Natural Remedies for Dog Emergencies: The Two D’s
by Christy Caplan
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April 3, 2016 
Did Shermie get into something he shouldn’t of?
Natural remedies for diarrhea – be prepared for an emergency
Since April is Pet First Aid Month, I wanted to continue posts on this topic. Dehydration and Diarrhea go hand in hand. And over many years, I’ve had to troubleshoot a lot of terrible cases of diarrhea. Some of these were a result of living with a dog that got into human food. In other cases, I’ve also lived with a dog that had chronic Hepatitis and an immune-mediated disease. I’ve all out panicked in a few cases.
As you know from reading my blog – I use a lot of herbs and feed a raw diet to all my dogs. I like to look at natural remedies when I can. Given that, when it comes to the two “D’s” I practice the following:
Dehydration – *I’ve also used a dilute Pedialyte with our dogs in some cases and keep a case in the garage just in case
- Coconut water or coconut juice
- I give Bruiser and Walter 5 cc every 2 hours (for small dogs and cats)
Diarrhea –
Note that in almost all cases, if there is blood in their stool or if it’s evident they’re ill, gums look pale – I’ll take any of our dogs into the vet. To stop the diarrhea I typically make white rice and canned coconut milk. I give a couple tablespoons every 3-4 hours until the diarrhea stops.
According to Dr. Basko’s site:
- 1 cup of cooked white rice
- 1/4 cup of canned coconut milk
Then for a few days following no diarrhea, I switch to a bland diet of white rice and boiled chicken or boiled beef. I feel small amounts every 3-4 hours.
(If they won’t eat anything for more than a day, I also take them into the vet even if they don’t seem ill).
These were also taken from many resources but the one article I like a lot is: http://www.drbasko.com/site/top-home-natural-remedies-digestive-emergencies-pets/
Other articles on the topic.
Sharing for myself if no one else. I know this will come in useful in the future. Thanks Hun 🙂
Thanks! These steps have worked really well for awful diarrhea so holler if you ever need more info.!
The two D’s are definitely biggies. It’s interesting to see you can give dogs diluted Pedialyte. Good info, thanks!
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Thank you! Yes to pedialyte and since it’s sweet they don’t resist it too much. I’ve used it on more than one occasion with a super sick munchkin doxie too. So glad these were helpful.
So important to remember! I keep Bounce Back on hand (powdered electrolyte mix that can be used on farm animals as well as pets – important around here!), and it’s been hugely helpful the few times there’s been issues.
Hi! Oh I’m so glad you added this – I haven’t used Bounce Back before but will look that up! That’s awesome there is something for farm animals too! I honestly cannot remember who told me about using Pedialyte but it works so well… what farm animals do you live with?! That’s so awesome.
Hmm… I wonder if Mr. N would eat coconut. When we’ve given him beef and rice before, he picks out all the beef bits and leaves the rice. I’ll have to see. Thanks for joining the hop!
Let’s try feeding N some coconut when we’re together next. OMG – he picks out all the beef! Thanks so much for inviting me to the hop!!
Oh, I had never thought of offering coconut water to the dogs – great tip! Thanks so much for joining the hop.
Thank you! I’m so happy to be part of the hop – such a great topic for this month. Coconut water is a good one someone once shared with me!
I wouldn’t have thought of coconut milk, but I do keep it on hand. Good to know!
Awesome! That’s a great tip someone once told me about — and to your point, folks have it on hand…
Thanks good post I didn’t know about the white rice and coconut milk so we we haven’t had any problems in that area but it’s always good to be prepared.
Thank you! It’s always good to have a plan just in case.
Thank you for sharing! I hate the dreaded diarrhea and am always at a loss of what to do. Next time, I will be prepared!
Oh good – I’m so glad this was helpful!
Great information! Thanks for sharing, I did not know about coconut milk and coconut water for these issues. I will keep some on hand, Thank you
Thanks so much! Coconut water is a great solution.
This is a great list to keep handy!
Thank you!
Thanks for the info, I normally put bran or pumpkin in her food for upset tummy and dehydration have not yet had that problem but now I know what to do (I have heard of Pedialite)
Me too! I add pumpkin every day actually! Hopefully you won’t have to use Pedialyte but it’s easy to keep around “just in case”
I cook for Layla so she gets pumpkin daily also 🙂 I actually keep her inside as much as possible when too hot as she is black and my fear is over heating. Have a great day
I have the exact same fear so I hear you! You too – !! have a good day!
Thank you very much! We keep a few of these things handy for when we travel! Sometimes travel can get one of our girls a bit upset, so we try to make sure we are always prepared! I used to give our Shiloh Pedialite quite often since she constantly had stomach upset. It worked great to keep her hydrated and keep her electrolytes balanced!
Thanks! I’m so glad you’ve also had success with Pedialyte – I think that’s the secret sauce for dehydration!
Great info! My older pup, Kitsune, has a really sensitive stomach. I’ll keep these remedies in mind for the future.
Awesome – the bland diet works well but hopefully you won’t have to re-visit this any time soon!
We are big proponents of natural remedies. These are great. We keep a lot of the same stuff in our doggie medicine cabinet. 🙂
That’s awesome!! It’s always nice to use these tools if you have them and they have worked for me so I love being able to share these.
Great information, will pin these for future reference! 🙂
This is getting printed and put in the emergency folder. I never knew Pedialyte was safe for dogs. What an awesome idea for dealing with dehydration!
I am always looking for natural remedies for dealing with health issues with the dogs and while I have used the RX Biotics before, I was unfamiliar with the use of Passion Flower in calming things down in the gut.
Thank you! Hopefully you won’t have to use it — Diluted PediaLyte works well and I need to look up the dilution factor but it’s almost 2:1. Love the probiotics! I get those from our holistic vet. Passion Flower is for Sherm as he needs something to take off his anxious edge but it also aids with some digestion but it’s more the probiotic that does the trick!!
Great suggestions- I use the same for humans as well as mashed banana and blended cooked pumpkin in tiny amounts
Oh mashed banana’s is a great idea! I haven’t tried that!
Thanks for the information, I didn’t know that coconut water was a good option for dogs.
Awesome – I’m glad I was able to share some things I’ve been doing with my guys that works well. Thanks!
I’ll pass this info on the my BFF for her dogs. Hopefully, she never needs it!
Thank you so much! Agreed – hopefully she won’t need it.
This is just such great information – coconut water is a gift on so many levels! Great article!!
Thank you! Coconut water and PediaLyte seem to be super helpful – grateful there are simple ways to alleviate discomfort!
I definitely need to share this with my mom for her dog. Bandit does have problems with both at times.
Bandit sounds like my dog Bruiser – thanks for visiting!
Such a great post with amazing information! I’m sharing it immediately (also selfishly so I’ll have it as an easy reference!
Thank you so much! Hope it helps you along the way but you don’t have to refer to it often!
We used coconut oil. I love that you broke this down so pet parents can relate. It is really important to stay on top of diarrhea so dehydration can be avoided.
That’s so awesome you use Coconut oil! I hope this is all helpful – it’s based on a lot of experience for sure with dogs that just had upset tummies a bunch over time! Totally agree with you about the combination of these two!
Great natural remedies! I love using them for myself and I am trying to get better at using them for the dogs! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you! Ditto: I just tried making Dandelion tea!