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My German Shepherd puppy gets diarrhea from dog food, not bland.

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 4 months and 18 days old | 35 lbs

Our 5 month old german shepherd has had diarrhea for about five days now. He feels good, playful and everything, eats well, drinks well. If we feed him only chicken and white rice that we have cooked ourselves and raw hamburger he is fine, but as soon as we start feeding him his dog food again the diarrhea comes back. We have had him for almost two months, and he has been eating the same dog food the whole time without any problems. Any suggestions? Thank you.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Susan England-Foster

Veterinarian

Published on July 19th, 2017

I would make sure that ruger has had a good deworming. I would recommend picking up his feces and throwing it away for at least two weeks. IT is possible that Ruger is having gastric upset related to his food. I would recommend doing boiled chicken and white rice for 48 hours- than slowly mix in a new dry food with the bland diet. If the diarrhea returns I would recommend taking him to a vet incase he needs antibiotics to resolve the diarrhea completely. You can also use an over the counter probiotic to help firm up the stool.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    Poor Ruger! There are quite a few different things that could cause this. Chicken and rice is a nice, easily-digestible diet, so it's common for this to temporarily improve diarrhea. Ruger may have a food allergy or intolerance to something in his regular food - this can develop over time, so could still be the problem even if nothing has changed. He may also have intestinal parasites, an intestinal infection, or difficulty digesting his food due to EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) or some other absorption problem. Since the diarrhea has been going on for 5 days now and only improves temporarily with the chicken and rice, I would recommend taking him to the vet for an exam and some testing to help determine the problem. Your veterinarian will probably want to do a fecal exam to check for parasites, and may also recommend an antibiotic and/or a diet trial with an easily-digestible diet such as Purina EN or Hills i/d to see if this helps.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on December 30th, 2016

    Poor Sasha! Diarrhea that lasts for more than 48 hours is always a concern - it sounds like she's not quite at that point yet, but will be by tomorrow if things don't improve. The most common cause of diarrhea in a puppy this age would be intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, or coccidia. It's also possible that she has an upset stomach due to eating something she shouldn't have, or a food allergy or intolerance to something in her diet. I would suggest withholding food for the rest of the day today, then feed a small amount of something bland like plain boiled chicken and rice for dinner if possible - this will often help to settle the stomach. If her stool looks better tomorrow, you can continue the chicken and rice for the next 1-2 days before gradually transitioning back to her regular diet. If there is no improvement by tomorrow, or if she develops any other symptoms such as vomiting, acting lethargic, or not wanting to eat, I would recommend finding a local vet to take her to for an exam. He/she can do a fecal check for parasites, and can also prescribe medication to treat the diarrhea symptomatically if no obvious problems are found.

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