Blood in your dog’s poo can be alarming and can be caused by a wide range of different things. Common reasons include food allergies, constipation, eating something unsuitable, bacterial or viral infection, colitis, or injury. It is possible that a dog’s bloody stools could also be a sign of something life-threatening such as cancer, toxicity like eating rat poison, blockages, parvovirus or hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, so you should always speak to a vet to rule out these serious conditions.
If your dog is pooing blood you should always contact a vet to rule out anything serious and ensure they receive necessary treatment. While in some cases blood in your dog’s stool can indicate something serious, there are also many milder causes which can be treated. Be prepared to describe your dog’s poo and any details leading up to the bloody poo that could help diagnose the problem. If you can collect a sample of your dog’s poo to show the vet, even better.
The blood in your dog’s poo can look bright red – and fresh – which is usually due to bleeding in the lower digestive tract or dark/black and tar-like indicating digested blood coming from the upper digestive tract. You might also notice drops of blood dripping from your dog’s anus as they pass faeces. The appearance of your dog’s bloody poo can help indicate what is causing it, so be sure to tell the vet what it looks like to help them make a diagnosis.
A dog vomiting and passing blood can be a sign of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis or HGE — a potentially life-threatening condition which occurs when large amounts of fluid seeps into the gut and your dog can dehydrate very quickly. While they could indicate another issue, you should contact a vet right away if your dog is displaying these symptoms as if your dog does have HGE, they will need urgent treatment.
Your vet will advise on the best course of treatment depending on what is causing the blood in your dog’s poop. Possible treatments include eliminating or changing something in their diet, anti-parasite treatment, other medication, fluids to treat dehydration and performing surgery, among many other options. Your vet will have a better idea once they have examined your dog and diagnosed what’s causing them to pass blood in their stool.
If you think the blood in your dog’s poop has been caused by eating something be sure to let the vet know as this could help them diagnose and treat the problem.
Stress is a common cause of colitis in dogs which can cause blood in your dog’s poo. Stress colitis can be triggered by things like environmental changes like moving house or boarding, and anxiety-inducing situations like thunderstorms or fireworks among other things. Symptoms tend to resolve within a few days but you should still speak to a vet to be sure that stress colitis is what you are dealing with.
You should never resort to home remedies for your dog’s bloody poo without consulting a vet first. Even if your dog has bloody diarrhoea but is acting normal, it is still possible that they might need urgent treatment. While it might end up being nothing to worry about, it’s always best not take risks.
