My terrier has bloody stool, won't eat. What tests can find the cause?

Blood testing on any 9 year old dog is a good idea. It will always tell you something even if everything is normal. This will at least give you a baseline to know what normal is for him if he ever does get truly sick. As for the blood in the stool (hematochezia) there are many things that can cause this issue. The presence of hematochezia may be a symptom of either a minor problem, or a potentially more serious problem. One occurrence of hematochezia may be a minor and transient event. Repeated or persistent hematochezia is more serious and should not be ignored. There are several possible causes. The most common cause in older pets is cancer and in younger pets are parasites. General causes include: * Infectious agents, such as bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and intestinal parasites * Dietary intolerance/allergy/indiscretion * Cancer (neoplasia) of the lower bowel * Polyps (benign masses) in the colon or rectum * Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as colitis *Trauma to the lower bowel or anal area *Clotting disorders (coagulopathy) Diagnostic testing that is often performed as a first round for this issue: * Digital rectal examination (vet using their finger) * Complete blood count (CBC) - (blood testing) * Biochemical profile - (blood testing) * Fecal examination If all that is normal then we usually proceed to: *Coagulation profile (blood testing) * Abdominal X-rays (radiographs) * Abdominal ultrasound * Colonoscopy So, as you can see this can be a pretty complex issue. I would recommend talking to your vet about this more in-depth and consider starting with the first round testing and then go from there based on the results. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Stomach ulcer, pancreatitis, Addison’s, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancers are all in my lists. If she hasn’t had a broad spectrum deworming then I would do that for sure even if fecal tests were negative. Also- if she has been on steroids she needs to wait weeks, Even months before the ACTH test for Addison’s can be run. It sounds like you and your veterinarian are on the right path to help find the cause. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

With a normal stool sample and blood panel, the next steps are experimenting with diet - specifically a hypoallergenic prescription diet (such as Royal Canin Ultamino, which is definitely the most expensive option, but also the one that seems to work best in diagnosing food allergies. It takes eating ONLY the prescription food for about a month to see if it helps, and then if it does help you can certainly experiment with less expensive foods. If you she would having signs of food allergy you'd need to do a full 3 months, but for intestinal issues, you should see a response in just a couple weeks) OR a high fiber/easily digestible diet (such as Hills Fiber Response EN). Some dogs need continual probiotics to keep normal stool. Treating any underlying anxiety (if present) can also help. Finally, a gut biopsy, which is much more invasive and costly can be done. Since she isn't yet spayed, I would consider doing a gut biopsy when/if she is spayed because that would be minimal additional expense or trauma for her while she's already have an abdominal surgery. I hope that helps! Wishing you the best with this difficult issue - It can take a long long time to get to the bottom of things

You can start with a CBC and chemistry panel. This will show any infection and check the red counts. IF there is a stomach ulcer, then sometimes an anemia will show. The chemistry panel will check liver, kidney and blood sugar and check the protein levels. Certain changes in these values can indication a GI problem or ulcers. From there, an ultrasound will be your best tool as this can look at the stomach and intestines to evaluate their thickness and check for any abnormalities to get you more answers.

I recommend that your contact your vet's office to schedule a follow-up appointment. Your dog may need further diagnostics to determine the cause of the vomiting and diarrhea. While blood work is an excellent and worthwhile diagnostic tool (and I commend you on having it done), it does have limitations. Blood tests are extremely useful for looking at the overall health of your pet. From the tests, a vet can learn if your pet's vomiting is caused by an underlying medical condtion like diabetes, kidney or liver disease, or an infection. Blood work can also reveal if your pet is dehydrated from the vomiting. Many of these problems may not be obvious on a simple physical exam, but if caught early can be successfully treated or controlled, giving your pet a longer and better quality of life. Sometimes blood work can lead to a definitive diagnosis, but oftentimes blood work results guide us as to what the next diagnostic steps should be (radiographs, ultrasound or more specific blood testing).

Blood in the stool, even if it seems to "go away" and come back later, is never normal. The fact that it's accompanied by diarrhea suggests colitis, or inflammation of the colon, as opposed to some type of bleeding mass in the rectum or colon. Colitis can have a number of causes, including dietary indiscretion (eating something rotten or non-food), parasites, food allergies/food sensitivities, inflammatory bowel disease, or infection. Leah may improve with a diet change, perhaps a more digestible diet specifically for gastrointestinal problems. To assume it's a "tummy issue" could be to ignore causes that are treatable, and at this point she's not only having diarrhea but she also lost her appetite. It's been three days and she's not improving, so I recommend having her seen by her vet for labwork to include parasite testing, blood work, and urinalysis for starters. If all is normal consider a bland diet (as recommended above), and a probiotic supplement. Ultimately, she may need to have biopsies taken to diagnose the exact cause.

I'm sorry to hear that Bruce has been so sick. Decreased appetite, vomiting and bloody stools going on for 2 weeks is quite concerning. If blood work did not give a definitive answer, it may be time to consider imaging such as x-rays or an ultrasound. Potential causes for these symptoms include infections, dietary intolerances or even some types of cancer. An ultrasound may be beneficial in evaluating the abdominal organs to give us a better idea of what's going on.