Why My Dog Has Diarrhea at Night?

This article will give you every detailed information on why the dog has diarrhea at night, which color means what, and how to treat it.

One night when I was sleeping with my pooch I observed he was in discomfort. That night I was all worried about what has happened to him.

The other day I saw he had a loose stool. I thought it was normal and would get fine after some time, but unfortunately, it didn’t. I was panicking about why my dog has diarrhea at night and at the morning.

Most pet parents suffer from this issue. Initially, we don’t take care, but it is a matter of concern.

Why Your Dog Suffers From Diarrhea at Night?

There are various reasons for this health issue in dogs. And, we have shaded light up on all the possible reasons why this is likely to occur.

1. Change in Food Habit

Have you recently switched to a new brand of kibble? If yes, the certainty of loose bowel at night could be because of that too!

A dog’s digestive system is habitual of having a particular kind of food with certain ratios of protein, fats, and nutrients. When you switch to a new food product suddenly his stomach is going to suffer from shock, and it will start to remove it from his body because he has not learned how to break down this new kibble.

You have to think from your dog’s position. Imagine you have eaten the same food throughout the entire life and somebody changed your diet. It is obvious that your stomach needs time to adapt to absorb new food nutrients.

If you want to switch to a new type of food for your dog introduce it slowly that. You must add old food to the new food, mixing it slowly to their diet. Later increase the amount of new food with time being.

Your dog is intolerant or sensitive to new food habits! This could be one of the best ways to change his food habit and avoid the diarrhea issue of your pet.

2. Bacteria or Virus

Bacteria can also be one of the reasons why your dog is suffering from diarrhea at night.

The bacteria can emerge from the raw or uncooked meats or if the meat is set out for a while. According to some studies and research, it is identified that dogs can suffer from bacterial infection if kennelled with the other dogs who have it.

If there is a rise in the number of bacteria or there are some changes, your dog will no longer digest the same food he used to have. These bacteria can last days or even weeks.

If your dog is infected by a virus such as Parvovirus he is likely to have foul-smelling diarrhea. You have to take care a lot if your canine is affected by a virus because it can be fatal. If the virus hits him he is likely to have symptoms like feeling lethargy, vomiting, fever, lack of appetite, coughing in this case you should immediately take him to the vet.

3. Garbage Gut

Dogs tend to eat anything and everything, that they should have not eaten. It is obvious that they don’t know what to eat, and what not to!

They can have garbage guts because of this. If they reach any dustbin nearby your locality they will eat anything from that garbage Box. This often causes diarrhea. Garbage food can have anything toxin and poisonous.

These toxins in the garbage intimately cause diarrhea to your dog. You just call the vet immediately if you detect something potentially harmful.

4. Is It a Parasite?

Diarrhea at night can cause by something in his diet, but it can also be a sign of serious issues like an intestinal parasite.

Your dog can have an intestine parasite if he has been drinking contaminated water. Contaminated water is likely to have worms like roundworms, tapeworms, or white worms.

Your best friend becomes vulnerable especially if he doesn’t have strong immunity. You can even check his stool parasites can be found there. You must not let your pet drink water from a water pool or river or from any strange places. They are prone to have diarrhea.

If we are sure that diarrhea is caused by parasites then take him to the vet. It is a very common problem and every vet is aware of this health issue in dogs. Deworming medications can help to treat it.

5. Stress

Sometimes simply taking stress can give your dog diarrhea. He meets new people, and explores new things, and keep adjusting to new things in his surrounding. He becomes anxious and sometimes cannot handle the stress by itself.

A dog suffering from stress can also lead to lose bowel. This is more likely to happen especially at the night when he has eaten. Just like when we face some kind of stress is it financial issues or changes in family status, etc our body also reacts to this.

6. Kidney or Liver Issue

The cause of kidney diseases can also give your dog diarrhea. Kidney issues include toxic ingestion, congenital disorder, age, trauma, cancer, amyloidosis (occurs when abnormal protein builds up in the kidney), parasites, and bacterial infection.

Some of the other serious include not wanting to move, hunched over a posture, presence of blood in urine, huge weight loss, low appetite. In such a situation don’t get late more than 2 days for the treatment.

7. Allergies

If your dog is allergic his body system will detect the issue and will try to flush out the allergens. So one of the signs that he is allergic is diarrhea. Other signs to check in this case can be due to an allergic reaction like sneezing, watery eyes, frequently licking of paws, being scratchy all the time near the base of his tail, chewing on paws, scabbed skin.

This can be caused due to various reasons nothing is fixed to it. Therefore, you need to seek help from professionals.

Are you aware of the fact that the color of diarrhea can also mean something?

What Does the Color of Your Dog’s Diarrhea Mean?

The color is highly dependent on what they eat. Simple light-colored food will result in a light color stool. While you speak with your vet, you must take note of a few color indications that are prime.

• Bloody Diarrhea: It is also called Hematochezia it happens when there is large bowel diarrhea also known as colitis. It happens if the small blood vessels open in the gastrointestinal tract specifically in the lower part, it will result in the bloody stool. If the amount of small is small it is not that serious but if the blood is huge then you must consider vet help right away!
• Yellow Diarrhea: This is the most common type of diarrhea that usually tends to happen when his owner starts feeding a bland diet (low in fiber).
• Black Diarrhea: If the blood is digested even before it is passed, it will result in black diarrhea which is also known as Melena. It looks like a newborn baby puppy stool and has a black or greenish color. Black stool can occur in situations like bleeding ulcers or foreign bodies.

We have looked at all the possibilities now it’s time to know how to cure it!

How to Treat Dog Suffering From Diarrhea

Before knowing the treatment we must know how to detect your canine is suffering from diarrhea.

Some of the symptoms of diarrhea in dogs are

• Bloody diarrhea
• Pale gums
• Fever
• Black Stool (Melena)
• Uneasiness
• Vomiting

Some of the ways by which you can treat diarrhea of dogs are:

You can go for antibiotics which must be prescribed by your vet. Sorry! But, you should not try antibiotics online at all.

Probiotic works, it is available in any pet store but the one which the vet prescribed will work effectively. We recommend using yogurt more often for those dogs who suffer from diarrhea. They are not the best but, it is better than nothing.

Probiotics that the vet suggests have more effective bacteria like Bifidobacterium animal present in Prostora Max Canine, Enterococcus faecium present in Fortiflora.

Give simple protein like lean chicken, ground chunk, beef, white fish, or well-cooked eggs and carbs like white or sweet potatoes, white or brown rice combined with a low protein source. You must feed him with small and frequent meals this helps the GI tract to heal but do not overdo it.

If the diarrhea is induced by taking stress then you must give him a fiber supplement for a few days prior to the stress likes to happen. You can also give him canned pumpkin as a good source of fiber.

The Bottom Line

If you have observed symptoms like fever, pale gums, Black Stool (melena), vomiting, etc you must check on your pooch health!

We have discussed all the possible reasons why your dog has diarrhea at night and which color indicates what. To get off the health issue we have also listed various methods to treat him at home mentioned above. But, if nothing works we suggest you consult a vet for a better result.

References:

1. A Survival Guide for Dog Diarrhea – American Kennel Club
2. 6 Best Remedies for Dogs With Diarrhea – Scratch Pay
3. Common Dog Diseases – ASPCA