Is my old Shih Tzu's bloody diarrhea and weight loss kidney failure?

Based on what you seeing, having a fecal sample brought in to your veterinarian for analysis would be a great plan. He or she will be able to tell you if there are any intestinal parasites present. This is one of the most common reasons for blood in the stool, and weight loss despite a normal appetite. If you can not get to the veterinarian, treatment with a dewormer and/or drug to kill coccidia might be warranted. These can be obtained at most pet stores or tractor supply.

If the weight loss is more than 10% of the her body weight, this could be abnormal and should ideally checked. Gastrointestinal abnormal absorption of nutrients may be present and should be investigated. Usually chronic gastrointestinal inflammations/infections are responsible for it. I would start with a blood test and some imaging procedures of the abdomen (an ultrasound).

Sometimes a kidney biopsy or ultrasound might show changes to the kidneys that are consistent with a problem present since birth, but other times it’s impossible to know what initially triggered chronic kidney disease. I’m concerned about the bloody stool and collapse - it sounds like Angel is in serious condition. I’d recommend taking her to a veterinarian if you’re able. Dehydration can be more serious for dogs with kidney disease and at the very least your vet your vet may want to give her some fluids.

It looks like you shared urinalysis results. Was bloodwork run as well? If this is a urine test there appears to be a large amount of bilirubin in the urine which is very abnormal. If bloodwork has not been done it needs to be right away. There are several causes for the abnormalities on your kids urinalysis and for weight loss. Bloodwork helps rule in/out many problems. The next step will then likely be some imaging (xrays, ultrasound). Your kid is young, it is important to run more tests to get to the bottom of the weight loss/poor appetite. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I would definitely recommend some blood work, if this hasn't been done recently. Older dogs are prone to a number of health issues that can cause decreased appetite along with being less active - chronic kidney disease and hypothyroidism are two possibilities that are both very common. In many cases, these issues are treatable (at least to some extent) once a diagnosis is made, so it's well worth checking for them if you can - hopefully, there are some things you can do to make him feel better for as long as possible, even though he's getting older.

Diarrhea can be due to bacterial overgrowth in the colon, liver or pancreatic disease, or parasites that are not covered by a typical dewormer. If you are seeing blood you should definitely make an appointment to see a vet. They may want to check a stool sample or even check some blood work.

Oh no! Pinto sounds quite sick! Unfortunately I do agree that blood work as well as a urinalysis is in order. He may also need x-rays of his chest to see what his lungs look like if he has that bad of a cough. The blood in his urine could be due to a urinary tract infection, so checking his urine is a really good idea. He also may need a fecal check to see if he has intestinal parasites causing the diarrhea. While tests, like blood work, do not make the animal feel better, they can tell us a lot as to what is going on internally and how to best treat the animal. Certainly you can do supportive care for the diarrhea, (bland diet, etc) but I would be very concerned as to how sick your dog is that he needs more aggressive treatments, especially for the cough and blood in the urine. I would talk with your vet about supportive care such as broad spectrum antibiotics and fluids if you elect to not do the blood work. This may help Pinto to start feeling better. Bare in mind that if you skip doing the tests now and elect to treat supportively, he still may need further testing down the road, especially if he is not improving. I hope this helps. Good luck!