If you notice blood in your dog’s stool, you need to take a breath. Your first reaction may be alarm, but it’s important to know that your dog’s bloody stool can be due to a host of different reasons. You may have noticed blood in your dog’s poop because of something serious, but it could also be something as common as eating something that didn’t agree with him. Sudden dietary changes may also cause such symptoms in dogs. If you’re thinking that the blood in your dog’s stool can’t be good, you’re right, BUT there are definitely things that can help blood in dog poop.
Blood in dog stool: yes, you need to investigate!
We’ll be upfront and transparent because it’s important. If you are noticing blood in your dog’s stool in dogs, something is likely wrong with the dog, so immediate veterinary care is recommended.
Whether it’s an emergency really depends on each dog, but bright red blood in dog poop is a sign that something is going on and your dog’s condition could be serious.
Bloody stool could come from something as basic as eating something that didn’t agree with the dog or causing a food allergy reaction to something as serious as cancer, liver disease or eating something toxic (like rodent poison). It could be due to gastrointestinal disorders like constipation or bloody diarrhea, Irritable Bowel, stomach ulcers and dysbiosis. Or, the abnormal stool could be due to bacterial or viral infections or even intestinal worms and parasites. Your dog pooping blood could even be due to injury, so that’s something to consider too when investigating the underlying cause of your your dog’s bloody poop. It’s never a bad idea to contact your vet when you notice a bloody stool in your dog because you want to rule serious things out and make sure they get proper treatment that helps them recover.
What does bloody stool in dogs look like?
You might think you’d know what blood in your dog’s poop looked like, and you’d probably be pretty close. You could see streaks of bright red fresh blood or dark streaks that look almost black. If the blood looks bright red and fresh, your dog may be bleeding from his lower digestive tract.
If it’s dark, coffee-ground like or a tarry stool (often called melena at your veterinarian’s), it may mean that it could be from your dog’s upper intestinal tract. If blood drips as your dog’s pooping, that could be an indication of injury or constipation. You may also see fresh-looking blood in diarrhea as well. If your dog is pooping blood and vomiting, you should check with the vet immediately as he may be suffering from hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) and could dehydrate very quickly and needs emergency vet treatment.
If you notice any blood in a puppy’s poop, as well as other symptoms, you should also contact your vet immediately and ask for a physical examination of your pet.
What causes blood in dog poop?
There are many reasons your dog may have blood in his poop. The most common internal health conditions in dogs include:
- Irritable bowel/inflammatory bowel disease
- Constipation
- Injury
- Ulcers in gastrointestinal lining
- Intestinal polyps
- Parasites/worms
- Bacterial infection trauma/viral intestinal infection
- Cancer
- Toxins/poisons
- Drugs/medicines
- Ingested items that can’t be digested (some dogs are eating bones)
- Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis
- Stress colitis
What can I do if my dog is pooping blood?
We don’t want our dogs to suffer and many of us may Google “Bloody Stool In Dogs” and see treatments. Some include things like Milk of Magnesia or Pepto-Bismol, but it’s really not a good idea because you may be masking something that is serious. Urgent medical care is highly recommended.
You’ll want to keep your dog hydrated and you’ll want to ensure that there’s nothing toxic or dangerous he could have ingested. You also probably want to take pictures and collect samples for the veterinarian. To determine what’s going on, the vet may analyze your dog’s medical history and perform some routine diagnostic procedures: they may analyze the poop and the blood cells, and likely take blood to see if his chemistry is okay. He may eventually need an endoscopy, colonoscopy or abdominal ultrasound, depending on what the vet thinks is going on.
How can good dog gut health help bloody poop in dogs?
As we’ve said, many health conditions could cause blood in your dog’s stool. If your dog is constipated, the poop may just be too hard as it’s passing and tear his digestive tract as it moves through. If he’s suffering from food allergy or dysbiosis (leaky gut), better gut health may be what is needed. If your dog is not absorbing nutrients appropriately, he could have poor gut health, leading to blood in poop. If he gets colitis from stress, better gut health can help him have a better mental outlook.
The gut has been called the ‘second brain’ and research continues to show the connection between good gut health and good mental health.
While you’ll likely need oral medication if your dog has parasites or worms, and possibly if he has bacterial infections, sometimes, helping the gut be its healthiest is what helps relieve symptoms that bring on blood in dog poop. And that’s where Bernie’s Perfect Poop excels.
When your dog’s gut health is imbalanced, he may have a gut full of ‘bad’ gut bacteria and not enough ‘good’ or ‘beneficial’ bacteria he needs to help break food down. A thriving gut community is key to your dog absorbing all the nutrients from his food. When the bad bacteria outnumber the good, he can suffer from gastric distress, inflammation and illness.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop works to help strengthen gut health in several ways. It combines premium fiber, pre- and probiotics and digestive enzymes in delicious grass bits you can give your dog with each meal. The fiber helps regulate the speed with which your dog’s food travels as it’s digesting–going at just the appropriate speed to move efficiently through and allow for maximum absorption. If your dog is constipated, the fiber helps draw water out of the colon to soften the stool and if your dog has diarrhea, the fiber can also firm the stool up.
Additionally, the fiber ferments and helps feed your dog’s good gut bacteria. Adding in two important probiotics (Bacillus Subtilis and Bacillus Coagulans) that are hardy enough to withstand your dog’s harsh stomach acids increases the population of good bacteria in his gut. When his gut is full of beneficial bacteria, the balance between good and bad bacteria is improved and his gut health is too.
Research continues to show the importance of good gut health in relation to good overall health and immunity, so giving your dog Bernie’s Perfect Poop can not only help reduce bloody poop but also improve his overall immunity and energy levels too! If your dog is pooping blood, you’re going to worry.
We love our pets and we want the best. The best way to ward off concern about blood in dog poop is to ensure they have the best gut health they can. And that’s easy to do with just a few scoops of Bernie’s Perfect Poop every day!
