Expert: Patti - 11/17/2006

Question
thanks Patti--the pup had no serious intestinal problems, gave chicken broth, white rice and chicken--she hasn't pooped in 12 hours!! I took her to the vet with a sample.
We are all feeling better now.thanks for a great site...
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hi- I have a 6 month old yorkie/chihuahua mix, plus a 3 year old yorkie.
My 6 month old has recently been having diarrhea for 5 days. We have not changed her food.  
My husband and I had a stomache virus last week, and we are wondering if we could have passed it to her?
She is eating well- and maintaining her weight.  
Our city is having problems with drinking water also--we now give the dogs bottled water. Also our nieghbors infant has rotavirus, what do you think?  thanks for your time. Rosie
-----Answer-----
Hi Rosie,

There must be hundreds of reasons of why a dog might come down with diarrhea. It's important that you make sure your puppy is getting plenty of water to prevent dehydration.

What thing is certain, if your dog has had diarrhea for more than 3 days, then she needs to be taken to the vet. Chronic diarrhea is dangerous for small breed puppies.

I hope that helps.
Best of luck,

Patti

Answer
Thanks for the update!

Continue with the bland diet for 48 hours before starting to mix your dog's regular food into the rice/soup mixture, as you wean her back onto her regular diet.

A mixture of cooked white rice mixed with jarred Chicken or Turkey baby food works very well for treating diarrhea too.

If the diarrhea starts again, don't hesitate in taking her to the vet.

Best of luck,
Patti