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Black, tarry stool; large amounts of fresh blood; diarrhoea with repeated vomiting; a puppy with diarrhoea who is lethargic or off food (parvovirus until proven otherwise); diarrhoea after a toxin, a medication or a swallowed object; or a dog who is weak, has pale gums or a painful belly — vet now. Cornell and VCA both put the same hard limit on home care: not improving within 48 hours is a vet visit, whatever the stool looks like.
The short answer: for a bright adult dog with loose stool and no red flags, the home remedy that works is a bland diet in small frequent meals — boiled skinless chicken or lean beef with plain white rice — for two or three days, a spoon of plain canned pumpkin for soluble fibre, a dog probiotic if you have one, constant water, and a slow seven-to-ten-day transition back to normal food. Cornell allows a 12–24-hour food rest first for healthy adults; puppies, seniors and toy breeds skip it. The two things most people reach for are the two VCA names as dangerous: Pepto-Bismol (an aspirin relative that also turns stool black and hides bleeding) and Imodium (slows a gut that may need to clear a toxin, an object or parasites). Before any of it, look at the stool — small, frequent, urgent, mucousy, bright-red-streaked is the colon (stress, a dietary slip, usually self-limiting); large, watery, a few times a day, with weight loss is the small intestine and more often needs a diagnosis.
Written by Marc Brannigan, Co-Founder & CEO of HempMy Pet. Last updated 14 October 2026.
Read the Stool First: Colon or Small Intestine?
Vets sort diarrhoea into two kinds before they do anything else, and the table they use is one you can apply at the back door.
| What you see | Large intestine (colitis) | Small intestine |
|---|---|---|
| How often | Very frequent — many small trips | Near-normal or only slightly more often |
| How much | Small amounts each time | Normal to large, watery volumes |
| Mucus | Common — jelly-like coating | Typically absent |
| Blood | Bright red, fresh streaks | Dark, tarry, digested (melena) — emergency |
| Straining and urgency | Usually present — squatting repeatedly, producing little | Absent |
| Weight loss | Rare | May occur |
| Usual story | Stress, a dietary slip, a new food, a scavenged snack. Often self-limiting in 2–3 days with bland food. | Parasites, infection, food intolerance, pancreatic or organ disease. More likely to need a stool test and bloodwork. |
Differentiation table from the Merck Veterinary Manual. A little bright-red streaking in frequent, mucousy colitis stool is common and not an emergency on its own; black stool, or a lot of blood, is.
Small, frequent and slimy is the colon and usually passes. Large, watery and losing weight is the small intestine and usually needs a test. Black is an emergency either way.
Home Remedies, Ranked by Evidence
What is actually known about each one, and what each one is for.
| Remedy | Evidence | What it does | How to do it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bland diet — chicken and rice | Strong. Cornell and VCA both recommend it as first-line home care. | Low fat, low fibre, highly digestible; gives the gut a rest while still feeding the dog. | Boiled skinless chicken breast or lean boiled beef, fat drained, with plain white rice, about 1:2. Small meals every 3–4 hours. Two to three days, then transition. Not nutritionally complete — short-term only. |
| A 12–24-hour food rest first | Good — for healthy adults only. Cornell's guidance. | Stops feeding an irritated gut for half a day. Water always available. | Adults in good condition only. Puppies, toy breeds, seniors and diabetics do not fast — straight to small bland meals, or the vet. |
| Plain canned pumpkin | Moderate. On VCA's list; soluble fibre firms stool. | Absorbs water in the colon, bulks and slows the stool. Best for colitis-pattern diarrhoea. | Plain purée, never pie filling. A teaspoon for a small dog, a tablespoon or two for a large one, mixed into the bland meals. Also see can dogs eat pumpkin. |
| Probiotics made for dogs | Moderate. VCA lists vet-recommended probiotics; studies suggest they shorten simple diarrhoea by about a day. | Re-seeds the gut flora that diarrhoea and stress disrupt. | A canine product, daily through the episode and a week beyond. Plain live yoghurt is a weak substitute and only in dogs who tolerate dairy. |
| Slow food transition | Strong — as prevention. Cornell: a week or two, not three days. | A fast switch is one of the commonest causes of the next bout. | 75/25 → 50/50 → 25/75, a day or two on each. VCA: return to normal over seven to ten days after an episode. |
| Fresh water, constantly | Non-negotiable. | Diarrhoea is water loss. With vomiting, dehydration accelerates fast. | Always down. If the dog will not drink, or drinks and vomits, that is a vet visit for fluids. |
| Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate | Dangerous — VCA's words. | Bismuth subsalicylate: an aspirin relative, toxic at higher amounts, never with NSAIDs or steroids, never in cats. Turns stool black and hides melena. | Only if your vet specifically tells you to. |
| Imodium (loperamide) | Dangerous — VCA's words. | Stops the gut moving. If the diarrhoea is clearing a toxin, an object or parasites, that traps it. Also risky in collies and other MDR1 breeds. | Only if your vet specifically tells you to. |
| Rice water, bone broth, slippery elm, ginger | Folk — no canine evidence. | Rice water is harmless fluid. Bone broth is often fatty and seasoned with onion. The rest are untested. | Rice water if the dog likes it. Skip the others. |
Home-care guidance from Cornell's Riney Canine Health Center and VCA Animal Hospitals. For a dog who is vomiting rather than — or as well as — having diarrhoea, see dog upset stomach home remedy, which covers the vomiting timeline.
The 72-Hour Plan
For the bright adult dog with colitis-pattern diarrhoea and no red flags.
- Hour 0: look at the stool and photograph it — the vet will want to know frequency, volume, mucus and blood. Note what the dog ate in the last 48 hours. Pick up the food; leave water down.
- Hours 0–12 (adults only): food rest. Puppies, small breeds and seniors skip this step.
- Hour 12: a small bland meal — chicken and rice with a spoon of pumpkin. If it stays down, repeat every 3–4 hours. Start a dog probiotic.
- Day 2: bland meals continue. Stool should be firming. If it is the same or worse, or the dog is quieter than yesterday, call the vet today rather than waiting for the 48-hour mark.
- Day 3: if stool is formed, begin the transition: 75% bland, 25% regular food.
- Days 4–10: 50/50, then 25/75, then normal. Keep the probiotic going for the week.
- Any point — not better at 48 hours, blood, black stool, vomiting, lethargy, refusing water: vet, with the photos and a fresh stool sample in a bag.
Why It Keeps Coming Back
A dog who gets diarrhoea every few weeks does not need a better remedy. It needs a reason.
- Parasites. Giardia, whipworm, hookworm, coccidia — the commonest reason for recurrent diarrhoea in dogs who go to parks, daycare or boarding, and the cheapest thing to test for. One stool sample. Monthly wormers do not cover all of them.
- Stress colitis. Boarding, fireworks, a house move, a new baby, a new dog — Cornell and VCA both list stress among the causes. Frequent, mucousy, sometimes streaked with blood, settles in two or three days. The remedy is upstream; see the hemp section below.
- Food intolerance. Recurrent soft stool, gas and gurgling, often with itchy ears or paws. A proper diet trial — eight to twelve weeks on one novel or hydrolysed protein, nothing else, not even treats — is the only test. A quick food swap just muddies it.
- Fat. Table scraps, greasy treats, the bin. The trigger for most one-off bouts, and in a susceptible dog, pancreatitis.
- Something that needs bloodwork. Diarrhoea with weight loss, a ravenous or absent appetite, a change in thirst, or in a dog over seven: inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatic insufficiency, Addison's, liver or kidney disease. These are not home-remedy problems.
Where Hemp Fits — and Where It Doesn't
We make hemp products for dogs, so here is the straight answer.
A dog with diarrhoea needs bland food, water and a watchful owner. Hemp oil is an oil, and oil is the last thing a loose gut wants. Do not give it during an episode. There is no canine trial of hemp for diarrhoea, and we are not going to imply one.
The most commonly reported side effect across the canine studies is soft stool or diarrhoea at higher amounts, usually when a dog is started too high or given it on an empty stomach. If your dog's diarrhoea began within days of starting any hemp product — ours included — stop it, let the gut settle, and restart at half the amount with food. What the studies actually found.
If the pattern is boarding, travel, fireworks or a household change followed two days later by frequent, mucousy stool, the gut is reporting stress. Predictable stress is where hemp has early canine evidence — given before the trigger, not during the diarrhoea, and alongside the other things that work: routine, a familiar bed, a slow introduction. See hemp for dog anxiety.
Our serving guide starts low and with food for exactly the reason above. If your dog is on metronidazole, a dewormer, a probiotic prescription or any other medication, read hemp and your dog's medications first.
For the dog whose gut reacts to stress — before the trigger, never during an episode, always with food
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When to Call the Vet
Go now if:
- Black, tarry stool, or a large amount of fresh blood
- Diarrhoea with repeated vomiting, or a dog that cannot keep water down
- A puppy — especially unvaccinated or part-vaccinated — with diarrhoea plus lethargy or no appetite
- Diarrhoea after a toxin, a plant, a medication or a swallowed object
- Weakness, pale gums, a painful or swollen belly, or collapse
Same day or next day if:
- Not improving after 48 hours of bland food — Cornell's and VCA's shared threshold
- Large, watery, small-intestinal-pattern diarrhoea, or any weight loss
- A senior, a toy breed or a diabetic dog with diarrhoea for more than a day
- A second or third bout in a couple of months — bring a stool sample
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I give my dog to stop diarrhea?
Bland food, not medicine. Boiled skinless chicken or lean beef with plain white rice in small meals every few hours for two or three days, a spoon of plain canned pumpkin for fibre, a dog probiotic, and constant water. Healthy adults can have a 12–24-hour food rest first; puppies, small breeds and seniors should not. Do not give Pepto-Bismol or Imodium — VCA names both as dangerous — unless your vet tells you to. If it is not improving in 48 hours, or there is black stool, a lot of blood, vomiting or lethargy, see the vet.
What stops diarrhea fast naturally?
Nothing stops it instantly, and that is partly the point: diarrhoea is often the gut clearing something. What shortens a simple bout is the bland diet (low fat, low fibre, small meals), soluble fibre from plain pumpkin to firm colitis-pattern stool, a canine probiotic, and water. Most colon-pattern diarrhoea — frequent, small, mucousy — settles in two to three days on that alone. Trying to force it to stop with Imodium can trap a toxin or parasites in the gut.
Is scrambled egg good for a dog with diarrhea?
Plain scrambled egg — no butter, oil, milk or salt — is an acceptable bland protein if your dog will not eat chicken, and vets do suggest it. It is slightly fattier than boiled chicken breast, so keep portions small and pair it with plain white rice. Do not use it in a dog with a known egg intolerance, and do not add cheese. Boiled chicken and rice remains the standard because it is the lowest in fat.
What can I give my dog for diarrhea over the counter?
Very little, safely. VCA lists Pepto-Bismol and Kaopectate (bismuth subsalicylate, an aspirin relative) and Imodium (loperamide, which stops the gut moving) as the two dangerous over-the-counter choices for pets. A dog-specific probiotic and plain canned pumpkin are the safe shelf items. If your vet wants medication, they will prescribe it after looking at a stool sample — metronidazole, a dewormer or a prescription GI diet — rather than guessing from the pharmacy aisle.
Should I fast my dog with diarrhea?
A healthy adult dog, yes — Cornell's advice is to withhold food for 12 to 24 hours with water available, then start the bland diet. Puppies, toy breeds, seniors and diabetic dogs should not be fasted; they go straight to small, frequent bland meals. If there is any vomiting alongside the diarrhoea, dehydration accelerates and the window for home care shrinks — call the vet the same day.
How long should dog diarrhea last before I worry?
Two days. Cornell and VCA both say that loose stool persisting beyond 48 hours, or not responding to a bland diet in two to three days, needs a vet. Worry sooner — the same day — if there is black stool, significant blood, vomiting, lethargy, refusal of water, or if the dog is a puppy, a senior or a toy breed. A single loose stool in an otherwise bright dog is not a reason to worry at all.
Why does my dog have diarrhea with mucus and blood?
That combination — frequent, small, slimy stools with bright-red streaks and straining — is the large-intestine pattern, colitis. The commonest causes are stress (boarding, fireworks, a change at home), a dietary slip, or parasites such as whipworm and Giardia. It usually settles in two to three days on bland food and pumpkin. A little bright-red streaking in that picture is common; black stool, large amounts of blood, or a dog who is also vomiting or lethargic is different and urgent.
Can hemp or CBD help my dog's diarrhea?
Not during it — hemp oil is an oil and there is no canine trial for diarrhoea; the most commonly reported side effect of hemp in the dog studies is itself loose stool at higher amounts or on an empty stomach, so if your dog's diarrhoea began within days of starting a hemp product, stop and restart lower with food. The one place it may fit is the dog whose gut reacts to predictable stress — boarding, travel, fireworks — given before the trigger, alongside routine. Tell your vet before combining it with any GI medication.
The Short Version
Look at the stool: frequent, small and slimy is the colon and usually passes in two or three days; large, watery and losing weight is the small intestine and needs a test; black is an emergency. Bright adult dog, no red flags: a 12-hour food rest, then chicken and rice in small meals with a spoon of pumpkin and a dog probiotic, then a week back to normal. No Pepto, no Imodium. Not better in 48 hours, any blood, vomiting, a puppy, or a dog who will not drink — vet, with a stool sample.
Hemp has no role in diarrhoea, can cause it at the wrong amount, and fits only the dog whose gut reacts to stress — before the trigger, with food, with a vet in the loop.
Hemp for Dogs → Dog Upset Stomach
Upset Stomach · Can Dogs Eat Pumpkin · What Can Dogs Eat · Hemp Side Effects · Serving by Weight
Marc co-founded HempMy Pet in 2016 with his business partner Natalie Mondine, the company's COO. HempMy Pet breeds its own hemp genetics, grows them on its certified-organic Colorado farm, and formulates every batch in-house under human-grade standards — seed to sale, nothing sourced overseas. Every batch is third-party tested and the certificates of analysis are published. More about us.
HempMy Pet ran its own 90-day study of 37 dogs with chronic joint discomfort. Of the 32 that completed it, 30 (93%) showed a benefit, and 94% of owners reported their dog's quality of life had improved. It was overseen by Dr. Robin Downing, DVM, MS of the Downing Center for Animal Pain Management, with Lori Kogan, Ph.D. and Peter W. Hellyer, DVM of Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, and published in the Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association. Read the methodology.
Why Dr. Downing: in 2005 she became only the third veterinarian in the world credentialed as a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management. She founded the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, is a Diplomate of the ACVSMR, a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner and a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner, and was the AVMA's 2020 Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year. Chronic joint pain is her life's work. Read the published paper (PDF).
This article is general information for dog owners, not veterinary advice. It is reviewed and updated as new peer-reviewed evidence is published, and where the evidence is thin or negative we say so.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This article is general information, not veterinary advice. If your dog is unwell, contact your veterinarian.
