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My recently adopted puppy has gas and diarrhea. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered

We adopted our puppy this past Saturday and since we brought him home, he's been having gas and a bit of diarrhea. We are kinda worried and want to know what to do next. He is four month and has only had his first shot, so we have been told.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 9th, 2018

Congratulations on your new puppy! Diarrhea is not uncommon in puppies and there are numerous possible causes, including things like an upset GI tract due to a change in diet or stress, intestinal parasites such as worms or protozoal organisms like Giardia or Coccidia, or more serious causes such as bacterial infection or parvo virus. If Jake is having any vomiting or seems weak/lethargic we would be concerned about parvo virus and he should go to the vet right away for testing and treatment. If Jake is eating normally with no vomiting and a good energy level, he should see a vet for an exam as soon as you can get an appointment but it isn't an emergency situation, and in the meantime you can start a probiotic which you can find at many pet stores or your vet's office. Best of luck to you and Jake!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Maria DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    When puppies are adopted into a new home they can easily develop diarrhea from the stress, intestinal parasites or even a change in food. Puppies I always recommend having looked at within 2 weeks of adopting to make sure they are healthy. Since Jake has diarrhea I would recommend calling your veterinarian in the morning to make an appointment. Your veterinarian can check a stool sample to make sure there are no intestinal parasites. They then can prescribe medication to help with the diarrhea and send home a prescription bland diet. If you see blood in his stool or he starts vomiting and becoming lethargic I would recommend a veterinarian as soon as possible. Otherwise, you can wait until the morning. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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    Answered By Claudia Fioravanti

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 9th, 2018

    Hi, it can be very common for puppies to have an upset tummy when first adopted. This is due to the change of environment, stress, and sometimes changes in diet too. In these cases, appetite is preserved and diarrhoea is normally mild and does not cause major sickness. If this is Jake’s case you could try to offer him a bland diet or give him a probiotic paste for 3-4 days that would certainly help his tummy settling. We use Protexin Prokolin in the UK but I am sure Petco can offer you an alternative effective product. If Jake should be lethargic, not eating,vomiting or the diarrhoea should be quite profuse ( several times a day ), I would recommend to have him checked over. He is still very very young and we don’t want him to get dehydrated or become too poorly ! I hope he gets better soon

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