Expected Time in the Vet Clinic
Plan on at least an hour from the start of your dog’s appointment to diagnosis, sometimes longer depending on whether your dog has complicating factors. Mild cases will be discharged after the appointment to continue care at home.
Dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (strawberry or raspberry jelly-like poops) will very likely be hospitalized. Most hospitalized dogs will need to stay for one to three days.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.)
When to Worry About Dog Poop Like Red Jelly
There is a severe form of colitis called acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS). Veterinarians used to call this disease hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) but we’ve recently discovered the stomach is not usually involved, so we removed the “gastric” reference.
The cause of AHDS is unknown but around 50% of affected dogs have excessive Clostridium bacteria in their GI tract. Researchers also think it could be a hypersensitivity reaction to food or bacteria.
When a dog gets AHDS, inflammation in the first part of the intestine (small intestine) leads to the loss of a large amount of protein-rich fluid and blood loss into the intestine. That’s why AHDS creates a situation where dog poop looks like strawberry jelly.
The dog’s body tries to compensate for the blood and fluid that just leaked into the intestine by contracting the spleen. Since the spleen holds a lot of blood, it helps to compensate for intestinal losses.
But there is no replacement for the fluid that was leaked into the intestine. The net effect is one of decreased total body water and hemoconcentration. In common terms, a dog with AHDS gets sludgy blood which can’t carry oxygen and nutrients as well as well-hydrated blood.
Any size or breed of dog can get AHDS. Some studies have found that young to middle-aged small and toy breeds have an increased risk of getting AHDS. Some breeds that we see it in the most are Yorkies, Maltese, Miniature Schnauzers, and Miniature Pinschers.
Dog Poop Color Chart: What It All Means
As a veterinarian, I have often received visits from my clients asking why their dog’s poop looked more like jelly with some blood in it than normal feces. When your dog’s poop resembles jelly and contains blood, it can be an alarming sight. Sometimes it points to a serious condition, but not always. In this article, we will review what it looks like, the most common reasons, home remedies to help your dog, and when to call your veterinarian.