Dog Diarrhea – 6 Reasons Why Your German Shepherd Might Have Diarrhea

Could your German Shepherd be suffering from dog diarrhea? If so, you probably already know that it causes a lot of crap for both you and your dog. Seriously though, dog diarrhea is no fun for anyone.

You want to identify the signs so you can help your pooch out ASAP, preferably with your vet’s help if the problem lasts longer than 24 hours. What are the warning signs of dog diarrhea?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, your dog just might have diarrhea. Once you believe that your German Shepherd has dog diarrhea, it’s a good idea to identify why your dog has diarrhea. Down below in this article, we will go over six reasons why your dog might have diarrhea.

1. Your German Shepherd Might Have a Viral Infection

Viral infections can be incredibly serious for dogs. If you suspect that you German Shepherd may be suffering from dog diarrhea due to a viral infection, it is important that you contact your vet immediately. Fortunately, viral infections usually show more signs than just diarrhea. Some other signs of a possible viral infection include;

While viral infections are definitely scary, they are treatable as long as you take your dog to the vet. As a dog owner, there are steps you can take to prevent the risk of a viral infection.

Commonly, viral infections are passed on through the poop of another dog. Therefore, although he might want to, don’t let your Shepherd go around sniffing other dog’s poop. It’s not just a little gross, it’s dangerous. Of course, keeping your dog up-to-date on his vaccinations will also greatly reduce the risk of a viral infection.

2. Your German Shepherd Might Have Eaten Something Off-Limits

Yes, we know, most German Shepherd’s will literally eat anything they can possibly get close to. It’s in a dog’s nature, but as dog owners, we must try to prevent this. Not only can eating something off-limits give your Shepherd a nasty case of dog diarrhea, it could also make them extremely sick, or worse.

Until your dog is well-trained on what is okay to eat and what isn’t, it is important to supervise them whenever possible. “Dog-proofing” your home and areas your dog will be in can also help prevent this. Whenever you and your dog go out for a walk, be sure to pay close attention as you never know what may be laying on the ground.

There are certain things your dog can eat that are certain to give him diarrhea, such as;

If there is a chance your German Shepherd may have eaten something harmful, you should take him to the vet immediately to prevent anything worse than diarrhea from happening.

3. Could Your Pooch Be Stressed out?

As silly as it might sound to us, dogs can definitely get dog diarrhea from being too stressed out. Most of the time, German Shepherds will get stress-induced diarrhea from having to adapt to new people, households, routines, and so on. Basically, it’s difficult for them to handle change and their body will act accordingly. Thankfully, there are a few ways you can minimize stress-related diarrhea, such as;

Fortunately, stress-related diarrhea will usually only last a couple of days. If the problem persists, you can work with your vet to create a stress-management plan. This should solve the problem.

4. Has Your German Shepherd’s Diet Recently Changed?

When you change your German Shepherds diet, it can cause some intense dog diarrhea. This is because it is a heavy change on their system. Before we continue on with this point, it’s important that you understand what we mean when we say change of diet. A change of diet refers to any of the following;

The easiest way to prevent this would be to simply never change your dog’s diet at all. Of course, this isn’t always possible. Therefore, the next best thing would be to slowly ease your dog into their new food. If you just switch overnight, you’re putting your dog at risk for diarrhea and other digestive issues.

To start off, mix a tiny amount of the new food in with the old food. With each meal, slowly increase the ratio of the new dog food until that’s all your dog is eating. Most of the time, this should solve any diarrhea issues. If you’re still seeing diarrhea, you should call your vet and work out a plan to give your German Shepherd the best diet possible.

5. Have you Checked for Parasites? Worms?

Worms in German Shepherds are the absolute worst. Some dogs are born with worms, and some get them from other dogs or simply from the environment. The best way to prevent this is to give your dog regular worm treatments and flea prevention treatments.

These are easy to administer and can often just be added to your dog’s food. Unfortunately, there are multiple different types of worms and parasites that can cause your dog to get dog diarrhea and other health problems. When you suspect this is the problem, seeing your vet can help fight the infestation your German Shepherd currently has.

Your vet can also help you take precautions to prevent future infestations.

6. Have you had Your German Shepherd Checked for Other Potential Health Issues?

I know this might be alarming, but dog diarrhea can be a symptom of much more serious health problems. For this reason, it is so important to call your vet any time you see diarrhea, even if it may not be this serious. It’s better to sound silly talking to your vet about a minor problem than ignoring a potentially larger problem. There are certain health problems where diarrhea is a huge symptom, such as

German Shepherds are at an increased risk for all of the above ailments except for tumors. They all also cause diarrhea, which is why it is so important for us to pay attention to our dog’s poops. As gross as it might sound, they are often times the first indicator that something may be seriously wrong with your pooch.

7. What Do you do if Your German Shepherd does Have dog Diarrhea?

As soon as you notice your German Shepherd has a case of dog diarrhea, you should call your vet to rule out any possible chances of serious problems. Then, give your dog’s stomach a rest. For 24 hours, only offer your dog water, no food. Hydration is key for beating diarrhea, so try to make sure he’s drinking as much water as possible.

After 24 hours, you can offer ice cubes as well, and if the problem starts to go away, small amounts of food as well. If your German Shepherd still has dog diarrhea after 24 hours of withholding food, you may have a more serious problem. In this case, you should take your dog to the vet and get him treatment immediately. This could save your dog’s life.

Dog diarrhea isn’t just smelly, it can be seriously alarming to us dog lovers. Most of the time, it’s because of one the reasons listed above. It isn’t always serious and can usually be treated pretty quickly. With a vet’s help, you can sure that your dog’s diarrhea is just because of one of the reasons listed above and not because of something worse. Just to recap what we learned, dog diarrhea could be caused by;

To prevent dog diarrhea;