My dog has fresh blood in his stool but seems fine. Is it serious?

If he’s otherwise normal you should be fine watching him tonight. He could have a ruptured anal abscess, or be passing a bone. He could also have a mass inside the rectum. Severe bloody diarrhea in a dog that is lethargic and not eating is a medical emergency but this sounds like he’s stable so bring him to your regular veterinarian in the morning so they can diagnose and treat his problem. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Watson.

Hello. That is definitely a little blood in the stool, but not enough to be overly concerned with. The first step is to have the stool examined by your veterinarian to see if he picked up some parasites, like hookworms or whipworms. If all is clear, your vet may decide to put Milo on an antibiotic, like metronidazole for a few days, but as long as he is feeling fine, & his stool remains fairly normal, this is not an emergency. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, thank you for you question about Lou. Since Lou is otherwise acting normal and his stool is fairly normal in consistency I would not be extremely worried about a small amount of blood. There are small blood vessels in the colon wall that can rupture and lead to blood in the feces. If a pet strains a large amount to defecate or they are experiencing inflammation in their colon wall this can lead to exposure/rupture of these blood vessels. If Lou is on any medications post-operatively or is working harder to defecate due to his recovery process that could be the reason for the blood. If the amount of blood progresses, he develops diarrhea, or becomes lethargic/inappetant I would recommend having him evaluated by your veterinarian. Hope this helps, good luck!

I'm sorry that Azazel isn't feeling well! Bloody stools in a young dog can be caused by IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, or much less commonly a growth or trauma. Eating a large amount of his normal food would not, by itself, cause bloody stools. If his stool looks like raspberry jam, I would recommend taking him to the vet or an emergency clinic right away. If there are just streaks of blood on the outside of his bowel movements, and he's actually totally normal (eating, drinking, good energy, has pink gums) it's not an emergency just yet. In that case, I would recommend feeding him a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice and giving him a day to see if it resolves. If after a second day (so 48 hours total) he's still have blood stool or is having diarrhea, it would be wise to have him checked out at your regular vet. Bring a fresh stool sample to any vet you end up seeing so they can check him for intestinal parasites. Wishing you and Azazel the best of luck! Let me know if this was helpful and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

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.

Based on the picture, it looks as though Hamilton has a bit of dark red blood in his stool. The fact that the blood is red tells me that it's coming from the colon since blood from the stomach or small intestines is black from being at least partially digested. Bordetella vaccines won't cause any bloody stools, but stress or anxiety (possibly from his vet visit?) can cause a bit of stress colitis. Likewise, blood in the stool can occur with intestinal parasites, viruses, or some blood clotting conditions. Since Hamilton otherwise seems completely normal, I would start by asking your vet to send a stool sample to the lab to check for intestinal parasites, including various microscopic worm eggs, Giardia, and coccidia. In the meantime, also keep a close eye on his stool to see if this is an ongoing issue. If this was a one time occurrence, I wouldn't be concerned at all. However, if this is an ongoing issue, it's worth taking him back to the vet for further investigation and testing. I hope that everything goes well!

Oh no, poor Ghost. He may have had blood on his poop because he was having trouble pooping and that lead to damage to the GI tract. Keep an eye on him for now, and feed him canned food with water added to it. If you see blood again on his poop or he keeps having trouble pooping, take him into the vet.