What illness caused my dog's tarry stool, anemia, and death?

Black tar-like diarrhea is a sign of digessted blood and a serious condition that needs to be checked out by a veterinarian. This could be caused by ulcers, a tumor an injury to the upper airways with blood being swallowed, or an esphageal bleeding. Your dog needs to be seen by a veterinarian now, who will do blood tests, radiographs. Your dog may have to be hospitalised.

Hi there and thanks for posting! Oh dear, this doesn't sound good. If Brownie is having dark or black stools, this can be an indication of an upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Jaundice is caused by liver disease and dark yellow urine signals she may be dehydrated. It sounds like there is a lot going on with Brownie. Portal hypertension (pressure that build up from the veins connecting the liver and gastrointestinal tract) can cause decreased blood flow into the liver (often due to injury or damage to the liver) and blood to back up in veins going to the stomach and the rest of the gastrointestinal tract. This can cause the veins to enlarge and swell and rupture which can cause bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract. It may be Brownie's liver dysfunction is the primary cause of the melena (digested blood in stool making it look black). IV fluids and liver protectants (like SAMe) may help. I would recommend an ultrasound and biopsy of the liver). I am sorry to hear Brownie is having so many issues. I hope this gets better soon!

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.

I would recommend taking Larbie to the vet ASAP. These symptoms don't fit with one disease process. I would be concerned about dehydration and inappropriate nutrition in a puppy showing signs of constipation. Tarry stools indicate blood in the GI tract, which could be a sign of Parvo viral infection or intestinal parasites. Weakness and paleness could be related to anemia, external parasites, internal parasites, infection, etc.

Poor Kuky. Given her anemia, I am very worried she may be suffering from a parasitic blood infection or gastrointestinal infection. Please work alongside your vet to ensure she is treated with the proper medications. Try to keep her as comfortable as possible and ensure she is eating and drinking.

Yes, black tarry stools are a red flag for internal bleeding, either from upper gi tract or swallowed from.upper respiratory or dental trauma. A full vet check is recommended, this would be urgent if any weakness, breathing difficulty or vomiting is observed

I'm concerned about this stool. Dark tarry stool like this can be a sign of stomach or intestinal bleeding. The bleeding could be from medication, parasites, a gastric ulcer or cancer. I'm glad Truman is feeling better but I recommend a veterinary exam soon. They will run a blood panel to check for anemia, perhaps check for intestinal parasites, and perhaps due some X-rays. It's important to find the cause of this so this doesn't become a more serious medical problem. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Truman.