Every puppy must, eventually, be taught to depend upon something besides milk for his food. This process is called weaning and constitutes the changing of a pup's diet from liquid to solid. Most dog owners consider weaning to be that instant in time when one takes a pup from his mother. But the fact is that weaning actually takes place both before and after a pup is separated from his mother. During that time his digestive system is learning to digest the foods he will be eating for the rest of his life. Just like all learning experiences, the steps of weaning must be taken slowly or the pup's digestive system will rebel, and "hurry diarrhea" or dysentery will be the result.
An improperly weaned puppy often finds himself with nothing but strange food to eat, strange people pawing over it, and a strange environment surrounding it. As a result of this physical and psychological trauma, he will likely develop anorexia. As the puppy adjusts emotionally to his new environment, anorexia is followed by an enormous hunger. The hunger becomes so great that he will even eat the strange food that he has not learned to digest yet. If he is allowed to eat such a diet, the pup begins to suffer from alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation.
These constant bouts with diarrhea and constipation lead to poor food absorption and injury to the lining of the intestines. Finally, the degenerative changes progress through the entire wall of the intestines. The intestines become sluggish and may stop their movement altogether. Ultimately, there is a disappearance of the intestinal lining. The intestinal wall may become as thin as tissue paper. The pup then rapidly becomes emaciated and dehydrated. He will eventually die unless proper remedial actions are taken immediately.
The secret to preventing hurry diarrhea is a full understanding of what it is. The "hurry" is used because the dog owner tried to push the puppy too fast with a food his intestinal tract was not yet ready for. Food which might be perfectly suitable for an adult dog was fed too soon to a puppy that has just been weaned.
When you have gotten in too big a hurry and hurry diarrhea occurs, you need to back up and start all over again. Return to the bland, simply digested foods that should be fed to a pup just learning to eat solid food, and then train his intestine to handle each new food in succession. At the same time, you must contend with an irritated, perhaps diseased intestine, which complicates your efforts considerably. There is no fast cure for hurry diarrhea. What your puppy needs is a little slow and easy treatment as well as a patient owner.
