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My dog has severe diarrhea after medication. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | 61 lbs

My dog has been having diarrhea every 2 hours for the last 24 hours after a single shot of Melacam and vomited once. Vet said it's common but surely this amount of diarrhea can't be?? It's not bloody in any way, just yellow.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 16th, 2017

Hello there and thank you for your post! It is possible that Jess is having GI side effects from medication. I would suggest feeding Jess a bland diet as outlined below. If no improvement after 2-3 days, I would bring Jess back to her veterinarian for further treatment. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.Options 1. Prescription diet (canned or dry) 2. 2 parts cooked rice + 1 part BOILED skinless chicken or hamburger (skim the grease off) 3. 2 parts cooked rice + 1 part cottage cheese The diet should be fed in reduced quantities per feeding with more frequent feedings. After the dog has had normal stools without vomiting for 3 days, the dog can slowly be switched back to his normal DOG FOOD diet over a period of 3 days. Feed sufficient amount to maintain normal body weight. BODY WEIGHT APPROXIMATELY DAILY FEEDING 5 lbs ½ c 10 lbs ¾ c 20 lbs 1 1/3 c 40 lbs 2 1/3 c 60 lbs 3 c 80 lbs 3 ¾ c 100 lbs 4 1/3 c I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Amber W

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

    Published on

    Poor Jess! Some GI upset can been seen with Metacam but it sounds like Jess is having a little more than is normally expected. You can try to offer a bland diet of boiled chicken and sweet potato or rice for a few meals to see if this helps with the diarrhea. A probiotic like Fortiflora may also be helpful. However, if the diarrhea persists Jess may need supportive care to help resolve the issue. If she is otherwise acting normally I'd suggest trying a bland diet to see if the diarrhea slows down. But if any other abnormal signs develop or the diarrhea worsens I would take her to be examined by a veterinarian. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Jess is feeling better soon!

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