Diarrhea in young puppies can be concerning — they’re so small, it’s easy for them to become dangerously dehydrated, quickly.

If your puppy has diarrhea, keep a close eye on him, and don’t hesitate to call your veterinarian for help, especially if it has lasted 24 hours. Your Morkie’s life could be at risk.

Main causes of upset

HealthyPets.Mercola.com lists the top 5 causes of diarrhea in puppies as:

1. Stress
2. Change in diet
3. Ingestion of a foreign object
4. Parasites
5. Viral infection

Like us, dogs can stress out and get digestion problems. The upset of moving to a new home, meeting new people and possibly other pets, and a new environment can all be a lot for your puppy to handle.

Keep your Morkie as quiet as possible, and watch for improvement within a day.

A change in diet, or eating something weird, can certainly bring on diarrhea in dogs, particularly small dogs and puppies. Even if you are switching your new puppy to better food, do it slowly. Mix 90% old food with 10% new food for a couple of days, then change to 80%/20% for another couple of days and so on.

Although you’ve puppy-proofed your place, there’s still a chance your Morkie could eat something that will make him sick. Don’t let him wander around your home on his own, and if you suspect he’s gobbled something bad, keep a very close eye on him. No improvement in 24 hours? Call the vet.

And before your Morkie gets sick, take note of several emergency hotlines for dog poisoning. Some charge a small flat fee per phone consultation; others do not. Be prepared, just in case.

Those nasty parasites

Don’t freak out – puppies have parasites naturally, from their mother’s milk. The most common parasites are hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms and whipworms.

Parasites can make your Morkie’s life — and yours — miserable.

The pot belly on this puppy is a sure sign of a major worm infestation.

These worms have debilitating effects on growing puppies. Plus, people can pick up hookworm, roundworm and tapeworm from pets, so address the problem right away.

I highly recommend that you do NOT buy an over-the-counter deworming concoction and do the worming yourself. Deworming involves some harsh treatment.

Let your vet handle it, especially for a such teeny tiny puppies like  Morkies. Your vet will probably treat for worms 4 times in the first year:

• at 2 to 3 weeks
• 2 to 3 weeks later
• at 4 months
• at 8 months

Viruses can cause diarrhea

The 5th cause of diarrhea can be a virus, from a variety of sources. Parvovirus or parvo, is the most dangerous – it’s usually seen in puppies, and is a killer. Symptoms include:

• Bloody diarrhea (often severe)
• Fever
• Lethargy (lack of energy)
• Loss of appetite
• General discomfort
• Rapid weight loss
• Vomiting

In treating parvo, time is of the essence. Do not delay getting your Morkie to your Vet or to an emergency clinic. Just an hour or two can make the difference between life and death.

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