Why does my dog get recurring diarrhea with mucus, blood, no appetite?

Poor Dave! Chronic GI issues like this can be very frustrating. In many cases, some diagnostic testing may be needed to help determine what the problem is so that he can be treated effectively. I'm not sure what kind of work-up may have already been done in Dave's case, but some tests that may be helpful to diagnose the cause of his intermittent diarrhea issues would include a GI blood panel to check for problems like chronic pancreatitis, EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency), or inflammatory bowel disease. A fecal diarrhea panel could also help, as this screens for a number of different parasites and are difficult to diagnose on a regular fecal exam at your vet's office. General blood work, x-rays +/- ultrasound, and even exploratory surgery for biopsies of the intestinal tract could also be considered. I would suggest talking with your veterinarian about what he/she recommends as the next step for Dave at this point, since he doesn't seem to be responding well to his current treatment plan. If your vet doesn't have any suggestions, you could also request referral to an internal medicine specialist for further work-up.

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

There are many different causes for chronic diarrhea in older dogs, none of which are usually great news. The best and shortest list I can provide you is the following: lymphoma of the GI tract, inflammatory bowel disease, lymphangiectasia, liver disease, gastrointestinal parasites, and/or nutritional deficiencies like lack of vitamin B12. Since you have mostly ruled out GI parasites, I would recommend beginning to investigate the possibilities of some of the others I have listed. In order to do this, you will need to obtain some blood work with your vet (baseline plus the B12 test), then work out whether or not he/she can do ultrasound / endoscopy to rule in / out the other conditions I have listed. Hope this makes sense. Best of luck.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Remi. In the bloodwork that was run, did it include GI specific testing such as cobalamin, folate, PLI and TLI levels. These are values that will give information such as the location of GI disease (small intestine vs pancreas) and treatment options. I typically do this planel in conjunction with an abdominal ultrasound. This information with the ultrasound can give insight into conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, food sensitivities or as you mentioned cancer. The anti-inflammatory properties of the antibiotic she was on could help even with a tumor in GI tract, but there are so many other causes of diarrhea that would respond as well. I think it is worth pursuing further bloodwork and the ultrasound. If you can get a diagnosis, then a treatment plan can be developed. I hope this information helps!

This is a horrible situation for you and Joe. Many diseases can cause diarrhoea both in the gut and outside of it from othervorgans such as the liver. It is promising that the ultrasound was unremarkable but some subtle changes may not be noted. I would suggest asking your vet to perform a full blood profile including folate and cobalamun, bile acids and endocrine profile. If nothing shows up on these bloods the next step would be endoscopy and biopsies of the gut. For example he could have an inflammatory bowel disease that will only respond to steroids, or it could be a vit B12 deficiency, so It is important to get to the bottom of this.

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.

Recurrent diarrhea can be related to a number of different diseases. Some possibilities include intestinal parasites, a food sensitivity, a liver shunt, or inflammatory bowel disease. I would recommend discussing further testing with your veterinarian since Guga seems to respond to symptomatic treatment but the signs return with time. They may recommend some additional testing , or may recommend a food trial with a hypoallergenic food or a long deworming protocol. You may also want to ask about referral to an internal medicine specialist if available in your area - they are experts at managing these types of cases. Good luck!