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My 6-week-old puppy has diarrhea, but is playful. Should I worry?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Jindo | Male | unneutered | 4 lbs

I've had my 6 week old puppy for the past 3 days now and he is having diarrhea. The first night he was here he had a nice normal stool but afterwards its been diarrhea. I've been feeding him Esbilac 2nd step since he's not fully eating dry puppy food. Is the diarrhea normal due to stress or should I be worried about a bacteria/virus? Even though he has diarrhea he is very playful and active and eats the Esbilac up very well. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on May 1st, 2017

It could be that Lex is suffering from intestinal worms which are very common in puppies and would cause diarrhea. It's a good sign that he is playful and active as well as eating, so the worms would be at the top of my differential list. Other possibilities include a GI illness or the diet you are feeding him. I would give him a deworming treatment such as Panacur which you can get OTC. It's a three day course of treatment, and he will need another course of treatment two weeks after the first ends to kill all the worms. He should then be dewormed every month until he is six months old and then should be deworming every three months thereafter. If he is up to date on his deworming treatments, then I would have Lex seen by a vet for a health check.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 20th, 2018

    In puppies, the most common cause of diarrhea is intestinal parasites. If Griz isn't up to date with his deworming treatments, he needs one from your vet, and he will need one every two weeks until he is 12 weeks old. Then one every month until he is six months of age, and after that he should be dewormed once every three months. If this doesn't help his diarrhea, then I would make an appointment with the vet for him to be seen. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

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