Should I worry about puppy with Diarrhea?

My 5-month old puppy had a bowel movement this morning that was more of a glop, then separate pieces. It also smelled really, really bad.

She isn't eating her breakfast this morning, but she's playing normally with my daughter. The puppy had parvovirus as a young puppy, but she was given a clean bill of health months ago. Luckily, it was caught very early.

Should I be worried about this?



Hi
This is always a tricky call because puppy diarrhea is such a common problem, and can mean anything from a simple tummy upset to a serious, even fatal, illness.

I'm assuming that your puppy is fully vaccinated, and as he's already had Parvo he should be immune to that particular strain of Parvo, so those are both good. However, there are several other dog illnesses that have diarrhea as a major symptom, these include Giardia and Coccidiosis among others.

Of course, your puppy may just be the victim of a 'dietary indiscretion', such as raiding the kitchen trash can, or chewing up a cardboard box... with puppies you never can tell! Any sort of sudden change in diet (intentional or otherwise) can cause a bout of diarrhea in puppies.

The fact that your puppy is playing normally and her activity level doesn't seem to have been affected is also good. If the diarrhea doesn't continue, and she keeps eating, drinking and playing normally, then you probably don't have anything to worry about at this point.

However, if her appetite doesn't return within a day or so, if the diarrhea continues or gets worse, or she shows any other signs of feeling unwell, you need to have her examined by a veterinarian right away.

It's always better to be safe than sorry! I wish you the best of luck with this little girl and hope that she makes a full recovery soon.