Dog Bloody Diarrhea

by Jackie
(Philipines)

My 2 year old dog is having diarrhea with some blood. What is weird is that now my 8 yr old toy Chihuahua is now having the same issue?

Vet Suggestion for Dogs with Bloody Diarrhea


Hi Kelly,

Certain conditions that cause diarrhea with blood in the stool are more likely than others to affect several dogs in the same household. Eating something unusual can do it, and both dogs may have gotten into the same thing in the yard, house, on a walk. Intestinal parasites like whipworms and Giardia can be transmitted between adult dogs, as can some types of infections.

As long as your dogs are eating, drinking, not vomiting, and seem to feel fine otherwise, there should be no harm in giving them 24 hours or so to see how they do. Simple cases of gastroenteritis (e.g., those that are caused by eating or drinking something unusual) will often begin to self-correct in that amount of time.

You can help things along by giving them a product like Proviable-KP, which contains a paste that helps firm up runny stools and probiotic capsules to reestablish normal intestinal flora.

If your dogs are not back to normal in a couple of days or if their conditions worsen at any point, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian. He or she will want to look at both dogs, microscopically examine stool samples from each, and perhaps run some other diagnostic tests based on these initial results.



Good luck,

Jennifer Coates, DVM