruses from us. Usually it's the respiratory viruses that we transmit to them.

You need to get this little guy on some Science Diet Adult Small Bites food. He will get optimal nutrition without the cow's milk and because this food is so nutrient dense, a little goes a long way with little dogs. Small dogs only need about a 1/2 cup a day and nothing more. That means your dollar goes much farther as well. You need to cut out ALL table food and any treats he is getting a well so that he has a balanced diet. Table food can cause an imbalance due to adding to a diet that should already be balanced.  

Why Science Diet? Well unlike the above mentioned foods, Science Diet is the only food on the market that still uses a fixed-formula to make their food. So there are no surprises and they do not buy off of the docks. That means the food is the same, batch after batch, bag after bag. Open formulation is like buying a new food each time which is upsetting to a dog's digestive system. This is what throws them into diarrhea and vomiting at times.

You would need to introduce the food slowly over a 7 day period, but you will be very happy with the results in about 3 weeks. That is how long it takes to see a difference, but his stomach and general health will pick up even sooner. He will also have a lot more energy and a shiny coat.

If his stool doesn't get better in a day I would consider taking him into the vet because they can get a bacterial overload in their gut and that is something that needs to be treated with antibiotics. He can also get dehydrated from the diarrhea and you don't want that.

But after he is over this diarrhea you should do the food switch. You won't be sorry and he will be a very healthy dog who can live a long time. My dog is a Science Diet dog and she is 12 1/2 and had never had a sick day in her life.

So let me know how it goes with the diet and his stool.