If your dog experiences frequent diarrhea and no parasites or bacterial infections have been detected, it’s time to take a look at her food!

As with people, there is no best food for every individual. Some people and dogs get diarrhea from wheat, others from chicken, and some become ill on almost any food. The first step is to switch to a high-quality food, preferably one that contains a different type of protein than the food you’re currently feeding. If a rotational diet doesn’t seem to help, add probiotics for a month to see if that helps. Finally, consider switching your dog to a raw meat diet since that is the most nutritious and least likely to cause digestive upsets. Feeding a raw diet usually produces small stools that fall apart on their own in the yard.

Be sure to record when your dog has diarrhea and what is happening at that time – excitement, snacks, parties, less exercise, morning, night, etc. This may help you discover an alternative cause of the diarrhea. There are many holistic remedies available online or from your local health food stores or pet stores – marshmallow root, drinkable aloe vera, pectin, or combination herbal supplements, to name a few. You can also fast your dog for one day which may help the stools go back to normal.

If the suggestions above do not help relieve your dog’s diarrhea, contact an integrative veterinarian who can use homeopathy, acupuncture and Chinese herbs, chiropractic or other modalities to help permanently resolve the problem.