Seeing blood in your dog’s poo is a sign of ill-health which needs urgent attention. A bloody poo can either be Melena or hematochezia.
Melena: The poo has a dark tarry appearance. It suggests bleeding in the upper digestive tract and the blood has been digested given it a characteristic black colour.
Hematochezia: often characterized by a bright red colour appearance and it indicates that the bleeding is from the lower digestive tract.
If you observe just a single blood streak in your dog’s poo but the larger portion is normal, you might not need to treat it as an emergency but you should discuss it with your Vet. Other accompanying symptoms of reduced activity, vomiting, weakness, diarrhoea (with large consistent bleeding), and difficulty in breathing requires immediate medical attention.
General causes of blood in the stool are:
- Bacterial infections.
- Viral infections.
- Inflammatory bowel disease.
- Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis.
- Cancer.
If you feed bones to your dogs or they are exposed to chemicals from fumigation or baiting, they are susceptible to having blood in their stool. More often than none, bloody poo is a medical emergency and should be treated as one.
