What all can cause puppies to have diarrhea before they die?

My mother in law raises dogs, jack russells, and two from a six week old litter has died but they had an awful yellow and green stinky diarrhea, and the others wont eat puppy food and the mother is trying to stop them from feeding off her. What could it be? I dont think its parvo.

Very well could be parvo.

Sounds like Giardia, your mother needs to take in stool samples and have them tested!! Giardia can kill a dog just like Parvo can if not treated!! But it does sound like Giardia.as far as feeding your puppies, I am assuming these puppies are 6 weeks? you can feed the puppies watered down puppy food. you can even add some milk replacer in there for more flavor.. you stick their noses in it so they have to lick it off and they will go for it.. just don't have momma there because she will eat the food herself if she is allowed. your puppies should have started being weaned at about 4 weeks and still allowing them to nurse from mom til mom was done with it..

Maybe dehydration? Uncontrolled diarrhea causes dehydration.

If you want the puppies to live they need to go to a vet and get checked out for parvo and other infections and parasites that dogs can get. If the mom is trying to wean them and they aren't going to dog food there is a big problem the puppies will starve to death if they don't eat.

It sounds like Parvo I would get the puppies to the vet A.S.A.P & have them checked out

It could be many things and the only real way to find out is to take them to the vet.It could be parvo. There is also an illness called dog show crud that is very similar to parvo. It does not just affect show dogs, not does it only come from dog shows. It is highly contagious and can kill young puppies within hours of the first symptom. Symptoms include lathargy, loss of appetite but may still drink water, diarrhea that "smells like a slaughterhouse on a hot day with a floral hint to it" If tested at the vets, it can show up as a low positive for parvo, but if treated like parvo the puppies will die for sure. Google "dog show crud" and read more into it and see if the symptoms fit. If so, call your vet immediately and make sure you print out an info sheet about the illness as most vets will just treat for parvo because of the test results. Time is a major issue with puppies of that age.

Giardia does sound like a probable cause of this. It is contracted thru contaminated water. My chi had it when I adopted him (we didnt know) but he ate and ate and ate. His feces were smelly but also contained a trace of blood which is a sign. Giardia is a parasite that attacks the intestines. If there is no blood in the feces it might not be that advanced. I would take a stool sample to the vet to have him test it.