My dog has diarrhea with blood. What could cause it and is it serious?

Poor dog. Bloody loose stool is called hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) and is commonly caused by stress on the GI tract, although other possibilities are still possible. Which is why it is always recommended to get your pet checked by your veterinarian for a full exam, to make sure they are stable. And then the pet is typically prescribed an antibiotic (i.e. Metronidazole) and a probiotic to help the pet recover from this episode. Care has to be taken in the future to avoid stressful events, and also to limit food changes that can upset the GI (gastrointestinal) tract again, causing another bout of HGE. Here is more information on this condition. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2946

Hello, sorry to hear about Pookie. It sounds like he is having some hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE). Occasionally this is self limiting and can be resolved with a bland diet for 3-5 days (plain white rice, skinless and boneless boiled chicken). However often, pets require medications and supportive care for the associated dehydration, vomiting, and diarrhea (with or without blood) that comes with this disease. If Pookie is not improving within a day, or if his diarrhea is worsening despite the bland diet, if he develops innapetence or vomiting, then he should be evaluated by his veterinarian promptly. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Poor Honey! I'm concerned about the amount of blood in that stool. It is very common to see small specks or streaks of blood in diarrhea - but it is more concerning in cases like this where the dog appears to be passing more blood than stool. This can be a sign of HGE or Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis, which can be a dangerous condition and warrants an immediate trip to the vet. Your vet will probably want to look at a fecal sample to check for intestinal parasites, and will likely recommend bloodwork (particularly a CBC) to look for evidence of anemia or the changes characteristic of HGE. Depending on Honey's overall attitude, exam findings, and labwork findings, they may be able to manage her as an outpatient with medication to control the diarrhea (and likely fluids to help with dehydration), or they may recommend she be hospitalized for IV fluids and injectable medications. Regardless, I definitely recommend having her seen sooner than later. Hopefully this is just a worse-than-usual diarrhea, but it's worth playing it safe if it might be HGE. HOpe this helps and she feels better soon!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. There is definitely blood in the stools. The most common cause of this is gastrointestinal infection but it also may be due to scavenging, intoxication, bleeding ulcer, low platelet count and more. Please, take Jersey to your local vets for a check. He definitely will need a few days of antibiotics but prior to this, your vet will possibly recommend a blood test or ultrasound scan to make sure there is nothing more serious going on.

Poor guy. No this isn't normal for a diabetic dog to all of a sudden have signs of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (bloody stool). HGE is typically caused by stress to the pet, or sometimes a bloody disorder. Toby needs to see a vet right away for antibiotics, probiotics, and also an full examination to make sure no blood disorder is the cause of this. Until you can get him in to be seen, you should only feed him a bland diet of either boiled plain chicken and rice or cottage cheese OR Purina EN Gastrointestinal, to help combat his highly sensitive and compromised GI (gastrointestinal-stomach and intestines) tract. Here is a website link that has some useful information on this condition http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2946

You’re doing the right thing for the diarrhea. As far as the blood goes, he probably just has irritation around his anus or in the intestinal tract from the diarrhea. That is not uncommon in dogs and if it’s only a small amount once in a while it’s nothing to be overly concerned about. If it continues, or he develops bloody diarrhea then please take him in for an exam and treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Milo.

If he is acting normal then you can withhold food for 12 hours and then offer him a small amount of a bland diet, like boiled chicken and white rice, and see how he does with that. You could also add a probiotic to his food. If the diarrhea continues, he starts vomiting, and/or becomes lethargic then he needs to be examined by a vet for treatment. He could have an infection, parasite, colitis, HGE, etc. and your vet can run lab-work to help diagnose and treat. Hope he feels better soon!