Pumpkin is considered a natural remedy in diarrhea, but before feeding it is essential to know pumpkin dosage for dog diarrhea to stay on the safe side and to get the real benefit of pumpkin.
Pumpkin is fabulous support of fiber for your four-legged friends that provide comfort and helps to regulate the stomach. You can add one to four tablespoons of pure pumpkin in each meal of your pooch to cure diarrhea (better to start with the least quantity). For small breeds, you must not cross from two tablespoons in each meal and maximum of three dosages in a day. Dogs tend to digest this fiber-rich natural vegetable, but when you are dealing with the upset stomach, you need to feed less. In diarrhea, vets always suggest not to feed in the first twelve hours and feed less that put less pressure on the digestive tract.
Pureed pumpkin can help dogs in diarrhea as well as constipation. You can add this vegetable to the regular meal of your dog to keep him regular. A single tablespoon in each meal is enough to keep them regular. To get better and quick results to start feeding when you notice signs of upset stomach in your dog.
How Does Pumpkin Help My Dog in Digestive Health (Diarrhea)?
It is a fiber-rich food that contains minerals and vitamin; potassium, iron, and vitamins like A, C, and E are the primary contents in this vegetable. Plain and canned pumpkin remain available year-round, and it is a best first aid kit for your four-legged friend.
It can be helpful in many ways, like:
Dietary Fiber
It contains the soluble fiber that absorbs the water from the digestive tract. In general, this type of fiber slows down the digestive process absorbing water from the gastrointestinal tract, and in result, it forms a gel-like substance.
On cub of pumpkin provides 83 calories and 7 grams of dietary fiber that is a high quantity to cure diarrhea and stay regular. In diarrhea, this soluble fiber produces hard and less loose stool that is necessary to cure it.
On the other side, soluble fiber fermentation produces friendly fatty acids to strengthen the cells by providing energy to them. It also lowers the PH level of the large intestine.
It also plays the role of prebiotics; I increase the activity level and growth of friendly bacteria in the intestines by providing essential nutrients to the friendly bacteria.
When you get the advice from the vet, he may provide information to feed a highly digestible diet or a food that is rich in fiber. In many cases, the vet’s advice to add probiotics in shape of supplements to support the healthy bacteria.
Potassium
Diarrhea causes excessive loss of potassium from the body; that may result in a condition called hypokalemia. It also lowers the potassium in the blood that can be very dangerous for your pooch. It can lead to weakness, fatigue, cramping, or even sudden death. One cup of pumpkin provides 505 mg of potassium that can be a great addition to stay active and fight with the weakness in the time of diarrhea.
If you start feeding pumpkin right when you detect signs of diarrhea, it will keep the potassium level up to standard, and your dog will not feel weakness. It is the main reason Pumpkin treated as a first aid kit in diarrhea.
Sodium
One cup of pumpkin provides 12mg of sodium, remember potassium and sodium are electrolytes that are supportive towards maintaining the water level in the body. Adding pumpkin in food during diarrhea is helpful to replace the sodium lost during the disease. Pumpkin soup is more beneficial if you can make and feed to your pooch. Some people are in the view that sodium increases the blood pressure, but it’s not when you feed it during diarrhea as we suggested earlier.
Helpful to become rehydrated
When your dog is suffering from diarrhea, he needs to intake more fluid, because diarrhea can cause dehydration and to become rehydrated pumpkin is very supportive. It is not possible for dogs to drink plenty of water but eating pumpkin is a solution to prevent dehydration.
When to avoid Pumpkin
Do not feed pumpkin to your dog if he has an intolerance of fructose, a condition in which body of your dog cannot digest the fructose.
What type of pumpkin is more beneficial in diarrhea Raw, Cooked, or Canned?
The first and most preferred choice should be a plain fresh pumpkin for your four-legged friend. Plain canned pumpkin also offers the same benefits, and it is ready to serve. Both are good to feed, but canned pumpkin has higher nutrients and fiber. Because the fresh pumpkin contains more water and the same amount of fresh pumpkin contain fewer nutrients. Prefer to feed canned pumpkin as pumpkin with added salt of other ingredients may irritate your dog stomach and further decrease the benefits of pumpkin.
If you are cooking food for your diseased dog at home, then you can add fresh pumpkin or canned it depends on you.
Note Never use canned pumpkin pie, because it contains a toxic ingredient like Xylitol, which is harmful to dogs. Consult with your vet if your dog has kidney disease or diabetes.
On what basis I can decide the dosage of pumpkin dog Diarrhea?
Feeding the pumpkin to your dog has additional benefits, it cannot be a stand along with food but an excellent addition to get some valuable benefits. It is a good source of nutrients but keeps in mind the excessive pumpkin is also a reason for diarrhea; what we find is too much-canned pumpkin cause diarrhea. So, when you feed it in the controlled quantity, your dog can get benefits to stay regular, and it also helps to reduce the weight of your dog, because fiber provides a feeling of fullness to your dog.
If you own a medium or large size dog you can feed 1 to 4 tablespoons of pumpkin in a single meal and case of small breed, do not cross from 2 tablespoons. If you are regularly feeding, then prefer to feed the minimum possible quantity like one tablespoon. The right dosage depends on the following considerations.
- Size
- Age
- Weight
- Breed
Like you can feed four tablespoons if you have a young giant breed dog and 2 to 3 in case a medium size adult. Pumpkin dosage for dog diarrhea is not a mentioned at anywhere, but if you start from the minimum, then you can better adjust the dosage.
If you want to become more precise in pumpkin dosage for dog diarrhea, then follow the dosage as:
- Small Adult dog: 2.5 to 5 ml pumpkin per day
- Medium adult dog: 15 ml per day
- Large adult dog: 20 to 40 ml per day
Can i feed pumpkin seeds to my pooch to cure diarrhea?
No, you cannot feed the seeds to your dog during diarrhea. The reason is these seeds are hard to digest and can invite some other serious issues. You can feed the pumpkin seeds to your dog in a healthy condition; seeds are not advised during diarrhea because these are hard to digest. Even these are available in many forms, but naturally, it’s not suitable for a dog suffering from diarrhea. When you feed the seeds in the normal health conditions, your dog will be benefited in several ways like:
- A Natural Solution for Worms
- Pumpkin seeds heal wounds
- Cure kidney ailments and urinary problems
In recent studies, pumpkin seeds found very helpful against tapeworms and other intestinal parasites in dogs. If you found that your dog is suffering from the tapeworms, you can use pumpkin seeds as an active deworming agent. It contains cucurbitacin that is a form of amino acid and a leading agent to eliminate the worms from the digestive tract.
Does foods contain pumpkin are helpful to avoid Diarrhea?
Well, they are helpful in normal conditions, but we cannot say that they can provide any serious benefit during diarrhea. The reason is the exact amount of pumpkin is a question here, instead of choosing such food to cure the diarrhea of your dog. You need to consider staying with the food that you are already feeding and add pumpkin in every meal. In this way, you will make the food more delicious and healthier for your dog. In the regular routine if you are thinking to switch your dog food, then it will be a good decision to consider the food that contains pumpkin to keep your dog regular and avoid any stomach issue.