Blood in her stool...

So I've been having an ongoing problem with Gabbi's poos becoming too loose as the day progresses.

I have been told that this is a common problem with JWB and will be switching foods in due course.

As a potential workaround I started feeding a small amount of rice with her kibble which initially seemed to work, then, alas, the effect seemed to wear off.... all I ended up with was loose stool with bits of rice in it (yuck).

I have now started giving her one cooked egg (scrambled) in the middle of the day and hurrah we have had FIVE solid poos in a row - 3 yesterday & 2 today.

However... her last poo about an hour ago, as well as being solid, had blood in it - I've bagged it up and will be taking it to the vets on Monday.

Really, I'm hoping someone may be able to re-assure me - I'm sure it can't be a major problem as her stool was solid - could it simply be that she has burst some blood vessels straining to get it out, particularly as up until now she has not really had many "solid" poos to pass (I've had her 7 weeks)?!

Does this worry never end!

Don't think you will have any problems and the Vet will be oh so greatful for a bag of poo , but better to be safe than sorry , I think your own diagnosis may not be too short of the mark but hopefully someone else will be around soon to give you a little forum reassurance with more knowledge than me ><

Thanks Dave - I'm sure she's not ill - full of energy, lovely shiny coat... if it wasn't for these flamin' poos I'd have nothing to worry about.

Could she have eaten something to make it uncomfortable to pass thus making her bleed ? Such as a stone ?

Keep an eye on future poos it may be something of nothing x

Not sure about the blood, I think I am inclined to go with your diagnosis, but no you can never be too carefull.

Shame the rice didn't work, It only worked for a bit wuith Moo as I mentioned, time to change food one thinks!!

Jackieb - she could have eaten ANYTHING - she's a nightmare in the garden.

Janey - aaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

I'm hearing ya

Was it bright red blood on the outside or black blood?

Black blood (malaena) is digested so it probably originates higher up in the intestinal track - thick stomach ulcers, parvo virus etc.

Red blood (haematochezia) is usually lower intestinal track - in young dogs, its often parasites or a foreign body, while in older dogs can be a sign of a rectal tumour and in all ages, can be constipation. It can also be a sign of gastrointestinal upset from something that they ate.

I recently had the exact same problem (haematochezia) with my puppy. But as he has been dewormed this week, I was worried about a foreign body (he also eats a lot of things - dont all Staffies!). But he was running around, playing, eating, didn't look like he was straining extra hard to defaecate etc. Thankfully the problem seems to have resolved and his faeces no longer have blood around them.

So I just suggest keeping a close eye on your on, try and watch her defaecate to see if she is straining more than normal.

Nina - thank you, very informative - it was bright red, Gabbi was de-wormed this last week and (other than spotting blood in her stool) is lively, energetic and looks healthy.

If it's bright red then it almost certainly a result of the loose poos rather than anything sinister. When they have diarrhea they can get 'scouring' which means that the intestines have been stripped of their protective coating in places. That can cause some blood staining.

Although I doubt that it's a problem, it's always best to let your vet know what's going on.

Yeah i'll defo give him a call on Monday.

It just seems far too coincidental that she's been having loose poos (not diahorea), and as soon as we get a run of solid ones going there's blood.

Agree with the advice above and hope she is okay

Nala had dioarreah or loose poos for a good few weeks, sometimes with blood in them. She'd also been vommitting occasionally after eating. We started giving her brown rice and boiled chicken or scrambled gg, which like you say helped for a while, but then went back to before.

The vet started by giving her antibiotics and stuff, after nothing worked the vet came to the conclusion that she simply has a hyper sensitive stomach and has advised to switch to Chappie food which we did a couple of days ago. It seems to be working - her poos are still quite loose, but not as bad. And Chappie food is really cheap too, so win win so far!

As for the blood, the vet said that it isn't a major problem as long as the blood is fresh red blood (as opposed to older, more browny blood). It was basically caused by her having a bit of a sore stomach, so she was really straining hard to poo, causing a bit of bleeding.

I'd still see the vet for reassurance though.

Thanks Jilly, that's re-assuring.

Worms can do this too. x it happened to kenny, the vet said worms, is she up to date on her treatment

She had her worming treatment last week - completed a day or two before the 'problem'.

Vet says to monitor her poos - he doesn't think it's a problem at this stage.

Skye has blood in her loose stool today, small amounts but its still there!, its fresh red not brown/black red .. she was wormed the other week but threw everything back up numerous times because she reacted badly to them, wonder if she hasnt been wormed properly because she threw up numerous times after and its a case of worms :s

Violet had blood in her poops, and being sick a bit, so I went into a mad panic and phoned the vets who said to bring her in. Vet gave her an antibiotic jag, and a tube of paste, and everything was fine!

Hey, Lola is on harringtons and has fab poos now compared to when she was on other foods.
The bright red blood is nothing to worry about, I alsi had the same worry with Lola a few weeks ago and went to the vet in a total panic and they said as long as its bright red its just from straining.
Nothing to worry about, but take her to the vet if you need some more re-assurance!

I took her to the vet just to be safe

Thanks Georg

Gabbiadini wrote:I took her to the vet just to be safe

Thanks Georg

What did the vet say??

He just said to monitor her poos for now... was probably the change from soft ones to a rock solid one lol... fingers crossed fish4dogs does the trick - i hate the smell of fish so it had better!!