FYI: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Home

Our Two Yr Old Male Australian Shepard Always Has Diarhea

by glenn
(British Columbia, Canada)

Our dog always has diarhea. Most of the time it is soft, but about 4 days per week he has full on diarhea. He is in great health, he is up to date with all his vet checks, the vet says he is ok, sometimes they get sick. Is it a common problem with Australian shepards? Any suggestions besides another vet check?

Comments for Our Two Yr Old Male Australian Shepard Always Has Diarhea

Click here to add your own comments

Diarhea in 2yr old Aussie
by: Marilyn (Nub, 3yr Ausie)

I had the same problem with my guy. Many dogs these days seem to not do well on food which contain grains. Since most commercial pet food contains large quantities of grains, you'll have to look for a grain free one. With my dog, I was told to feed him plain white rice boiled with hambuger for a minimum of 3 days. No treats or other food of any kind. This completely stopped the diarhea, then I put him on a grain free dog food and treats, such as Acana, Orijen, there are many others out there, just check your lables. He has been good ever since (this was almost 2 yrs ago). The first 6 months of his life with us was terrible, I wish I had known about this when I got him. Can't hurt to give it a try. Good luck!

Re:dia
by: Kym

You said you had your dog to the vet and he was ok. Did they do a fecal exam? A fecal can tell you many things about your dog. Worms,parasites,etc can cause dia. Have you tried cottage cheese or yougurt? I give this to ALL my pets everyday. This does the same thing for them as humans and helps regulate the digestive system. Any flavor of yougurt is fine,(you will find he will have a favorite). You may want to try a different dog food.Make sure you feed a good quality food(we all have our preferences)I find that chicken and lamb tend to give all my aussies gas,so I feed beef. I hope this was helpful for you. Good luck!

Grain Sensitivity
by: Kathie

We have had some similar problems with one of our Aussies...a very knowledgeable person about herding breeds advised us to try feeding "grain free"...Natures Balance - Venison and Sweet Potato. That cured the hot spots, loose stools and all. We even buy grain free treats - and I can always tell if he has stolen one of his "mates" cookies, as he starts to itch and soft stools.

Good luck and hope it works...www.artik-sno.com

Help with Diarrhea
by: Linda

I agree with the others first I would try a grain free diet. If this does not work try adding a tablespoon of pumpkin to the food. Make sure it is pure pumpkin not pie filling. Do not add more than a tablespoon or you will increase the diarrhea. Pumpkin is used for both diarrhea and constipation, so adding more would be treating constipation.

I hope this works for you.

Purina
by: Jenny

I put both of mine on Purina Pro Sensitive Stomach, worked great plus its not as expensive as the others and corn isnt the main ingreidant, its like the 5th down on the list. And another plus since they are getting more "real" food they dont have as many bowells as they used to! Very exciting!!

Try orijen
by: Anonymous

I just got over the same problem with my aussie. She had diarrhea for months and then I switched her to Orijen. Her stomach issues stopped completely after one day of being on Orijen.

concerned
by: Wilda

first of all, if that's all your vet had to say, and offered you no explaination or help. I would change vets! 2nd of all, for diarea, they always advice to NOT GIVE ANYFOOD FOR 24 HOURS,(but do give water)then resume, if it continues,definetly, go to a grain free food. I buy a hoolistic one, called Pinacle,if you can't find that one, try the California one, but make sure its GOOD FOOD, NOTSUPERMARKET. I wish you the best, keep us posted, and please, do chnafe vets if you can, seriously.
When I had my children, I had to change Pediatrics, until I found a good one, I do the same with my vets.

Try feeding raw?
by: Cricket

Hello!

My 3 year old border collie x aussie had the same problem, constant diarrhea for, quite literally, a year. The rescue I worked for (and got her from) had her in to see the vet, who, after some testing, told us to just switch to a better brand, eventually we'd find one that worked for her.

A year and a half, and tons of different brands later, I heard about feeding a rice-cooked hamburger-yogurt diet, which worked, for about a month. It also helped with a horrible recurring yeast infection in her left ear. Then, about a month after we started feeding her the cooked hamburger-yogurt diet, she just wouldn't eat it anymore. Back to the drawing board, tried her on some high-quality kibble, and back to the diarrhea again. Yuck. She didn't seem to be too upset by it, just sometimes she couldn't wait to go outside. Finally, I decided to try her a raw food diet, and I ended up going with the food from "Pets Go Raw". I feed her 1 pound a day of the chicken or turkey "full meal" stuff, it's about 13 dollars for 5 pounds, and totally worth it. The rest of her food she gets from uncooked beef bones, seared beef liver, and occasionally, whatever I'm eating (hey, puppy eyes get to ya!).

Her diarrhea is gone, her ears are much healthier, her coat is like silk and is SHINY black :D It's been a remarkable change. Maybe try something to that affect? It's cheaper than paying for the vet's time spent scratching his head, and my dog LOVES it.

The food sometimes does over-dry the dog's stool, but that's why works so well on dogs with tummy troubles- that brings these dogs to the right...er... consistency. Good Luck!!!

Aussie with loose stools
by: Anonymous

I had an Aussie for 5 years that had chronic loose stools and vomitting. We finally put her to sleep a couple of years ago because she was so unhealthy. Nasty hair coat, no energy, etc. (This was after testing continually for parasites, switching foods, trying rice/hamburger, yogurt, etc. ).

When I went to get another puppy I found a breeder who had a similar experience as I did in one of her dogs. She recommended Orijen dog food and a K9 digestive enzyme/probiotic powder. She thought it could have been a pancreatic problem. The new puppy is 8 months old and doing great. The older dogs that I have couldn't tolerate the food change so they get the powder on Holistic select chicken and rice (no grains).

Still haven't figured out exactly what causes the problem (genetics, dog food, etc.) But, am very happy with the condition my dogs are in and them not having mushy poops all the time.

collitis
by: Anonymous

It could also be collitis or other parasite in digestive tract. My aussie struggled with loose stools from most of his first few months and the collitis meds helped clear it up. also i use eukanuba dog food and his stools are nice firm ever since.

my border collie/ aussie X had this issue
by: debbie

My border collie aussie cross has had a sensitive system ever since I got him as a rescue when he was 3. I found chicken a problem particular with grain. Fed him a duck based kibble (or lamb worked) for years but now he is 13 and has a couple of other issues so the instestinal problem resurfaced. After trying several different foods, I finally opted for a grain free canned (Wellness) mixed with a grain free kibble (NOW--turkey, duck & salmon) which really helped. Things improved even more when I started him on a probiotic, 1 in the morning and one with his dinner. We are very careful about the kind of treats he gets as a treat that is mostly grain sets it off.

Had same issues
by: Ashley

Hello! My female had the same issues for 2 years of her life. She would be fine for a few days and then have extreme diarrhea and vomiting. We took her to the vet and they tested for everything... Except for allergies. After 2 years and her starting to lose weight we asked for an allergy test. She is allergic to everything! From chicken to beef, alfalfa, pork, peas, eggs, etc. she couldn't eat one food that is sold in petsmart or any other pet store chain. We currently have her on- Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food.
It was a miracle. She never gets sick, she put her weight back on and she's completely healthy. I don't know how old this post is or if your problem is fixed but, if not please get the allergy test. Good luck!

Allergies
by: Anonymous

If your Aussie has Diarhea he probably is allergic to his food. Does he lick his paws or even scratch his ears? Mine had the same problem and it was allergies. I am pretty sure it was anything Purina :( sorry not trying to brand bash but it was just this brand that was the serious problem for my guy.

Tummy problems
by: Anonymous

Has anyone used Purina's Pro Plan veterinary diets? My dog needs energy as we run together. He is on Acana wild prairie. Comments welcome.

8 year old Aussie w/ diarrhea
by: Larry

Thank you all so much for sharing. We have been going through a hard time for the past three months with our 8-year-old Aussie. While he has always had what we considered a sensitive stomach lately he had bad diarrhea (bloody) and we could not seem to isolate the cause. At first, we attributed it to too much "people" food around the holidays, but after two vet visits, two courses of Flagil, stool checks, and a bland diet for weeks at a time, he was not getting any better. After reading the post on the 2-year-old Aussie I decided to try the grain allergy or sensitivity theory. We kept him on boiled meat only (took out the rice) for a couple of days and then switched him to Orijen 6 Fish dog food. Big improvement first day and then after several days I dare say he is back to normal. Thanks again for sharing as the Vet was not able to get him to this point.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Australian Shepherd Q & A.

Have Dog Training Questions?

Check out these introductory dog training videos...

I want my dog to stop being aggressive.

I want some help training my new puppy.

I want my dog to stop barking at everything.

I want my dog to walk nicely and calmly on the leash.

I want my dog to listen and come every time I call!

Back to Home

⌃ TOP ⌃

All Content Copyright © 2006-2024 by Anton Hout,
Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com. All rights reserved.

Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

As stated in our Privacy Policy, Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com
does not sell your personal information.