More than 80% of newly bought puppies die from dehydration caused by diarrhea! People can’t help but think it’s simply because they caught a cold from not wearing clothes. However, cold exposure is only a catalyst for diarrhea. The root cause of this fatal condition is actually the often overlooked dry dog food!

Many owners often feed what seems to be a very small amount of dry dog food to their dogs, only to find that they are always hungry and seem to have a strong appetite.

The love for pets makes owners think: “Let it eat more, eat more, I have to go to work and can only feed it when I get back at night, it can’t be hungry, it must be full.” However, little do they know this is the first fatal step for the dog!

This is the illusion created by dry dog food! They do not realize they have already been deceived by this illusion.

The following terrible tragedy then unfolds step by step: After eating, some dogs know to drink cold water, while some do not drink water at all. They don’t move and just rest; once asleep, their skin pores fully open, allowing cold to invade, especially dogs vulnerable to cold. Their stomach becomes cold and stops moving.

Dry dog food needs to expand. Inside the puppy’s stomach, the food begins to absorb water and digestive fluids fully. Soon, the puppy’s stomach starts to swell, even the veins on top become visible. At this time, the puppy is still sleeping uncovered.

Hours pass; the overly full stomach still can’t digest the food. The small intestine, unable to cope with the overload, starts to cause diarrhea—loose watery stools. The cold stomach produces large amounts of gas. The gastrointestinal mucosa is damaged, allowing pathogenic bacteria to invade and cause recurrent diarrhea and even vomiting. After two or three times, a large amount of body fluid is lost, resulting in severe black bloody stools. If no timely action is taken such as saline IV drip, anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrhea, anti-vomiting, and hemostatic treatment, the puppy is very likely to die quickly. This does not require any interference from canine parvovirus; overnight, puppies can easily be lost. Dry dog food—this is the terrifying and easily overlooked gastric dilation!

Almost all puppies brought in for diarrhea treatment, such as Chihuahuas, have been fed dry food. Dry dog food is like compressed biscuits that expand three times their volume when exposed to water.

Dogs usually just roughly chew and swallow, letting the stomach acid digest the food. Puppies’ digestive glands are not fully developed shortly after weaning, and puppies lack an accurate sense of feeling full.

Of course, sometimes parvovirus does not arise spontaneously but is triggered by diarrhea caused by improper feeding. People often overlook the deadly harm of dry dog food.

To prevent puppy diarrhea: start from diet, avoid feeding compressed dry dog food directly. Instead, as one soaks instant noodles, soak dog food in hot water until fully expanded and cooled before feeding. Furthermore, avoid giving large amounts of cold water or excessive exercise after feeding. Cold is a catalyst for diarrhea. When the weather gets cold, it is necessary to wrap the puppy in a blanket or buy thicker clothes to keep it warm. (Medium to large dogs do not need such delicate protection.)

Puppies aged 2-3 months are best fed 4 times a day with about 20 grams of soaked dog food per meal (this recommendation is for Chihuahuas) until 6 months old, then they can gradually start eating hard dry food with incremental increases. Feeding to about 80% fullness is advisable.

If diarrhea occurs, stop feeding for several hours at least, then feed sugar-salt water (add 1 gram salt and 10 grams glucose to 100 ml rice soup) or purchase oral rehydration solutions OTC, dissolve powder in 500 ml water. Use a syringe to feed slowly 10-15 ml every hour. Never withhold water. Warm compresses on the stomach can help expel gas. Oral antifermentation multi-enzyme tablets help reduce swelling. If diarrhea worsens, oral berberine 15 mg/kg body weight or norfloxacin 20 mg/kg body weight can be used.

Pay special attention to warmth at night. If possible, use a dog house, wrap the abdomen with cloth, cover with blankets tightly, and block winds with cloth at the door. Without such conditions, use a 40 W or higher light bulb around the cage, and surround with cloth to avoid cold and prevent worsening illness. Over 95% of puppies die at midnight. (This applies especially to very small and fragile breeds like Chihuahuas.)

If the above home care is insufficient and no improvement occurs within 6 hours of symptom onset, immediately rush to the hospital for saline drip treatment. Time is life; even at midnight, do not ignore your pet to sleep soundly.