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My new puppy has soft, red-tinged poop. Should I be worried?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | unspayed | 1 month and 7 days old | 5 lbs

I just got a puppy yesterday. Shes a pitbull husky mix, approximately 6 weeks old. Her poop is soft/runny, and has kind of a red texture to it. It almost looks like human diarrhea, but in dogs. Is it normal? Should i be worried? This is my first animal on my own so this is all new to me and i tend to panic about everything.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on February 22nd, 2018

Congrats on your new puppy! I'm sorry to say that runny poop isn't normal, and it is concerning that there is a red texture to it. This can indicate blood in the feces, which can have very concerning causes of it. One for example is parvovirus. This is a deadly disease of young unvaccinated puppies, and one symptom of it is bloody diarrhea. This diarrhea could also be caused by intestinal parasites, a change in diet, or GI illness among other causes. Because I can't see her in person to rule out parvo and given the fact that parvo is very deadly and contagious, I feel the best thing to do is take Harlee into a vet immediately. This is something that should be checked out now so it can be treated promptly. I hope this helps, and good luck with her!

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