My puppy is on medication. What blood and stool tests are needed?

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.

There are many possible causes for Gracie's recurrent symptoms, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Addison's disease, and cancer. You mention she was tested for parasites and worms, but has your vet run any blood work? Has Gracie had any X-rays or an abdominal ultrasound (sonogram of the belly)? It sounds like some testing is going to be needed to get an answer here. General blood work typically consists of 2 parts: #1)Complete blood cell count (CBC)- red cell count, white cell count, platelets #2)Chemistry panel liver/kidney values, electrolytes, proteins This information can clue your vet into what underlying issues may be going on and how severely her health is being affected. An abdominal ultrasound is a very helpful too as well-- it allows a measure of the thickness of the intestine (a process such as inflammatory bowel disease may cause thickening of the intestine), it allows us to assess the pancreas (pancreatitis-inflamation of the pancreas- will cause intermittent GI signs), we can see the liver and gallbladder, as well as just see overall if anything in the belly appears abnormal. Addison's disease (where the body does not make enough of its own cortisol) can be tested for with a blood test called an ACTH stim test. There is also a less expensive screening test called a "baseline cortisol." If the cortisol is high, then the dog DOES NOT have Addison's disease; that has been ruled out. If the cortisol is normal or low, an ACTH stim test is needed for a definitive diagnosis. Talk to your vet about possible tests fro Gracie to get to a diagnosis. I hope that helps you. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

This is usually dietary related and if no other signs are present at this stage, the problem could be managed by start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice diarrhoea, vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. If that is the case antibiotics may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Hello. Thank you for using PetCoach. Sorry Aaron is having this issue. Your English was fine - no worries! I suspect the cause is worms. That is the number one reason for a puppy to have blood in the stool. It would be more helpful if we knew exactly where you were located so we could better help you. Those medications are not ones we use in the United States so I am guessing you don't live here. From what I can gather, at least one of those drugs he received is a dewormer but not all dewormers treat every type of possible parasite. My guess is that he may have whipworms and whipworms need a longer course of dewormer and not just one shot or pill. So, I suggest you speak to your vet about the possibility of whipworm infection and see if they can give you a longer treatment. That is all I can really tell you over the internet. Here is a link to an article about blood in the stool of dogs that may answer more of your questions. https://www.petplace.com/article/dogs/pet-health/blood-in-dogs-stool-hematochezia/ Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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

I wish I knew what medication your dog received. you will have to take Oscar back to a veterinarian for a recheck as when there is blood in the stool, there are obviously open blood vessels and intestinal bacteria can enter the circulatory system and cause sepsis. Of course there is always the possibility of severe intestinal parasitosis, or a parvo infection. So it is important that Oscar is seen by a veterinarian for a recheck and a fecal exam as well, medications according to the exam findings and diagnosis, and prescription antibiotics.

It is likely still an intestinal parasite problem. I would have her stool retested to ensure she doesn't still have parasites. It is not uncommon for pets to require several rounds of medication to rid them of parasites, especially if they had a large load to begin with. Another possibility is that Princess's GI flora is unbalanced. A round of probiotics is recommended if her stool is normal. https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets/dp/49853 I hope that Princess's stool resolves soon! Best wishes and take care.