My dog had, I believe, blood in her poop?

Question

She is on prednisone for a mast cell tumor. I've noticed that maybe in the last couple of weeks, she was somewhat straining to poop. She started pooping little small balls and then sometimes a normal poop. Today, I noticed dark red smears in her poop. It's not a lot but I can see it. Also, her poop looks dark greenish. The majority of the time, she eats Innova canned food and sometimes the Innova dry kibble. When I fed her chicken and brocolli with her Innova food, her poops were normal. However, I stopped doing that and just started giving her Innova only. She became picky, so some of you suggested that I stop giving her human food so I did.  I took her to the vet on Thursday, and this wasn't an issue at that time. However, the doctor did her blood work and urine sample. She didn't do a fecal sample. Everything was normal and fine. So, do you think I should be worried? Maybe the blood is coming from my dog straining. I will call her vet on Tuesday but any answers would be helpful.

? · Accepted Answer

This one is tough.

Usually the first answer when someone questions blood in the stool is that it is an emergency and the dog should see the vet immediately.

If she is having hard stools and or is constipated, yes, it is possible this blood is from a small tear on the anal sphincter (the muscle that squeezes the anus closed).  In which case it would not be serious and you would generally focus first on dealing with the constipation.

Blood from higher up the digestive tract (ie internal bleeding) tends to look like coffee grounds or black goo in the feces, not like red streaks.  The fact that it is red tends to suggest it is coming from close to the anus.

It being a holiday weekend, and emergency calls being what they are, and the above being a possibility....

Well I'd look at the rest of the dog before making a decision.  Is she eating and drinking normally?  Is she peeing normally?  Is she at least pooping once a day, even if straining?  Is her temperature normal (101.5 F)?  Is her attitude normal (or is she depressed, lethargic, etc.)?

If every thing else seems normal, and it was my dog (whom I love very much), I would watch and wait until first thing Tuesday and call the vet.  She might not even need to go in, but you do need to check in with your own vet and get their opinion.  If there was any change, I'd go in on emergency.

I would definitely discuss the green poop issue with the vet as well.

Now when it comes to feeding people food....

Normally, I am opposed to this.  Long term it isn't very healthy.  However, if an animal is being nursed through an illness and the people food is a temporary comfort which does not make the illness worse, or the animal hasn't long to live anyway, then I throw the rule book out the window and make them happy.  That's must my 2 cents on people food.

? · Answer

Um, i don't understand plenty approximately canines yet i think of that the straining is what led to the bleeding. maybe there is a few sort of animal laxative that could help.. i'm hoping each and everything works out for you.

My dog had, I believe, blood in her poop?

2 Answers