What causes chronic diarrhea with blood and mucus in senior dogs?

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.

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.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Harrison. Your veterinarian ruling out parasites and instituting a diet change were great first steps. This will give an answer or resolve the diarrhea in 75% of cases. Unfortunately, it seems that Harrison is still suffering from intermittent diarrhea. I would recommend bloodwork next. Low cholesterol and/or low albumin levels can indicate serious GI disease. In this case, I typically perform an abdominal ultrasound (by a board certified radiologist) and run blood to check pancreatic function as well as cobalamin and folate levels (vitamins used in digestion). This will guide my treatment protocol as far as diet (I may consider a hydrolyzed diet which can have anti-inflammatory properties), medications (chronic antibiotics, steroids or other immunosuppressive drugs) and supplements (probiotics, vitamin B12, etc). There are lots of options to resolve his diarrhea, but will take a further work up since he has not fully responded to the common causes and treatment. I hope this information helps and I am available for a consultation if you want to discuss Harrison further. Good luck!

Honey's diarrhea could be due to food intolerance/sensitivity, chronic parasites like Giardia, IBD or even something in her small intestine like a pancreas issue. Most of these potential causes requires some type of lab test to diagnose so I recommend she be examined by her veterinarian. Sometimes a diet change is needed, other times medication.

I would recommend that you talk to your vet about an abdominal ultrasound. Also, if your vet has not performed a rectal exam, that would also be a good thing to ask about. Since he is 11, my biggest concern would be a potential tumor. It could also be that he has inflammatory bowel disease. You could also use a probiotic for him which may be beneficial. Talk to your vet about a fiber supplement such as Metamucil as well, which could also be helpful. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Blood in faeces can be due to many disorders. It can be due to inflammation due to eating something off, ranging all the way to more serious issues such as tumours of the gut. Due to the many possibilities it is imperative to have the dog examined by a vet. This is the quickest and most reliable way to get to the bottom of what is going on. Hopefully it will be something fairly straightforward.

Thanks for your question. Yes, dogs can get colitis or ulcerative colitis. Chrohns Disease is a human term, so we do not use that in dogs. These problems can cause profuse chronic diarrhea that may contain blood. Cancer and IBD are hard to differentiate without more advanced diagnostics like a biopsy. Dogs can get colitis from infectious causes - giardia, worms, viruses, or food intolerance. Some dogs with chronic diarrhea do better in higher fiber foods. There are causes of diarrhea that can be easily treated, and some that are more difficult to treat. I hope that answers your question.