Doolin Has Tummy Issues + Bloody Stool

[Guest zombrie]

Lately, Doolin has been having some pretty bad tummy issues. 1-2 times per week he has such bad stomach pains he refuses to eat and his stomach makes so much noise you can hear it from upstairs because it is so loud. He gets very restless and last night it was so bad he was barking, crying and pacing everywhere because he didn't know what to do. He is lying in his bed now but his stomach is still making the loud noises and he just looks like he is in pain. Our first thought was possible acid reflux. So the past few weeks we have been giving him a snack before bed (around midnight) and we give him pepcid in the morning. It doesn't seem to be doing much good.

 

This morning all the dogs were out on the deck and we noticed somebody had pooped a tiny bit and there was a lot of blood in it, along with drips of blood in a couple other spots on the deck. At first we thought it was Kodie because she has been having a lot of health issues. But when picking it up there was a piece of potato in it. Doolin and Caesar had bits of potatoes last night, Kodie won't eat potatoes. Could it be IBD? He doesn't have the big D but I noticed the other day he had trouble going #2, so he might be a little constipated.

 

We are totally at a loss right now. Could this be in relation to whatever scratched his trachea? He never had any problems until that happened. We brought him home in November and he scratched his trachea February 21st.

 

Also another thought was, he absolutely hates when his routine is thrown off. He hates disruption and gets very antsy and upset when things do get thrown off. Yesterday my brother's dog came over and is spending the weekend with us. She is small and we don't trust Doolin or Kodie around her, so she is gated off in the kitchen. He was so distressed yesterday with the change. Last week when it happened, my mom and I were in Florida and we are his caretakers, so my dad and brother had to take care of him. It happened on our first day there. The previous weeks, it seems to happen on mondays or tuesdays, that is when I go back to school (I am "his person") Coincidence or maybe it is stress related???

 

Any thoughts on this? We will make him an appointment after the weekend but GTers always have good ideas.

[PrairieProf]

That sounds pretty bad. I think it could be so many different things. But I'd say he absolutely needs to be on metronidazole for a start. And if there's blood in his poop I would NOT wait until after the weekend but try to get him in somewhere today.

[MaryJane]

If I remember correctly, you were feeding bones? Is Doolin still getting bones?

 

If there is blood in the stool then Doolin needs to see the vet ASAP (today) especially if he is having such an upset stomach that he is barking and crying. I suspect that he probably needs to get an x-ray.

Edited March 19, 2011 by MaryJane

[Guest zombrie]

I said after the weekend because our vet office is not open on the weekends.

No, Doolin never got any bones. We don't give bones in this house due to two very food aggressive dogs

 

ETA he seems to be pepping up. I got him to eat about half of his breakfast

Edited March 19, 2011 by zombrie

[maggiespet]

I have no experience with the blood part, but I do with the noisy tummy part. We used FortiFlora to level out the good vs. not so good bacteria in her intestines. Worked like a charm. Hope sweet Doolin is feeling better real soon.

[PrairieProf]

If this were my dog, I would go to the emergency vet. He's evidently in pain, and if the blood were to turn into HGE, that's a true emergency.

[TheFullHouse]

We're going through the exact thing with Gee right now. Just had her to the vet on Thursday because she was pooping large amounts of blood. She was checked for parasites, giardia all negative. Blood work was unremarkable except for the protein levels but those were off because of the big D we've been experiencing. She's now on Flagyl (500 mg. 2 X daily) Carafate 2 X Daily Pepcid 2 X Daily and Immodium

 

Today is the first day she's eaten breakfast in 3 days and she just had her first pooh that had any kind of formation to it. She's still have a little runny pooh with it but it's a lot better and the best part is I saw no blood!

 

I'd take Doolin in tomorrow so the vet's can at least put him on something to help his tummy and if they put him on Carafate, that will protect his stomach from any more irritation.

 

Forgot to add, Gee was not allowed any food or treats of any kind for the first 24 hours to give her stomach a chance to rest and get some medication in her.

Edited March 19, 2011 by JillysFullHouse

[Hubcitypam]

Went through the same with Rex for a long time except for the pacing panting thing. His stomach would gurgle so loud itt would wake me. I was on the futon a lot of times in the middle of the night trying to get him to eat something, anything. If I could just prime his pump with a sardine or cheese or turkey he'd go on and eat a cup of canned + kibble and the grumbles would stop.

 

If it were me I'd take him to a vet - any vet - today just to get him assessed and started on some flagyl then consult with your vet later as neded.

Most vets around here are open on Saturdays. One even started opening on Sundays which is a nice back up to have if the need ever arises. Their office call is expensive but cheap compared to the e-vet.

 

Hope he feels better soon.

 

 

[Guest zombrie]

We're going through the exact thing with Gee right now. Just had her to the vet on Thursday because she was pooping large amounts of blood. She was checked for parasites, giardia all negative. Blood work was unremarkable except for the protein levels but those were off because of the big D we've been experiencing. She's now on Flagyl (500 mg. 2 X daily) Carafate 2 X Daily Pepcid 2 X Daily and Immodium

 

Today is the first day she's eaten breakfast in 3 days and she just had her first pooh that had any kind of formation to it. She's still have a little runny pooh with it but it's a lot better and the best part is I saw no blood!

 

I'd take Doolin in tomorrow so the vet's can at least put him on something to help his tummy and if they put him on Carafate, that will protect his stomach from any more irritation.

 

Forgot to add, Gee was not allowed any food or treats of any kind for the first 24 hours to give her stomach a chance to rest and get some medication in her.

 

Problem is he doesn't have the big D, it's solid poop with blood. I have offered him kibble, hamburger and potatoes (his absolute favorite) and he would only peal off and eat the potato skin. The loud tummy has seemed to stop, for now at least. He keeps going to the door now because he wants to graze on the little bit of dead grass that we have left

 

Went through the same with Rex for a long time except for the pacing panting thing. His stomach would gurgle so loud itt would wake me. I was on the futon a lot of times in the middle of the night trying to get him to eat something, anything. If I could just prime his pump with a sardine or cheese or turkey he'd go on and eat a cup of canned + kibble and the grumbles would stop.

 

If it were me I'd take him to a vet - any vet - today just to get him assessed and started on some flagyl then consult with your vet later as neded.

Most vets around here are open on Saturdays. One even started opening on Sundays which is a nice back up to have if the need ever arises. Their office call is expensive but cheap compared to the e-vet.

 

Hope he feels better soon.

This sounds a lot like Doolin. Did you ever find out what was causing it?

[Guest Stripeyfan]

This doesn't sound like IBD - Kelly has this and the main symptoms (for him) are weight loss and endless diarrhea. I would take Doolin to the vet ASAP. I don't want to scare you but bloody stool, bad pain and straining to do #2 makes me wonder if he's got something in his GI tract that shouldn't be there - is there any chance he could have eaten something which also caused the scratches in his throat? I caught Kelly trying to nick a clothes peg the other day and he's not usually the sort of dog who steals or chews things.

 

 

 

Poor Doolin, I hope whatever this is, he feels better soon.

[Hubcitypam]

This sounds a lot like Doolin. Did you ever find out what was causing it?

Nope. We wormed him over and over, testsed him for every parasite known to man, he had a standing script for Flagyl at the vet. They said it was colitis, but who knows? I changed foods and on about the eighth one it all quit. May have been a coincidence,

 

With Rex I had to have an arsenal of things -- tuna, sardines, braunswager (sp?), cheese, hot dogs, dried liver, chicken nuggets, hot dogs and other things that escape my memory. Often I'd have to try 3 or 4 to get him going and what he'd take one night usually wouldn't be what he'd take the next.

[kudzu]

Too many possibilities to speculate. The blood is a concern but the other GI upset may be as worrisome. You didn't mention what color the blood was. Have always heard that bright red is from close to the end of the GI tract. If a pup has had some constipation & has been straining it could just be a side effect of that so not a big concern if these are just drops of blood, not a lot. However, if the blood is darker in color then it is from earlier in the GI tract and could be a sign of a bigger problem. (Note: that is how I remember it & I'm not in a med related field) Perking up is a good thing though I'm a worry wart so I would still get it checked asap.

 

The gut noises & apparent pain without vomiting or big D, in fact with possible constipaption make me think of my dog with GI motility problems. Things just could not more through his GI tract in a timely or coordinated manner. Many things effect GI motility including some illnesses, stress, drugs, etc. Dysmotility can contribute to big D, constipation, vomiting, regurg, reflux, bloating, nutrient absorption, disturbances in gut flora which can lead to bacterial overgrowth. Treating the symptoms, finding the cause & treating it, keeping your pup comfortable in the meantime is all, well its just a big pain in the pattoot.

 

If the Pepcid isn't helping you may want to stop giving it. Or if you still think he needs an acid reducer you might switch to ranitidine (Zantac). Famotidine (Pepcid), in humans at least, not only reduces stomach acid but increases lower esophageal sphincter pressure. Maybe that's not what Doolin needs. In dogs ranitidine (Zantac) increases motility other parts of the GI tract. It is considered prokinetic & among other things it increases gastric emptying & colonic motility. That may or may not help the cause of the gut noises & constipation. However, if he has some blockage then increasing motility is definitely not what you want.

 

If part of the problem is related to GI infection or inflammation then the suggestion for metronidazole (Flagyl) is logical. But it won't help with reflux, stomach emptying or intestinal motility should those be the cause. Nor is it likely to help with an ulcer. Metoclopramide (Reglan) might but again not what you want if there's an obstruction. See, too many possibilities to speculate. I'd rather dump money on a wasted e-vet trip then later wish we'd gone. Again though, I'm a worry wart.

 

Hope Doolin is better very soon & it isn't anything serious.

 

ETA: My girly Grey when through bouts of colitis. They included big D & sometimes blood. Stress played a big factor being the tipping point sometimes. However, it all went away when we switched to no grains. Who knows what the real culprit was.

Edited March 19, 2011 by kudzu

[phall]

Brie,

 

I hope Doolin is doing better. It does sound concerning, especially with the blood in his stool. We had something similar with Star when we brought him home last May, but with some differences from what your seeing with Doolin. Star had the gurgly stomach and the blood in his stool. But he also had diarrhea and some mucous in his stool. After many months of tests, ultrasounds, diet changes, etc. he is finally doing well. He has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. There were times when we found blood in the house without it being with stool (once or twice small pools about the size of a dollar bill cut in half). Star was on sulfur, metronidizol, metamucil, and a prescription diet. Over the months, once he stabilized, we've been able to wean him back to only metronidizol and a prescription diet. We've worked with an internal medicine specialist and she's been great in getting my boy to feeling good.

 

Let us know how Doolin is doing and what your vet says.

 

Pat

[Guest zombrie]

This morning Doolin is 100% normal and then some. He is tearing around the house being a total crazy wildman. This happens every week. He is sick one day and then the next he feels better than ever.

There is no blood in his stool this morning and his poops are perfect. Last night we went to the barn. His poops are always perfect the day after he goes to the barn. What does he eat there? Horse poop. It seems like horse poop always makes him feel better. Horses eat pure grains and fibers. When Doolin had the big D for the first two months we had him, eating horse poop always firmed him right up. He doesn't even attempt to eat dog poop, so something in horse poop is very appetizing to him. I wonder if there is just something missing from his diet that is causing all his issues?

 

Brie,

 

I hope Doolin is doing better. It does sound concerning, especially with the blood in his stool. We had something similar with Star when we brought him home last May, but with some differences from what your seeing with Doolin. Star had the gurgly stomach and the blood in his stool. But he also had diarrhea and some mucous in his stool. After many months of tests, ultrasounds, diet changes, etc. he is finally doing well. He has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. There were times when we found blood in the house without it being with stool (once or twice small pools about the size of a dollar bill cut in half). Star was on sulfur, metronidizol, metamucil, and a prescription diet. Over the months, once he stabilized, we've been able to wean him back to only metronidizol and a prescription diet. We've worked with an internal medicine specialist and she's been great in getting my boy to feeling good.

 

Let us know how Doolin is doing and what your vet says.

 

Pat

 

Interesting. My dad thinks Doolin has colitis. I guess we'll just see what the vet says. It's just so strange that this all happened after he scratched his trachea.

[kudzu]

Behold the power of horse poop! lol Oh, my dogs love it. Ugh. Never seems to harm them.

 

So maybe listen to Doolin's body & add fiber to his diet. Psyllium powder is easy to find & cheap. Or whip up a batch of oatmeal. My dogs love that. Those would help add soluble fiber. You could try that to see if it helps. If not then you might switch to bran to add insoluble fiber instead.

 

Glad he's better.

[maggiespet]

So glad Mr. Handsomeness is feeling better. I will have my Doolin radar up to find that hunka hound at GIG!!!!

[Guest zombrie]

So glad Mr. Handsomeness is feeling better. I will have my Doolin radar up to find that hunka hound at GIG!!!!

As long as he makes it there! He has very bad car sickness. We will have to really drug him up for the long drive

[Remolacha]

Glad he is feeling better! He may just have a sensitive system, and when it gets out of whack, he goes for the MHP (magic horse poop) cure