# Help, bright red poop!



## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

I know this should be in the general section but lots more people look at the food section and I am really afraid that it could be really bad. Buster was just outside acting kind of weird and a little slow and he pooped and the first one had just a little red on top of it then five minutes later he pooped again and it was completely red. It didnt look like blood because it was a brighter red than blood and really runny. I am pretty sure he hasnt gotten into anything because he has been with me non stop for the past couple days. How concerned should I be and what should i do?


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

What has he been eating lately? Eating any grass? Doing anything out of the ordinary?


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## spookychick13 (Jan 26, 2010)

...or anything with weird food coloring?

Blood in stool is fairly common, but this sounds weird.
Did you switch food recently?

I know I'm an alarmist, but I'd probably take him to the vet, with a sample of said poo.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

What are you currently feeding? Any recent changes in diet? 

If he's acting otherwise totally fine, I would wait it out. If there's any change in energy, appetite, etc. then i'd take a sample of the red poo and try to get into the vet.


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## dobesgalore (Oct 21, 2009)

We had a couple of ours doing like that a couple of years back, and a change of food stopped it.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Normally, bright red blood in the stool is indicative of bleeding in the digestive tract at or near the anus. Dark or black blood indicates bleeding in or near the stomach. Shades in between should tell you how far along the intestinal tract the bleeding is occuring.

Just after being fed liver or heart, both with lots of blood, dogs sometimes will produce black stools. This is blood coming from the food and is not internal to the dog.

Just a little of any shade of blood is usually nothing to be concerned over. If it lasts several days you might want to have a vet take a look. Usually its gone by the next day.


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## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

I've heard that treats with bright red dyes can cause this too. Now my guess is that you would have to have given quite a few of these aforementioned treats to make such a huge impact, but anythings possible. 

If it continues though, I would definitely second, and third taking him to the vet.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

What are you currently feeding him? Is it bright red on the outside or all the way through?


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

Alright he is eating evo red meat and has been on it almost two months now. The only treats he eats are dehydrated cooked chicken. He hasnt gotten into anything as far as I know and he has been around me all the time so I would have seen him get into something probably. My other boxer (the puppy) got into a large container of some ky jelly like stuff yesterday and I was originaly worried about him but he has no probelms and is just fine. My well behaved adult boxer is the one who is sick now and I cant figure out how. I dont think it is blood because usually the stool is brown with blood on it this stool is completely red pretty much looks like ketchup except runnier


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Is it happening again today? how is he acting aside from that?


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## Goldilocks (Aug 4, 2009)

Get to your vet asap


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

Yes it is still happening today. Earlier today it looked just fine but now he has gone a couple more times I retract my statement that it isnt blood. I am pretty sure that he is pooping just blood after he goes once. Ive never seen any dog have just blood in their stool before which is why i thought it was something else but i am now pretty sure it is blood. I will definately be taking him to the vet. Really not looking forward to this because it is going to be expensive.


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

I just realized that they found a nylabone two days ago and have been chewing on that non stop could that be what did it?


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Nylabones are relatively safe but they can chew off large chunks of them if you aren't watching them and they could cause problems. Get your dog to a vet and try to bring a stool sample!


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

no big chunks missing from the nylabone


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

I will be driving into town for a vet apt at 3 because it just isnt getting any better.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Good thing your going to the vet! Now let us know how things are please!


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

So Im back from the vet and all it is a bateria something going on so they gave me pills to give him and they said it should go away in a couple days. This is the second time its happened in three months and the vet didnt seem too concerned so who knows.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Sounds like colitis, an overgrowth of bacteria in the colon. Something is causing the normal flora of the gut to take over in times of stress (stress doesn't have to be huge, even minor stress will set off an outbreak). Or it could be related
to one of the ingredients in the food.

The pills work, but only mask the problem because it doesn't stop this from happening again in the future. I would try and figure out what triggers your dog to get this issue.


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

how would i figure out whats causing it?


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

First of all, glad to hear that it is nothing major!
I hate to sound like a broken record. I'm sorry for telling Khan's story over and over and over again. It just is so amazing to think that a few months ago I thought I was the only one going thru this, and after finding this forum, there are alot of people/animals with similar stories.
I will try and make this brief. From the time Khan came home from the breeder and he was switched from crappy breeder food to "good" food he had diarrhea. (cow pie poops or worse!) We thought change in location, diet, puppy shots, etc. were causing it, after a week w/no change we thought intestines were irritated and here's some meds. Things got "better" relatively speaking; but never perfect. After 2 months and a couple rounds of meds, things were still "off" The vet thought colitis or IBS, which would be a forever issue. 
I refused that answer and started evaluating the different "good" foods. There was one common factor. Flax. It was in everything he was eating. Food and Treats. I eliminated that and he got better. 
I also put him on canned chicken/turkey and rice. A very bland meal to help get his system "calmed" down. As I slowly introduced kibble back into his diet I tried giving him one with Flax. (there are only a couple kibbles that do not have Flax in them) I wanted to "test" my findings. Sure enough we had explosive poo! Once it was out of his system he was better.
When I went back to my vet and told him my findings, he was stunned. We were focusing on the protein source, or grain. Which is what dogs are typically allergic too. 
I know I said this would be brief. sorry. I just really want everyone to look at ALL the ingredients. Don't just focus on the "normal" culprits. Sometimes it takes looking Outside the Box!
Good luck


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## Janie (Apr 14, 2010)

*Colitis*

It happened to my pug. We brought her to the vet and they gave her an antibiotic to prevent infection and said she had colitis which would go away on its own. After 2 months of bleeding off and on (bright red blood drops), I decided to get her off of the commercial dry dog food and start cooking for her. I feed her chicken breast, peas and rice, and she stopped bleeding altogether and her coat even got shinier. In another post I asked if it was okay to switch foods around since I have heard that you should not vary a dog's diet. Maybe someone can let me know; I feel bad to give her the same ole dinner everyday. Would it be okay to swap the rice for oatmeal on occasion, or the chicken for salmon?


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## PUNKem733 (Jun 12, 2009)

Janie said:


> It happened to my pug. We brought her to the vet and they gave her an antibiotic to prevent infection and said she had colitis which would go away on its own. After 2 months of bleeding off and on (bright red blood drops), I decided to get her off of the commercial dry dog food and start cooking for her. I feed her chicken breast, peas and rice, and she stopped bleeding altogether and her coat even got shinier. In another post I asked if it was okay to switch foods around since I have heard that you should not vary a dog's diet. Maybe someone can let me know; I feel bad to give her the same ole dinner everyday. Would it be okay to swap the rice for oatmeal on occasion, or the chicken for salmon?



Many of us here will tell you we have a rotation of several high quality foods. I rotate my boy on All evo flavors, Orijen, etc. Also I add canned to one meal a day, and it is also a rotation of different protein sources from Evo, Trippett, etc. You really want to rotate so they don't get bored of the food, and they don't develop allergies to a certain protein as some dogs do. Also you're adding a variety of vitamins, minerals, and overall nutrition.


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## JayJayisme (Aug 2, 2009)

Every time this has happened to one of my dogs it turned out to be a parasite, giardia or coccidia. Might be worth getting a fecal test done just to rule it out.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

even after the giardia, both my dogs experienced loose stools.

turns out that i am in full agreement with khan's story.

flax is a bowel irritant. i used to feed missing link to my dogs....ah, but it gave them the most wonderful coat....and it gave them cow pies and barely formed stools.

after the bout with giardia, they were on a bland diet.....at that point, i decided to either cook for them or go raw.....

not because i think kibble is the worst thing for a dog...i'm not anti kibble..

i am however a control freak and i need to be in charge of what my dogs eat......this way, i prepare so that i know what goes in...., makes it a whole lot easier to discern what comes out.


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