Observing blood in the stool of your dog may frighten you because blood is associated with things like cancer or serious gastrointestinal problems. However, unlike in humans, a dog pooping blood is often less dramatic. Nonetheless, when you notice this, you need to make sure that you call a veterinarian to examine it. Pet owners should always be observant of any usually behaviors, symptoms, and signs that may indicate an illness or problem with the animals. Blood in stool is known as melena or hematochezia depending on what causes the problem and its characteristic.
In case of hematochezia, blood appearing in stool is usually bright red which means that it is fresh and probably coming from the lower intestines— colon and rectum. The blood is mixed with the stool of dog. On the flip side, in melena, the blood makes the feces to appear tarry or black which suggests that it is coming from the upper intestinal tract parts. Many a times, though not always, the melena is considered more bothersome compared to occasional occurrence of hematochezia.
Causes of blood in dog’s poop
The cause of blood appearing in stool of a dog may be categorized into two. There are causes that will lead to melena and others will lead to hematochezia.
Hematochezia causes
In hematochezia, the blood in stool is fresh red in appearance and mixed with stool or appearing on the stool. The causes for this kind of stool appearance may be serious therefore; you should have the dog examined by a veterinarian. Some of the causes of hematochezia appearance of stool are parasites, dietary indiscretions, parvovirus, and hemorrhagic gastroenteritis.
A rectal injury and stress may also cause this kind of problem. A serious disease called parvovirus that affects puppies may cause the stool to have blood. Some breeds of dogs are prone to this disease such as the German Shephards, Rottweilers, and Dobermans. A puppy will experience lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea accompanied by blood in stool.
Parasites such as hookworms, roundworm, and whipworms tend to cause blood in stool. Therefore, if you see dog pooping blood, you may want to have it examined if it has worms. Worms can cause serious conditions in dogs especially when they increase in number such as cardiovascular related conditions. Dewormers may help eliminate the worms.
Another disease like coccidiosis may also be implicated with dog pooping blood. This is a disease that is caused by single cell pests called coccidian. Stress can cause blood in stool. Stress induced diarrhea may occur when the dog is under stress. Another cause is rectal injury that may arise due to the bones and sticks or sharp objects that the dog ingests.
The sharp objects can scrape the intestinal lining and the rectum when the feces are making their way out causing blood to appear in feces. The sharp objects may be seen in the stool protruding. In this case, the blood is fresh red and it stops with time when the scraped lining heals. Pet owners should avoid giving their dogs cooked bones.
Melena form of blood in dog’s poop
A dog pooping blood that is characterized as melena or black tarry blood, it may be caused by a number of things. In melena, it implies that blood is coming from the upper part of the dog’s gut. This is a digested blood that has passed through the stomach and intestine, therefore, it is mixed with the stool.
Some of the causes of melena type of blood in stool are such as ingestion of food, use of NSAIDs, blood thinning disorders, and cancer, tumors, and post operative complications. When dogs are administered with anti inflammatory drugs, they may develop ulcers. Bleeding ulcers will make the stool to appear black or tarry since the blood is digested together with food.
The color comes from the substances that digest food. Pepto Bismol can turn the stool of dog temporary black, and you can read on the bottle— it is indicated so. The moment you stop giving the dog that medicine, it should have a normal stool.
The food that your dog has eaten may also affect the color of stool. When the dog licks bloody worms, it may cause the color of stool to be tarry or black. An injury occurring in nose or mouth may also cause the color change when blood that comes from the injury is swallowed.
Treatment of dog pooping blood
When seeking for treatment for your dog, you should ensure it is examined by a veterinarian. Some causes of blood in stool may not be of concern especially when you have an idea what is causing it like food. However, if you cannot detect what could be causing the color change, you may want to ensure that a vet inspects the dog.
The treatment options include use of antibiotics, deworming, change in medication, change in diet, and cancer treatment. Most of the treatment will depend on what is causing the color change in stool.