A dog may not look sick until it is quite sick. Watch appetite, energy, stool, cough, breathing, and skin every day. The home care below is only for a mild case in an otherwise alert adult while you wait for a veterinary appointment. It is not a substitute for that appointment. Puppies, seniors, and dogs that are already ill should be checked sooner.

Go to a veterinarian the same day, or to an emergency clinic, if you see blood in vomit or stool, black or tarry stool, repeated vomiting, collapse, a swollen or painful belly, unproductive retching, trouble breathing, seizures, pale or bluish gums, or known ingestion of poison, antifreeze, rat bait, chocolate, grapes, raisins, or xylitol. Dehydration in a puppy is an emergency. Suspected parvo is an emergency.

Diarrhea

Stress, a diet change, garbage, parasites, and viruses can all cause it. Mild diarrhea is loose stool in a dog that is still eating, drinking, and acting normally. While you wait, offer fresh water at all times. For an adult that is not vomiting, a short bland diet is reasonable: boiled skinless chicken and white rice, about one part chicken to two parts rice, no seasoning, in small meals. Plain canned pumpkin, not pie filling, is sometimes used in small amounts. Stay on that diet no more than a few days, then transition back to kibble. Take the dog out often.

Call sooner if it lasts more than 48 hours, the dog stops eating, or vomiting starts. Do not fast a puppy, a senior, or a dog with another illness unless your veterinarian tells you to. Cottage cheese and fatty foods can make diarrhea worse. Check hydration by lifting the skin over the shoulder blades. If it snaps back, the dog is not dehydrated. If it sinks slowly, or the gums are dry and tacky, call a veterinarian. Dehydration can kill a puppy.

Vomiting

One or two episodes in an adult that is otherwise bright can be watched briefly. Pull food for a few hours, leave water available in small amounts, and restart with the bland diet only if vomiting has stopped. Call if the dog vomits more than two or three times in an hour, cannot keep water down, is lethargic, or has vomit that looks like coffee grounds. Unproductive retching with a swollen belly is an emergency, especially in a deep-chested dog. That can be bloat.

Fleas

Dogs are treated while they are at Shaw PBR. Flea-and-tick preventive, and heartworm preventive, have to continue every month after adoption. A break in that schedule is how fleas return. Signs are scratching, hair loss, and fleas or black specks of flea dirt — digested blood — on the groin, belly, tail base, neck, and under the chin. Comb over a bowl of soapy water and drop fleas into it. Wash bedding in hot water and vacuum floors and furniture daily for several days, emptying the vacuum outside. A monthly veterinary preventive is the treatment. Do not use dog products on cats, and do not combine products unless your veterinarian says they are compatible.

Tapeworms

Segments look like grains of white rice in the stool or around the anus. The dog may scoot. The common dog tapeworm comes from swallowing a flea. Shaw PBR dogs have been treated for tapeworms. A new infection still needs a dewormer that contains praziquantel, from your veterinarian, plus flea control. Cleaning the house does not clear the worm by itself.

Kennel cough

This is a contagious airway infection, common where dogs are housed together. Shaw PBR dogs receive a bordetella vaccination. Vaccination lowers risk. It does not make infection impossible. The typical sign is a dry, hacking cough, sometimes with a clear nasal discharge or a clear liquid coughed up. The dog is often still bright and eating. Incubation is about 5 to 10 days. Mild cases often run 1 to 3 weeks.

While you wait, rest, fresh water, and a normal diet are the first steps. Use a harness instead of a collar so the leash does not press the throat. Keep walks short. Skip baths. Steam from a shower can loosen mucus. Isolate the dog from other dogs while it is coughing and for about two weeks after the cough stops. It spreads by droplets and by shared bowls and toys. Call if there is no improvement in a few days, or if you see fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, a yellow or green nasal discharge, or labored breathing. Those can mean a secondary infection or pneumonia. Puppies and seniors should be checked at the start, not after a week at home.

Ringworm

Ringworm is a fungus, not a worm. It spreads by contact with an infected animal, with contaminated bedding, or with spores in the environment, and it can infect people. Children, older adults, and anyone with a weak immune system are at higher risk. Wash your hands after handling a dog with skin lesions, and do not share bedding. In dogs it often shows as roughly circular patches of hair loss, with a red or crusty edge, scaling, or broken hair. The face, ears, feet, and tail are common sites. Some dogs itch. Some carry it with very little to see. It can look like other skin problems, so a veterinarian should confirm it. A Wood’s lamp only catches some strains.

This is not a case to treat only at home. While you wait for the appointment, keep the dog separate from other pets and from children, wash bedding in hot water, and vacuum. Do not use human antifungal cream as the whole treatment. Cure usually takes oral antifungal medication plus a topical rinse, and environmental cleaning, often for several weeks. The dog can stay contagious for about three weeks even with proper treatment, and longer if treatment is incomplete.

Parvovirus

Parvo is a highly contagious viral infection, hardest on puppies and on dogs that are not fully vaccinated. Shaw PBR dogs receive a DHLPP vaccination, which includes parvovirus. Depending on age, further doses may have been given every four weeks. Vaccination is the prevention. It is not a guarantee in a puppy that has not finished the series.

Early signs are lethargy and loss of appetite, then vomiting. Diarrhea follows quickly and is often bloody, foul-smelling, and full of mucus. The belly may be painful. Fever or a low body temperature, drooling, and dehydration are common. Dogs shed the virus in feces before they look sick and for about two weeks after they recover. The virus survives for months in the environment and resists most household cleaners.

There is no useful home treatment. If you suspect parvo, call a veterinarian or an emergency clinic immediately and do not wait for an opening. Persistent vomiting and diarrhea dehydrate a puppy fast, and severe cases need hospitalization for fluids and supportive care. Keep the dog isolated from other dogs. Clean hard surfaces by removing all feces first, then applying a fresh bleach solution of about 1 part bleach to 30 parts water and leaving it wet for at least 10 minutes. Alcohol and most ordinary disinfectants do not kill parvo. Soil and porous fabrics cannot be reliably disinfected. Unvaccinated dogs should stay out of dog parks and other high-traffic dog areas.

Heat stress

Heavy panting, drooling, weakness, vomiting, or collapse in hot weather is an emergency. Move the dog to shade, offer small amounts of cool water, and wet the body with cool — not ice-cold — water while you travel to a clinic. Never leave a dog in a car on a warm day.

See also General Veterinary Care and Vaccinations & Worming.