Possible Causes for Mucus and Blood in Dog Stool
It is natural to be concerned if your dog is pooping bloody mucus, but the reality is that there are many potential causes. Blood and mucus in your dogs stool may be a natural occurrence, and your dog may be fine within 24 to 48 hours. Understanding the causes and symptoms can let you know when its time to bring your dog to the veterinarian, but always give your veterinary office a call when youre unsure to keep your dog safe. Related Articles
Most dogs will contract a case of worms at some point in their lives. Whipworms, tapeworms, and hookworms can all cause bleeding or mucus in stools.
Also referred to as colitis, IBS is caused by irritation and inflammation in the large intestine, and it can produce both blood and mucus in your dogs stools. Irritable bowel syndrome can lead to a yellow-colored mucus on the stool. The disease can be brought on by other primary causes, such as a whipworm infestation or a change in diet.
Chronic diarrhea is a long-term condition that is often accompanied by blood and mucus. It is caused by a number of health issues, including intestinal blockages, parasitic and viral infections, cancer, pancreatic disease, and more. This makes it difficult to narrow down the exact cause of the diarrhea. Mucus in dog diarrhea can also indicate a negative reaction to something the dog ate or a result of a change in diet, irritable bowel syndrome, or inflammatory bowel disease.
Parvovirus attacks the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and produces large amounts of diarrhea loaded with blood and mucus. Canine coronavirus also produces blood in stool, but there is a distinct lack of mucus with this particular virus.
Giardiasis is a condition caused by a single-celled organism that invades a dogs intestines. It produces chronic diarrhea and stools filled with fatty mucus.
Dogs tend to eat a lot of things they shouldnt, and any object that cant be dissolved in the digestive system has an opportunity to cause a blockage in the stomach or intestinal tract. Straining and irritation can lead to bloody stools as well as mucus that is produced as a reaction to the irritation. A foreign obstruction can also lead to an infection that will produce yellow mucus in the dogs stool.
Colon cancer can present some of the same symptoms as IBS, so it is sometimes overlooked when searching for the cause of bloody mucus in dog stool. Watch for weight loss in addition to blood in the stool, which can indicate the presence of cancer.
Liver disease affects the production of proteins that support blood clotting, and may lead to blood being present in stool. Its also possible to mistake bleeding caused by liver disease for a bleeding ulcer, which can often produce dark, tarry stools.
The color and consistency of the blood in the stool helps the vet determine whether the blood originated in the upper or lower portion of the digestive system. This information helps the vet form an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.
According to PetMD, hematochezia is the term used to describe the presence of fresh, red blood on the stool. This means the source of the bleeding must come from somewhere in the lower gastrointestinal tract. Hematochezia may be an indication of a serious health problem, or it could be something very minor. If the bleeding happens only one time, it is considered a transient event and is usually nothing to worry about. If the bleeding continues, becomes more severe, or keeps recurring, take the dog to a veterinarian to determine the cause.
Some of the more common causes include:
Melena is the term used to describe when a dog passes digested blood, which indicates that the blood passed through the dogs upper digestive system before being passed in stool. The stools are shiny, sticky, and black. They have the consistency of tar and smell very foul.
There are many causes of melena and most of them are very serious. The first thing your veterinarian must do is rule out the possibility of the digested blood coming from a wound the dog was licking, or from swallowing blood originating in the dogs respiratory tract or mouth.
Some of the most common causes of melena include:
Is Mucus in My Dog’s Stool Dangerous?
A little bit of mucus in a dog’s stool is not a reason to panic, and there are some ways you can help at home. Be sure to mention these occurrences at your next vet visit.
Excessive amounts of mucus in your dog’s poop may indicate a medical condition that needs veterinary attention. If you consistently see mucus in your dog’s stool, or you see a lot of mucus, even if it’s just in one instance, then you need to make an appointment with your vet.
It’s best to contact your vet immediately if your dog is very young or very old or has a pre-existing condition. For these dogs, a decline in health can happen very rapidly, so you should communicate any changes you notice to your vet ASAP.
Home Remedies for Dog Poop Problems
Most cases of dog diarrhea are generally self-limiting and resolve without elaborate treatment. My own dog suffers from low-grade inflammatory bowel disease and we use a combination of a bland diet, probiotics, and slippery elm for his flare-ups. We also occasionally implement an antibiotic â generally metronidazole (Flagyl) â if the diarrhea contains a lot of blood or doesnât improve within a couple of days. Here are some ways you can help your dog properly digest at home:
Many people think that when a dogâs suffering from diarrhea, food should be withheld for 24 hours. Thatâs not really the case. Food actually helps the gut heal by stimulating cells in the intestinal tract lining. To treat diarrhea in dogs, simply introduce small and frequent feedings of a bland diet (lean protein such as boiled chicken or ground meat mixed with boiled pasta, cooked rice, and low-fat cottage cheese or scrambled eggs) over the course of two or three days, and then slowly reintroduce your dogâs regular diet in small amounts.
Many probiotics are available, and your veterinarian is best suited to give you a recommendation. Many probiotics are available as a palatable powder that can be sprinkled over a meal once daily. A dollop or two of yogurt can also be given with each meal to help restore normal GI flora.
An easy-to-find Western herb, slippery elm is one of my favorite natural remedies. It contains mucilage, a substance that becomes a slick gel when mixed with water, and works by coating the stomach and intestines. It also has antioxidants that help relieve inflammation. Provided as a loose powder or in capsule form, the usual dose is 400 milligrams per 20 to 30 pounds of body weight every eight to 12 hours. It should be given with water, after your dog takes a drink.Â
Please note that because slippery elm coats the digestive tract, it will slow down the absorption of other drugs, therefore it must be given two hours before or after other medications.
I do not believe in using Imodium or other anti-diarrheal medications in dogs. If you have ever resorted to these medications yourself, you know about the painful gas cramps that can accompany them. This happens because the drug essentially forces all that waste matter to stay inside when the body is working hard to eliminate it. There are physiological reasons for diarrhea, and it is best to allow the natural process to happen. Anti-diarrheal medications do not fix the underlying problem, and while your carpet may be cleaner, your pup wonât be happier.
My DOG POOPED BLOOD and mucus. Dog blood in stool jelly like
Here’s one disease that really freaks dog owners out. It can be mild, but some severe cases can be life-threatening, so it’s good to know what’s going on.
We’re talking about a syndrome called HGE: Hemorrhagic GastroEnteritis. Hemorrhagic means a big bloody mess. Gastro-Enteritis literally translates to inflammation of the stomach and intestines. The primary symptom is a diarrhea that looks like straight blood. It’s bright red, sometimes gelatinous, which is why many veterinarians compare it to “raspberry jelly.”
Owners often ask if the dog is bleeding internally. I can see why you’d think that, given the bloody mess coming out of your dog’s bum. But no, this is just some extremely unhappy intestines. It can often seem out of the blue, and many times we never do figure out what got this whole thing started. With many cases, the dog has been stressed (ie- people visiting, being boarded, moving, etc). Sometimes it can be from… oh, how to put this nicely… dietary indiscretion. Eating the gross dead thing in the yard, or getting into the trash.
Regardless of the why, you’re now at the veterinary clinic, planning how to get the stains out of your carpet when you get home, and trying not to freak about this whole thing. Your veterinarian may glove up and extract a fresh stool sample from… the source. Once we see what we have, every vet knows exactly what this is. Then we start into our HGE speech:
This is a paradoxical disease. You’d think with all this blood coming out, your dog would be losing blood. Medically, we use the term “anemic” to describe an animal that has a low number of red blood cells. And your veterinarian will likely want to draw blood from your dog for testing, but we’re expecting the opposite. Turns out these dogs are never anemic.
Let’s talk red blood cells. When we measure them, it’s usually given as a percentage of the blood, called a hematocrit (pronounced he-MAT-o-crit). For instance, most dogs’ blood (hematocrit) is around 40-50% red blood cells. The rest is the fluid (plasma) that the cells are floating in. HGE causes the dog to become incredibly dehydrated, more so than many other types of diarrhea. With dehydration, these dogs have less fluid for the red blood cells to float in. So while the number of red blood cells stays the same (which does seem weird given the fact these dogs are pooping blood), the amount of fluid decreases. This causes the percentage of red blood cells in the bloodstream (the hematocrit) to rise. (Conversely, if a dog were to have excess plasma, or fluid, the red blood cell percentage could fall, even though the number of cells is the same.)
So when we vets see what the poop looks like, the first thing we want to do is measure the hematocrit, expecting it to be high. This increase is the calling card of HGE. And good news – measuring a hematocrit is a simple test that is very inexpensive and only takes about ten minutes! Depending on age and breed, I’ll consider most dogs with a hematocrit over 55% to be diagnostic. That said, I have many really good owners who catch this early. The dog hasn’t had a chance to become super dehydrated, so they may have a hematocrit of 52%. I still call it HGE and treat it accordingly.
So, how is HGE treated? Well, we know that dehydration is the main problem, so we want to hydrate these animals promptly! For the dogs who are bouncing around the room and have a hematocrit in the low-mid 50% range, I’ll simply give fluids under their skin (sub-cutaneous fluids) and let their body slowly absorb those fluids after they go home. Dogs who are very lethargic, or have a hematocrit in the 60’s, and/or are vomiting are often hospitalized. These dogs need to be on IV fluids to rehydrate them. Either case, we’ll put the dog on antibiotics (oral pills sent home, or IV if in the hospital) that target the bacteria that are promoting the diarrhea. We’ll often feed a prescription diet that is easy to digest, to give the stomach and intestines a break.
Most dogs recover very well with treatment. The ones who are near collapse, and often with hematocrits well into the 60%’s, are the ones we worry about. Still, I had one severe case where the owners could not afford to hospitalize the dog. So we gave it fluids under the skin, and they brought the dog back every day for 3 treatments. Thankfully, the dog did great! Still, hospitalization of these super sick pets is the best – it increases their chances of recovery, as well as helps them feel better much sooner.
The good news – once your dog is better, you’re done! Most cases of HGE are not considered to be contagious, so usually the other dogs are not at risk. That said, remember there are a lot of potential causes, and often we never find the initial cause. If both your dogs ate the same gross thing in the yard, yes, they both could have HGE!
So if you ever see that unique style of diarrhea, get your dog the vet ASAP! Your veterinarian will be impressed when you know what HGE is, and you can ask what your dog’s hematocrit was.