Dog's bloody stool after heartworm treatment. Is it an emergency?

Related Answers from Veterinarians

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  Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

  Veterinarian

  Published on

  Poor girl. IF she is acting normal, eating drinking well, then she likely has a bit of colitis (inflamed colon) due to stress. You can try giving her some probioitcs (over the counter Culturelle works well in dogs) for now and give her a bland diet of boiled plain chicken and rice for a few days. Contact your vet in the morning to let them know what is going on and they will likely prescribe her a short course of antibiotics to clear things up. I hope everyting works out well for your pet Mya and that she continues her heartworm treatments with no major side effects. Take care!

  

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  Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

  Veterinarian

  Published on March 8th, 2017

  On no, poor Ayla! Bright red diarrhea indicates she is bleeding from her lower intestinal tract, and that can be caused by toxin ingestion, eating something rotten, a foreign body, trauma to the GI tract, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, or even cancer. It's considered serious when a dog has bloody diarrhea, and it's best to have her checked out by a vet right away for it especially since she isn't eating as well. The vet can diagnose what is causing her bloody diarrhea and anorexia, and can treat her for it.

  

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  Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

  Veterinarian

  Published on March 5th, 2017

  Poor Pollyanna! I would monitor her for now given that she is acting completely normal, and is eating and drinking. She could have intestinal worms, which does cause blood in the feces and diarrhea. Make sure she is up to date on her deworming treatments, and I would give her Panacur if she is not. She will need another deworming treatment in two weeks after the first to kill all the worms, and she should be dewormed every three months after that. It could also be due to something she ate or a sudden change in diet. Should she continue to pass bloody stool, or develops other signs such as vomiting, lethargic, and anorexia, then yes I would take her into the vet right away as the bloody stool can be a sign of something more serious like hemorrhagic gastroenteritis or a foreign body. Hopefully, however, she only has one instance of this bloody feces and has no need to go to the vet. I hope this helps you and Pollyanna!

  

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  Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

  Veterinarian

  Published on July 1st, 2017

  I can certainly understand being worried about Bonnie! It's good that she is drinking normally, eating normally, and otherwise behaving normally. It could be that she ate something that upset her stomach and lead to the bit of blood in her feces, but she could also be suffering from intestinal worms. Those cause an upset stomach and can lead to blood in the feces. If she isn't up to date on her deworming treatments, I would give her one. I recommend Panacur, which you can get OTC at a pet store. It's a three day course of treatment, and you will have to give her another course of treatment two weeks after the first to make sure all the worms are killed. After that, she should be dewormed every three months. I would continue to give her the bland diet for a couple of days, and if the blood goes away and her tummy is no longer upset, start slowly adding back in her normal diet. If the blood continues in her feces or increases, or she develops other signs such as lethargy, anorexia, or vomiting, then I would take her into the vet.

  

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