Treating a dog with diarrhoea & vomiting - How to do it

When a dog has vomiting and/or diarrhoea, you obviously want to help your dog feel better. Many people may think they need to take their dog to the vet, but this is not always the case. Many times it is possible to initially treat the dog at home and we will go through that here.

Please note that this advice should only be used if you have an adult dog that is in good general health. The dog should also not have blood in their stools or vomit and they need to be allowed to retain food and water. If you are in any doubt, we recommend that you contact a digital vet. As a Lassie customer, you have unlimited calls included in your insurance.

Treatment at home

Step 1, First of all you need to let the dog's stomach rest, you do this by starving the dog for 6-8 hours (this applies to adult dogs, not puppies. Puppies should not be starved as they are sensitive to low blood sugar).

Soft food diet

Step 2, Once the dog's stomach has rested, start feeding the dog soft food. We recommend soft food as it contains a lot of liquid which helps to prevent dehydration.

There are soft foods that are made to be given for diarrhoea and vomiting.
If you have a dog that weighs less than 10 kg, you can start giving the dog 1 teaspoon of soft food per hour for the first day. If you have a dog that weighs more than 10 kg, you can start giving 1 tablespoon of soft food per hour.

After the first day, you can gradually give larger portions, but still divide the food into 6-8 portions per day. You should continue to give your dog a special diet until his stomach has been fine for at least 2 days.

Go back to your dog's food

Once your dog's stomach has been fine on a bland diet for at least 2 days, you can gradually go back to the regular food over a few days. A too rapid and large intake of food or water can lead to continued vomiting and/or diarrhoea. Always give your dog free access to water.

Acute diarrhoea

If your dog has acute diarrhoea, you can give it supplements (probiotics) in combination with the bland diet. This is given twice a day according to the instructions on the packet. Supplements can help to stop diarrhoea and contain good bacteria that help to stabilise the dog's gut flora.