Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

My dog has diarrhea for days. Is Imodium safe? What should I feed?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | spayed | 5 years and 2 months old | 18 lbs

My dog has had diarrhea since Wednesday. I have been giving her (she weighs about 18 lbs) Imodium (1/2 a tablet) since yesterday. Is this ok? What should I feed her. The medicine does seem to help.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on March 18th, 2018

Poor Sasha! I'm sorry she's been having diarrhea since Wednesday, which could be caused by intestinal worms, eating something rotten, a GI illness, or a foreign body. While you can use Imodium in certain cases of diarrhea for dogs, it should not be long term. In addition, when a dog has diarrhea for over 24 hours, it's time to see a vet. Even though the medication seems to help, it clearly isn't really helping since she still has diarrhea. Because of the length of time she has been having diarrhea, she should see a vet as soon as possible for diagnosis and treatment. Until you can get her into a vet, feed her a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts. Please take her into a vet.

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is Maltese. He is 4.5 pounds. Since 4/11 (currently 4/14) he started having diarrhea (watery and soft stool). He seems to have some energy, however. Every 30 minutes he would have to excrete stool, even at night. I gave him one-third capsule o
As a first and general approach, given that most of these episodes could be dietary related and caused by a colitis (inflammation of the last part of the colon), I would suggest to withhold food for the next 8-12 hours and then start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice more persistent diarrhoea, vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has diarrhea for 5 days already and I’m not sure what I should do. She has brown loose stools but she still eats but everyday she eats less and she is less active and wants to sleep all day. I read that we can stop giving her food for 24 hours
I suggest you try the following. If it doesn't help with the diarrhea by Saturday she should see a vet. 1. Give ONE dose of immodium. They come in 2mg tablets. Give her 1/2 tablet if she is a small dog or the full tablet if she is a big dog. Please, ONE dose only or you will cause other issues. You can use generic - loperamide. 2. No food for 6-8 hours. Water is OK. 3. Then start feeding small amounts of a bland diet every few hours. Bland foods like: scrambled eggs, plain rice, plain pasta, boiled chicken or turkey, human baby foods (meat flavors). No butter, oil or spices on the food. 4. Also, start her on a probiotic made for dogs. No human products. You can buy them at any large pet store. I would give it for a minimum of two weeks. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/tomlyn-pre-and-probiotic-powder-for-dogs
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Is Immodium safe for dogs?
Yes it is safe but rarely effective and used. As a first approach for diarrhoea, I would recommend to I would suggest to withhold food for the next 8-12 hours and then start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I have a miniature schnauzer, about 20 lbs, he has had the diarrhea for 2 days, what can I give him to make it stop. I tried rice yesterday, but not luck, today he had nothing and its all water. Can I give him Imodium?
Imodium would be just a symptomatic treatment, which would not be of great help in case of an infective gastroenteritis. In this case, considering the persistency of the diarrhoea despite the dietary change, I would recommend a check up at your local veterinarian as antibiotics and probiotics may be needed.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
What can I give Bethany for diarrhea? She has had it for a couple days. Is Imodium safe for her to take?
Diarrhea is a common problem with cats and is usually self-limiting (will go away on its own). Usually it's not serious, but it's always possible that it could be the start of something serious. If Bethany has any of the following, then she should see a vet: 1) Blood in diarrhea 2) Very watery diarrhea 3) Starts acting very depressed 4) Stops eating or drinking for longer than 24 hours. 5) Diarrhea lasts longer than three days. You can help her get through this by feeding bland food (i.e. boneless cooked chicken). Feed small portions (1/4 cup or less) at meal time. You can also add probiotics to the food (can get this at the pet store), which has demonstrated some efficacy for improving diarrhea. Ensure fresh, clean water is always available. I do not recommend giving Imodium, because cats can have an excitatory reaction to it and it is not helpful for treating the cause of diarrhea. I hope this helps and Bethany gets better soon.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Most of my litter of 12 puppies have diarrea. I feed them grain free puppy food. None of my three adult German Shepards have it. I treated them for worms, they have had their first 5 way puppy shots. They were 7 weeks this past Saturday. Can I admini
Imodium can safely be tried only if a bacterial and parasitic infection has been ruled out or treated for simultaneously. It is possible they are all having an adverse reaction to the dewormer you used. In which case getting them with an antibiotic and probiotic would benefit them more than just the Imodium. I would consider taking 1 puppy out of the litter to the vet to get them tested for any remaining intestinal parasites, and then the recommended treatment above should be considered. In the meantime I would recommend feeding them all a bland diet of boiled plain chicken and rice or cottage cheese to help settle their stomachs. Also over the counter probiotic Culturelle can be started to see if this makes a difference with their stools. Best wishes Witt your pups and I hope you get their loose stool resolved soon. Take care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My 10 year old Doberman (100lbs) has had dihhoera for the last couple days. I’m sure he’s had a bad piece of meat. Is it okay to give him pepto or loperamide to help him stop the frequent bowel movements?
Unfortunately it's illegal for us to recommend using any OTC drugs in dogs without see them in person. I can give you a home remedy to see if that helps Brutus. Withhold food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, he starts vomiting food, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My 7month puppy has been having diarrhea on and off since Monday and picked once on a Tuesday just liquid. Do you think it’s anything I should be worried about or will it pass?
Poor Morticia! The diarrhea could be due to many conditions including eating something she shouldn’t have, bacterial over growth, parasites or even organ disease. If the diarrhea has continued beyond 24 hours, I recommend to have her examined by the veterinarian. With continued diarrhea, there are often bacterial shifts in the gut that will make matters worse regardless of the initial cause. Make sure to bring in a sample of fresh stool. The doctor will check her for parasites and bacterial over growth. Many times a bland diet can help and then a slow, gradual introduction to the normal food can be done. A bland diet can consist of 25% boiled white meat chicken and 75% boiled white rice. This should all be plain. I hope Morticia starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My labradoodle has vomited twice and had diarrhea several times (diarrhea x4, vomit x2) over the past 12 hours. She ate a pig treat that my boyfriend got her. It looked like a pig leg?? She's healthy otherwise tho. Can I give her loperamide hydroch
I would avoid loperamide hydrochloride at this point especially if she is vomiting. withhold food for 12 hours then offer Sadie boiled boneless chicken and rice every 6 hours in small portions. if she is eating and not vomiting, continue with this diet for 2 days. After 2 days, you can put her back gradually on her normal food. If she continues vomiting or is not eating, take her to the vet to get treatment.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi starting today my dog has showed little interest in food, instead eating grass and experiencing diarrhea and flatulence. No blood in fecal matter. She has been acting sluggish, but still drinking water. Should I treat with Imodium promote for 24
I would recommend feeding small bland meals frequently with an added probiotic such as fortiflora. If diarrhea is mild it is often preferred to allow it to be expelled naturally if drinking and alert. Imodium is generally used alongside other treatment or where no signs of infection are identified
Updated on September 24th, 2025

Related Searches

Dog Food Prescription Dog Digestive Medications Sensitive Stomach Dog Food Dog Health & Wellness Dog Food With Grain Wet Dog Food Electrolytes for Dogs Dry Dog Food Limited Ingredient Diet Dog Food Premium Dog Food Iams Sensitive Stomach Dog Food PetAlive Sensitive Stomach Dog Food Lactulose Prescription Dog Digestive Medications Metoclopramide Prescription Dog Digestive Medications JustFoodForDogs Sensitive Stomach Dog Food Sulfasalazine Prescription Dog Digestive Medications Under the Weather Sensitive Stomach Dog Food Imuquin Dog Vitamins & Supplements True Solutions Sensitive Stomach Dog Food Viokase-V Prescription Dog Digestive Medications
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored