What To Feed A Sick Puppy

To Prevent an Escalation

Your new puppy is suddenly down at the mouth and off his feed, or even worse, voraciously hungry, but it's all coming out the other end in a horrible mess.

what-to-feed-a-sick-puppy-600x900.jpg

Diarrhea is no joke in puppies. It can quickly escalate into dehydration and kidney failure, even death. So act quickly and do these three things;

  • Stop feeding him whatever it is that is causing the issue.
  • Make sure he's still drinking water.
  • Feed him the diet outlined below.

If any of the food he's on contains chicken, this is one thing that a lot of puppies seem to have trouble digesting. Lamb and other gentle proteins are better for their delicate tummies.

This is the ideal diet, and one that most puppies will eat with relish;

Bananas, mashed up - we freeze any extra bananas, and they work great for puppies, who don't care about the extra mushiness of the texture. They turn black, which makes them unappealing to us.

Basic bland white rice - cook up extra, and freeze it for later use.

Pumpkin - only pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Freeze it in portions in an ice cube tray, then put those into a zip loc bag.

Apple - cut up a fair sized apple into chunks, coring it first. Then microwave it for a minute or two to break it down. This can be used as a topper for the puppies regular food. If you buy apple sauce in tins, put it into the ice cube trays and freeze the same as the pumpkin.

Mix any of these ingredients together with some of the kibble that you're sure isn't causing the problem, put into a Kong or feed in a bowl. This should help with the upset tummy and stop the diarrhea within a day, two at the most. Any longer than that, call the vet.

But what to do about treats for training? You can't just stop training, even if they are sick. They'll fall behind, and lose ground on the simplest of their repertoire.

what-to-feed-a-sick-puppy600x800.jpgPuppy Waiting By A Walker For Some Training Treats (AKA Kibble)

Cut up an apple into tiny pieces, then put on parchment paper on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree F oven for 20 minutes or so. You can also do this with sweet potato (not irish potatoes) pre-cooked in the microwave to soften it, and they turn into a semi soft, very sweet little cube. Puppies love these. 

You can also put some of their kibble in a small jar with a piece of sharp cheese. You won't be feeding the cheese, but the flavor goes into  the kibble - I call this CAK, or Cheese Adjacent Kibble.

Hopefully this will turn it around and prevent any further issues, and allow you to carry on training those all important cues that every pup needs for a successful life with humans.



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