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One of the least glamorous parts of fostering is dealing with dog poop. It’s super common for dogs coming right out of the shelter to have less than ideal digestion with the combination of stress, food changes, and germs and worms they may have picked up in the shelter.

General Instructions:

  1. Please prioritize getting a fecal test done (see where/how in medical section of Getting Ready).

  2. Start slow and feed them just their food and water without extra treats and toppers unless instructed otherwise.

  3. Keep an eye out for worms, blood, or other worrisome content in their poop.

  4. Update your foster team — we are not shy about poop pics. If you have a question, please ask!

Adding rice

If the dog has soft stools, replace 1/2 the volume of their food with cooked white rice. Slowly shift the ratio back to all dog food as their stool improves. Make sure they are drinking water.

For example, if the dog eats 2 cups of food for breakfast, replace 1 cup food with 1 cup of cooked white rice and mix in with 1 cup of food.

Bland diet

If the dog has diarrhea, feed them boiled chicken and rice (no seasoning). Feed the same volume as you would dog food. You may also include some liquid broth to ensure they are hydrated. As they improve, begin slowly replacing some chicken/rice mixture with dog food.

For example, if the dog eats 2 cups of food for breakfast, measure 2 cups of a cooked rice and boiled chicken mix.

Supplements

Please keep your foster team posted on how your dog is doing. We may recommend the following supplements to aid in their recovery. Please do not feed your foster dog supplements without consulting with your foster team.

  • Fortiflora (probiotics)

  • Fortiflora SA (stronger formulation of probiotics)

  • Psyllium husk (same fiber as for people, just make sure this is the only ingredient)

  • Slippery Elm (same fiber as for people, just make sure this is the only ingredient)