If the dog feces with blood, you should immediately determine the cause of the disease and solve the problem. Such a deviation can be caused by a serious illness. Therefore, it is important to help the pet in time. Why this pathology occurs, how to diagnose and treat it, the publication will tell.
Symptoms
Of course, the main symptom is the appearance of blood in the feces. But it is not always possible to detect with the naked eye. By what signs can it be determined that a dog has feces with blood? Usually, the following symptoms signal this.
- The stool emits a foul-smelling or unpleasant odor.
- For more than two days, profuse diarrhea lasts. It is characterized by frequent bowel movements and strong watery discharge.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Decreased appetite or a complete rejection of food and water.
- The mucous membranes become yellowish, anemic.
- Normal body temperature rises by 1-2 degrees.
- The dog becomes drowsy, lethargic, inadequate reactions to irritants are manifested.
You should beware, even if the pet has only one of the symptoms. By far the most important sign is bloody stools.
Types of Deviations
Dog excrement is normally colored dark or light brown. The presence of blood may indicate a serious illness. By the nature of the bowel movements, you can determine exactly where the problem lies.
- Liquid feces with blood in a dog can indicate the presence of parasites in the body or the development of viral and bacterial infections. Also, diarrhea with a large amount of blood occurs due to a serious violation in the digestive tract or poisoning with chemicals.
- If the blood has a bright scarlet color, then most likely the large intestine was affected. Most often, its direct part is damaged.
- Grayish or yellowish feces in most cases are obtained due to inflammation in the digestive tract.
- If the feces are dark, almost black, then this may be a signal of a violation in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Also, this color indicates internal bleeding, which is usually associated with mechanical damage, an ulcer or invasion.
- White excrement indicates liver problems that can be caused by toxic poisoning or leptospirosis.
- If the dog has feces with mucus and blood - in most cases this means serious disruption in the functioning of the digestive organs. If, in addition, the litter is greenish, watery, has an unpleasant odor, then we can talk about infection.
Of course, the exact cause of the disease can be determined only by veterinary diagnosis.
Consequences of bleeding
Blood in feces can not always be noticed, because the owner does not always monitor the feces of a pet on the street. It is important to pay attention to the well-being of the four-legged friend. If he is not helped in time, the outcome may be sad. With blood loss, pressure drops, anemia begins, weakness occurs, shortness of breath even in the absence of physical exertion, the process of urination is difficult. In the worst case scenario, everything can be fatal, and in a matter of hours.
Why does a dog have feces with blood?
Blood in the stool may appear for various reasons. Most often, the following processes and diseases become the source of the problem.
- Helminthiasis, especially strong. Nematodes and other worms that actively drink its blood settle in the intestines of the animal. Black shades can be observed. The dog's general health condition worsens, his appetite disappears, he becomes lethargic and thin.
- Hemorrhoids. With such a disease, the anus swells, feces become drier, denser, clots of blood and mucus appear.
- Ingestion of toxic substances. Typically, the appearance of blood is a reaction to indandion or coumarin. These components can be found in rat or mouse poison.
- Enteritis. These are inflammatory diseases in which the mucous membranes of the digestive tract are affected. On the face, all the signs of an acute gastrointestinal upset, can be observed in the dog feces with blood. The cause may be poor nutrition, a sharp foreign object, intoxication, infection. There are very dangerous forms of enteritis.
- Estrus. During it, some bitches sometimes experience diarrhea with an admixture of blood. As a rule, it passes on its own when estrus ends.
- Other diseases Carnivore plague, ulcer, oncology, acute pancreatitis, allergies and more.
Puppy blood stool
Stool with blood can occur in any dog, regardless of breed and age. Most often, this symptom is found in elderly animals, rarely in puppies. But, if a young pet has blood in the litter or all the symptoms indicate this, then it is urgent to sound the alarm. It can be a dangerous disease - parvovirus enteritis. It primarily affects the coot, as their body is not yet strong and very vulnerable.
Therefore, puppies must be monitored very carefully. With parvovirus enteritis, there are traces of blood in the stool, fetid diarrhea, vomiting, nasal discharge, fever, eyes stick together and sour. A canine child can have a fever, sleep a lot, refuse food, drink and not react to toys in any way. With such symptoms, urgent measures should be taken: the disease can result in death. Treatment of parvovirus enteritis is expensive and not always successful, therefore it is so important to vaccinate a pet during.
The dog feces with blood: what to do?
It doesn’t matter how many symptoms the dog has and how much blood is detected, you must urgently take the animal to the veterinarian or call him home. If you decide to go to the clinic, then it is advisable to bring along a sample of excrement to show it to the doctor and make an analysis. You can not self-medicate or ignore the problem, hoping that everything will pass by itself. Hours and even minutes can be decisive. Especially if the pet is apathetic, lethargic, refuses to eat, and diarrhea lasts more than a day.
Diagnostics
The veterinarian will first examine the pet and ask about the symptoms. Information from the owner is of great importance. It is important to tell how the dog is kept, what it eats, whether it receives bones, whether it picks it up from the ground, etc. It is also necessary to mention what vaccinations were made when the last deworming took place and what was supposed to cause feces with blood in the dog.
Based on the information received from the owner, the doctor will prescribe an appropriate examination. The following diagnostic methods may be applied.
- Fecal analysis: general, for infections, protozoa. Taking a smear from the anus to detect invasive infection.
- Analysis of urine. It is done to check the dehydration of the body, to determine the level of kidney function and the presence of latent inflammation. This is an effective method for leptospirosis.
- Blood biochemistry. Will show the quality of the liver, kidneys and secretory glands.
- Analysis of genetic material (PCR). Able to identify the type of viral disease and some invasions.
- X-ray or ultrasound of the abdomen. They allow you to see the pathology of organs and the presence of foreign objects in the body. They can be used in addition to analyzes if they turned out to be inaccurate or insufficiently convincing.
- Colonoscopy Commonly used for suspected ulcer or swelling of the rectum.
- Tests on toxins that help identify the substance that caused the dog to feces with an admixture of blood.
- Full examination of the whole body. It is prescribed if local analyzes and other methods do not give an overall picture.
Treatment features
Treatment is prescribed on the basis of diagnosis and is selected individually depending on the disease, age and characteristics of the animal. Therapeutic methods should be aimed at eliminating the root cause, not the symptoms. That is, the goal is to normalize the general condition of the dog.
As a rule, regardless of the reason, the doctor recommends not feeding the pet for at least 12 hours. In some cases, the goal will have to be extended to two days.
Treatment options
The doctor can apply various methods of treatment. Their selection is carried out on the basis of diagnostic results. It is worth noting that only a qualified specialist can prescribe drugs and procedures, you can not self-medicate! What are the treatment options?
- When infected with helminths, anthelmintic drugs are prescribed. The medication is selected depending on the type of parasite. Sometimes there are anthelmintic agents with complex effects.
- If the dog has liquid stool with blood due to severe poisoning, detoxification therapy will be effective. It is necessary to use sorbents, enzyme agents and probiotics to normalize digestion.
- With mucous diarrhea with blood , droppers with a medicine that restores the water-salt balance can be prescribed. Additionally, gastroprotectors are used.
- To eliminate intestinal cramps and pain, analgesics and antispasmodics are prescribed.
- If it is necessary to improve blood coagulation, then medications are prescribed that accelerate this process.
- If the reason lies in some kind of disease, then complex therapy is carried out. Antibacterial, sulfanilamide and antiparasitic drugs may be used. It is also mandatory to take antibiotics from the penicillin, tetracycline or cephalosporin series.
- If the animal exhibits damage to the intestinal wall, intussusception or tumor, then surgical intervention is inevitable.
Features of feeding during treatment
During therapy, special attention should be paid to nutrition. The following recommendations must be observed.
- As already mentioned, if a dog has feces with blood, at first it is advisable not to feed for 1-2 days.
- The pet should drink. If he refuses, then drink forcefully to avoid dehydration.
- Feed small portions of boiled rice. It can be prepared on the basis of beef or chicken broth. The daily norm is divided into 4-5 receptions. Gradually increase serving sizes and reduce the number of feedings.
- In addition to rice, you can give dairy products, but very little.
- A full transition to normal nutrition is possible a few days after improving health.
Preventive measures
So that a four-legged friend does not suffer from this unpleasant ailment, it is important to observe preventive measures.
- Feed only fresh and high-quality dry food. It is advisable to soak or alternate with wet.
- If the dog receives natural nutrition, then the meat must be processed before feeding. It can be boiling, steaming or freezing.
- Make sure that the pet during the walk did not pick up anything from the ground, especially food.
- For games, do not use sharp and small objects that the dog can swallow.
- Constantly monitor the well-being of the animal.
- Go to the veterinarian for a checkup at least twice a year.
So, if the dog has blood in the stool, you must immediately consult a specialist. Ailment can be associated with many reasons, and self-medication is extremely dangerous.