So, for the past several days my dog, Kira, has been having extreme (in my opinion) diarrhea. She has a fairly bad case of Demodectic Mange and has been taking Ivermectin for 10 days. I've called the vet and they assured me that it has nothing to do with the medicine, but I don't know what else it might be! We've changed her food, but it has been since her diarrhea has started. Any ideas as to what could be causing it/ what to do about it?

How old is Kira?

Artic_Wind wrote:

How old is Kira?

13 weeks.

It could be the meds set her off, or something else. Take a stool sample in to make sure it's clear, but I suspect it's just a typical case of husky-tummy. My pup had frequent terrible boutes of diarrhea as he was growing.

First off, fast Kira for 24 hours. No food, but as much water as she needs. Second, get some ground turkey (easiest to digest, and many huskies react to chicken), brown it in with no fat or oil, use water to keep it from burning if needed. Then start with 1/2 cup of the cooked turkey and mix with 1 tbsp of pumpkin (canned, plain 100% pure pumpkin). Give twice a day the first day, 3 times the second day and then increase to 3/4 cup and 2 tbsp the third day. When her stool is solid very slowly start to add dogfood into the turkey/pumpkin mix.

Now, to talk about dog foods. What are you feeding her?

Kira, it's time for me to chime in here.

Ivermectin - I've visited a few web sites and about half of them have diarrhea listed as a possible side effect.  You said that she's been on Ivermectin for 10 days and had diarrhea for "several" days.  Did the diarrhea start before or after you started giving her the Ivermectin?  If it started within a day or so after giving her the drug then it's a good chance that she's reacting to it.  At 10 days you should be about through with the Ivermectin, yes?

Switching a puppy off puppy food at 13 weeks is way early, they should be on puppy food for at least 6 months and most, I think, would like to see it for about a year before switching to an adult formula.

While I feed Purina products to my adult dogs, I do it knowing that it's among the worst of dog foods.  I'm sorry, but price and availability play a major part in *my* decision.  If you can make the search work right for you, there are several threads with good information about dog and puppy food.

I seldom disagree with Jen but in one small item I will.  I think she missed the age of your pup - 13 weeks - fasting for 12 hours is normally sufficient for a puppy since they have much short digestive tracts and food tends to move through them quicker.  Other than that quibble, she gave you a good regimen to follow.

Now, however diarrhea in a puppy can be critical!  Their bodies are so small, they have little or no "body fat" to fall back on when their food passes right through them.  Up through a year / 18 months, diarrhea that lasts for more than 36-48 hours should entail a vet visit to a good vet.

I did not miss the age of the pup, and I do still recommend fasting for 24 hours as long as she has free access to water. Her system needs a complete reset. Do still take a stool sample to the vet. She may have picked up a parasite.

For food, I suggest a grain free food. I feed nature's variety, limited ingredient turkey, there are a lot of options though. Check out dogfoodadvisor.com and look at 4 & 5 star foods. A popular one for husky puppies is taste of the wild. They have a variety of flavors and are pretty affordable compared to some of the better dog foods.

Plenty of water, as Jen has said. The big killer of pups with diarrhea is dehydration - I'm a little surprised your vet has not been a little more proactive with a 13 week old puppy.

As Al said, I would also be suspicious of the ivermectin, though, as Jen as posited, my boy had sustained pudding poop until I switched him to grain free (after assuring hubby that dog food would be oh, maybe 25. per month. Now I have a large dog needing grain free food...)

Thanks for all of the advice! Her diarrhea started around the 7th or 8th day of her taking the Ivermectin. The Vet said that I should keep her on the medicine for 30 days.

Hi, I hope it is okay if I chime in with my 2 cents worth

I agree with all the above advice, AND I have also found an age-old remedy for diarrhea (at least a temporary one) although it doesn't cure anything if there are underlying causes, but it will help and has been recommended and approved by the various veterinarians I have consulted over the years.

#1: Buy some good boneless skinless chicken breasts (and read the package or check with the butcher to make sure it is not injected with tenderizers/salt/juices etc)

#2 Rice (I like to use white, but you can use brown)

Boil the chicken breasts in plenty of water for maybe 30 min (even more), then set them out to cool.  You can cut them up and freeze in small portions. Leave enough chicken out for maybe a day or two, but freeze the rest.

Boil (or steam if you have a steamer) the rice, using more water than necessary (like 3 cups water to 1 cup rice) and cook until that rice has absorbed the water.  This will give you some water-logged rice and well cooked, which is good.

Chop maybe 1 cup of your cooked and cooled chicken into tiny cubes, the smaller the better, minced is good.

After the rice cools, mix even portions with the chopped/minced chicken (like 1 cup rice to 1 cup chicken, or 1/2 cup rice to 1/2 cup chicken).  You can even add a little more water to the mix if it looks a bit dry.

Feed this to your pup maybe 3X per day for a day or even two. Don't feed any other food (but provide plenty of fresh water).

This is a sure cure for diarrhea, at least in my experience ...although it doesn't cure any underlying causes of diarrhea.

You could also add rice to any of the above suggestions from people (like add rice to the cooked turkey, etc).

Aside from her meds, switching foods often causes diarrhea, even switching up from a puppy food to an adult food.  Also I agree with everybody above who stated that your pup is too young to be eating adult food as opposed to puppy food.

Years ago, I recall that purina puppy chow had milk in it (milk solids?).  Some dogs are allergic to dairy, and maybe that could have played a part before you switched to adult food?

I use Taste of the Wild, there are 2 good flavors for puppies (and many more for adults).
Make sure you transition your pup slowly when switching foods.  Start with the regular food adding just a small amt. of the new food.  Gradually mix in more of the new food, every day, so that the change doesn't happen all at once.  Sibes are notorious for having sensitive stomachs, haha.

I hope I don't sound like I am trying to be a know-it-all here.  It's just that I speak from experience and research   in addition to listening to my veterinarians

Good luck and keep us posted!

Holy Cow! I'm sorry my "2 cents worth" was so long! haha

Cuba has also got diarrhea, My vet has gave me a paste for him to take, to try and clear it up, along with changing his diet to pure puppy food, (I got just the local vet one for large dogs)

We were told don't feed him anything but his food (Which was what we was doing anyway)
Don't give him any treats incase they are causing the problems.
Too give him Pro-Kotan (I think thats it) in 3x doses, twice a day, so first was 3ml, second 6ml, third 9ml, fourth 12 ml, until he has had it all, he seems to be clearing up and feeling better already..


Just ensure that you keep her well hydrated, on puppy food, and although i see others have suggested a few remedies (My vet did ensure me to just leave him on his puppy food.)


Obviously people here may have better information than my vet, in that they actually own the breed, and the vet is probably just going off one one.


Their are amny things that can cause diarhhea,

A change in diet,
Stress (I think this is Cuba's case along with a change of food)
Eaten something in the garden whilst walking
Just a poorly stomach.. ect.


Im sure she will start to feel better soon!!

ps. I was also told to ensure he doesn't over eat because their scavengers, they are prone to overeating which could have a issue with their digestion, what with them only having such small tummies at this age.



*If I have said anything wrong please don't judge me, I am just trying to share the experience I am going through with Cuba and what I have been told to do, to help him through it*

My Jack has also has diarrhea so I took him to the vet and he tested positive for giardia again. Since your pup is so young, I would definitely take a stool sample to your vet.