# Blood in pups stool



## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Yesterday I noticed blood in my 5 month-old Yorkie's poop. I immediatly bagged it up and took it to the vet, the test came back negative. They said it was probably nothing and to put her on a bland diet for a couple days. They recommended rice (i'm assuming brown), cottage cheese and boiled chicken. If it continues after a couple days on that, then I should bring her in. My question is, is this normal? She eats Nutro Ultra with no prior problems. Has anyone had this problem with their dog?


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Was the blood on the outside of the poop, as if it were a sausage case? If so, your dog couls have eaten something sharp, and the object pierced the lining if the intestines. I'd say it's not normal, but if my guess is right, and the object was small enough, the intestines would heal on their own. The alternative however, if it is a bigger object, is scarry. Did they take any x-rays? Did they feel around your dogs organs? I don't mean to scare you, but it is among the possibilities.

What kind of food are you feeding him? What you saw may not have been blood at all. Some dog foods have red dye in them, and if it accumulates for some reason, I'm sure it could look a lot like blood.


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## crazydays (Jul 24, 2007)

Hi- another cause of bleeding can be allergy to whats in the food. I am assuming there hasn't been a change in food. I am not qualified to try to tell you what the problem could be. My dog-7yr old has extreme bleeding when she has allergy to seameal and kelp. 3days ago I started a switch of food from solid gold to Innova. I was very careful not to chose one with kelp and seameal. Today there was quite alot of blood in her stool. I am only left to try to guess what it is. So- I just wanted to let you know that food allergies can cause bleeding.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

A good case of parasites, quite common in pups, can also cause bloody stools. If it continues take another FRESH specimen into the vet. Parasites are very difficult to isolate from stool specimens. Often a vet will treat for worms even though the test is negative, if the symptoms fall in line with that diagnosis.


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## Lightwingcreations (May 7, 2007)

I agree with what is said above. Also, was the stool that had blood in/on it hard? If it was a very hard and larger than normal stool, it could be that there was some tearing at the anus, which could explain the blood. I would definately watch her and her bowel movements for anything else. Watch for straining when deficating.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Now a new problem... I started feeding her what the vet recommended, but now she almost 'shoots' liquid poop out. It's a very small amout and has nothing solid to pick up, just a slight spot of blood in this mornings droppings. She still is acting normal, eats and plays. She doesn't seem 'sick' at all. Should I switch her back to her dry food as soon as the blood issue is gone? I had both my dogs on Canidae, but it made my 1 year old itch like crazy. What dry kibble is good for both puppies and adults? Feeding them seperate is almost impossible and I was told that I could put the younger one on adult food... as I was reminded years ago puppy food didn't even exsist and dogs were fine. I don't want to keep switching thier food, I just want to find a good quality dry kibble that they can both eat and be done with it! Seems like whatever I feed them, one of them has a problem.

I forgot to mention what food they were on ... Nutro Ultra small breed. I had the puppy, Pippa, on puppy food and the adult, Maggie,on dog food, but they ate each others, so I started feeding them in different rooms... but Pippa won't eat unless Maggie's right beside her. So then I just started feeding them both puppy food, (Nutro Ultra Puppy), but noticed Maggie gaining weight. Then at a trip to the vet, I saw that Canidae is for puppies & adults... FINALLY, I have found the perfect solution to the feeding problems, right? Wrong! About 2 weeks into that, Maggie wouldn't stop itching, that was when I was told that the 5 month old could be on adult food and went to Nutro Ultra Small Breed Adult. They've been eating that for about 3 weeks, the bloody poop started 2 days ago, so I'm not really sure if it was the food. The blood is getting less, but they've both been eating brown rice, boiled chicken & cottage cheese, that is what the vet told me to feed her, so I just give it to both of them. But now Pippa has the liquid version of #2.


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## crazydays (Jul 24, 2007)

Hi. It might be the speed at which you are transitioning from the old food to the new. I am in the process of switching as well. My dog is passing blood in her stools as well. I really slowed down the process and since I did that she has had no more blood. We have to remember changing food can be really hard on the GI system.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Should I just pick a food and slowly change them, over a week or longer? Is it okay to give the 5 month old the same food as the 14 month old? Or would it be okay to just feed them both puppy food for 5 more months than switch? I've had dogs my whole life and never been so worried about what food they were eating, nor have I had any problems...


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

First, I'm no vet , but stop trying to get the dog back on kibble so quickly. You have to give her digestive system time to calm down and heal itself before introducing solid food again. 

Did your vet give you any flagyl for the dog? Flagyl is an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory and often prescribed in cases like this to help calm the digestive tract down. 

Obviously there is something very wrong going on. I'd call the vet and have them do a thorough exam.


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## Vinnysgirl (Sep 5, 2007)

I went through this with Maycie because she was grabbing bites of Sophie's adult dog food even with me standing right next to her. The vet treated her for a colon irritation because it was fresh bright red blood and not much so he said it was in the large intestine colon area. He also told me because Sophie is only 14 months old that she could continue the puppy food I'm feeding Maycie since she is so active and they would be eating together. They do wonderfully now and we haven't hand any more issues regarding food and upset stomachs and irritated colons. I would go back and talk to your vet. Have your dog go through an exam and then ask the vet for something to help calm her intestines down. I had to feed my girls rice and chicken for 2 weeks and then slowly mixed the puppy food back in for another week until it was all puppy food. They had soft stools for a day or two and now it's back to normal. It does take some time though so patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to a puppys tummy!!! Good luck!


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

So the blood has pretty much cleared up, but I'm going to keep her on the chicken & rice diet for a little while longer. Both dogs now have very soft, (near liquid) & mucusy stools. Is that the normal result from chicken & rice?


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Doesn't sound normal to me. I would call the vet and at least take in another stool sample. And I would want the dogs seen again.


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## Lightwingcreations (May 7, 2007)

I agree with Brite, take your dogs to the vet with fresh stool samples and tell the vet everything that has been going on. Including anything and everything they have been ingesting. Near liquid stool is totally NOT normal, especially if it occurs more than once and both dogs should have a very thorough exam by the vet. Dogs can become dehydrated very quickly when they have consistant diarrhea so you need to get this checked quickly. Keep us posted.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

She has an appointment tomorrow, that was the soonest they could see her. My other dogs poop is normal now, but the younger one is still having problems. It probably is from the quick change in their food, I just hope not too much damage has been done. She has been scooting lately too, I'm hoping it's just because she itches. She was just dewormed a couple of moths ago, could she still get worms? Everything else is normal except for the poop, so I really don't think it's anything serious... or at least I don't want to think that. After I talk to the vet, I think I'll probably just put both of them back on puppy food for about 5 more months... when it's time, I'm going to keep them on the chicken & rice diet as long as the vet recommends then VERY slowly mix in some puppy food. I wish that Canidae worked out, I hear nothing but good stuff about it.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Quick update and more confusion. I took her to the vet, followed all of their instructions, gave her all of her meds and it never got better. I then took another sample in, which they sent out and it also came back negative. So the good news is it's not a parasite. But we're going on week #4 with mucusy and slightly bloody mush. She is currently eating ONLY white rice and cottage cheese, which the vet said to feed her, if that doesn't help after 3-4 days, (which I am seeing no improvement and this is day #2), then they'll try something else. What on earth can her problem be???? Could she be lactose intolerant? Could the cottage cheese be causing this? I hate to keep changing things up on her and with the vet seemingly stumped, it kind of worries me since she is so small and still a puppy. She is only 5.5 months old and weighs 4.6 lbs. She doesn't act sick, so I don't think she's affected by it. But with her not being fully housebroken... well you get the idea. And she won't go on the grass...uuhhhgggg!  
Any thoughts on pinpointing what the problem may be?


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

mrsd211 said:


> Quick update and more confusion. I took her to the vet, followed all of their instructions, gave her all of her meds and it never got better. I then took another sample in, which they sent out and it also came back negative. So the good news is it's not a parasite. But we're going on week #4 with mucusy and slightly bloody mush. She is currently eating ONLY white rice and cottage cheese, which the vet said to feed her, if that doesn't help after 3-4 days, (which I am seeing no improvement and this is day #2), then they'll try something else. What on earth can her problem be???? Could she be lactose intolerant? Could the cottage cheese be causing this? I hate to keep changing things up on her and with the vet seemingly stumped, it kind of worries me since she is so small and still a puppy. She is only 5.5 months old and weighs 4.6 lbs. She doesn't act sick, so I don't think she's affected by it. But with her not being fully housebroken... well you get the idea. And she won't go on the grass...uuhhhgggg!
> Any thoughts on pinpointing what the problem may be?


what did they give you for meds?????? 
I would pull her off the cottage cheese..... 
I would want her on a course of metronidizol and I would want her tested for coccidia...... and I might even treat regardless..... 

I think I would have her on straight rice for a few days and then add in some boiled hamburger I probably would also add in some probiotics and digestive enzymes to her food and see how that goes and see what happens.... 
it might also be time for a second opinion from a different vet ....


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

They gave her Carafate and Flagyl. If I put her on straight rice, will she be getting enough nutrients?


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

mrsd211 said:


> They gave her Carafate and Flagyl. If I put her on straight rice, will she be getting enough nutrients?


metronidizol is flagyl..... 

get rid of the cottage cheese and lactose stuff.... 
add digestive enzymes the rice will not be enough nutrients for the long term but you can see if it helps the reality is if everything is going through her right now then she isn't getting the nutrients from the foods anyway

and get a second opinion and bring a new stool sample. 
s


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## Brindle_APBT (Dec 10, 2006)

Im not sure if you posted this already, but i would get a Parvo test done, that sounds just like what happened to my dogs when they were pups. And they had Parvo. Let me know how it turns out. Get it done fast though cause if not found early parvo can kill ur dog.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Okay... now she is on a diet straight from the vet... Purina EN. On average she has a couple semi-firm poops a day and a couple bloody, runny poops. She gets nothing else to eat, unless she catches a fly. So I guess it's getting better. I think I'm responsible for this whole mess by switching her food too fast. I read on another board that someone had their dog on a bland diet for 9 months before their stools got back to normal. I guess I better stock up on this food. My other concern now is that if she still has this problem in the next couple of months I can't get her spayed. They suggested I get this problem cleared up first, but I don't want her going through a heat. She is pushing 6 months now. You think the dry food would help firm her poop up faster? The canned is pretty solid , the vet said it doesn't matter much, maybe I should try both? I just want this cleared up so I can have her spayed before her first heat.


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

Hmmmph...if a vet told me that blood in my dog's stools were 'nothing' I would be finding a new vet. 

As a rule, blood in stool or urine is not something to NOT be concerned about!!! 

The blood could be internal bleeding, or Coccidioccis, or some other internal parasite. I would watch her carefully and perhaps get a second opinion.


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## Anela (Sep 8, 2007)

I agree with most of the above, however.

I panicked a few years ago when my newly adopted dog did this. I have a "city vet" and a "country vet". City vet said to bring in the dog and a sample, country vet said it was not unusual for a dog to do this, unless it continues for a few days.

Lesson I learned from country vet: If the situation is not life threatening, let mother nature do her thing for a while and see what happens. This lesson has saved me huge amounts of time, frustration and money.

Anela


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Today is about 4 weeks since all of this started. After talking to the vet, I went ahead with having her spayed. After the surgery the vert called me to let me know that that part went fine, but since she had her opened, she went ahead and pulled out her intestines and bowels to check for anything unusual, fortunatly she found nothing as far as lumps. But she said she still has a lot of blood and mucas and is quite inflamed. She is now on antibiotics and flagyl and eating a special food from the vet. She's so sleepy from the surgery still, I just hope this clears up this time. The vet feels strongly that it is a dietary problem.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Pippa was diagnosed with Colitis. I'm so happy to have a diagnosis after a month of not understanding what was going on! The blood seemed to be worse today so I called the vet to see if it was "normal" for her condition and they said yes, with the meds she's on, I should see improvement around Monday. So my question is for anyone who's dog has had this... Does it really get better in a couple of days? She was on this medication before and I saw no improvement... although they did only give me 6 pills the first time. She's on Flagyl. I feel so bad for her. Also after reading a little about it on the internet, weight loss is almost gaurenteed, she's not even 5 lbs., she can't afford to lose weight! Should I feed her as much as she can eat while she's going through this?


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

Do not feed her as much as she can eat - that will stress her digestive system and that's not what you want to do. Did your vet tell you frequent small meals for the first week? That's what I did with Buck - he had 6 *very small *meals throughout the day. She should do fine if you keep her on the meds and don't make any food changes again. The flagyl is pretty fast acting. Just don't try to rush it. Don't worry about the weight loss now - just get her system calmed down and back normal.

Buck has colitis. It didn't take nearly as long to diagnose him as it did in your case, but he was treated with flagyl, I was told to add lactobaccillius to his diet, which I did for a short time then stopped. He's been fine since he was treated.

The key with colitis is to avoid any sudden changes, and keep the diet bland and easy - like a person with an ulcer needs to do. Do not keep changing from wet to kibble, or changing formulas of food. Any sudden changes could cause a recurrance of what you just went through. 

The best advice I can give you from my experience is Keep It Simple. Keep the food the same, keep the feeding times the same, if you feed only twice a day, you might want give a treat or two midday. Just so there's something in his stomach. 

I know I keep saying don't change foods, but the Nutro you were feeding might be too 'rich' for your dog. You might consider another food. If you do, the change needs to be done slowly - and I mean slowly. I would start by adding about 5 pieces of kibble to what he's eating now and over the course of 2 weeks - or longer complete the change. Having said that, now is not the time to change. Wait until she's improved.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Thanks for the response, Renoman. I have already decided to not put her back on the Nutro, I think that's what started this whole mess. She is currently on Purina EN, I mix canned with the dry, (more dry than wet), should I just be giving her one or the other and if so, which one is best? I did some searching on the internet and noticed that Natural Balance Fish & Sweet Potato was recommended a lot for dogs with this problem, I printed out the info on that food and will take it to the vet when she has her follow up appointment to get her opinion on it. I plan on having both dogs on the same food, which ever one works for Pippa and NEVER changing it again. It's such a gross problem and with her not being fully house-trained yet, Spot Shot has become my new best friend.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

mrsd211 said:


> Thanks for the response, Renoman. I have already decided to not put her back on the Nutro, I think that's what started this whole mess. She is currently on Purina EN, I mix canned with the dry, (more dry than wet), should I just be giving her one or the other and if so, which one is best? I did some searching on the internet and noticed that Natural Balance Fish & Sweet Potato was recommended a lot for dogs with this problem, I printed out the info on that food and will take it to the vet when she has her follow up appointment to get her opinion on it. I plan on having both dogs on the same food, which ever one works for Pippa and NEVER changing it again. It's such a gross problem and with her not being fully house-trained yet, Spot Shot has become my new best friend.


Lucky for me Buck is house trained and I didn't have the added grossness of cleaning up the carpet  

Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato is very good for dogs with colitis. Salmon is easily digested and not in any way rich. My vet highly recommends it for colitis. It will work great for your other dog as well. 

For right now *don't change anything.* You'll only succeed in upsetting her system again. Leave things as they are until you see your vet again. If your pup is improved and your vet gives the ok, then you could slowly (I can't emphasize enough that you need to go slow - you seem to have a tendancy to jump too quickly. Not trying to be rude, just my observation from your previous posts  ) 

Add only a few pieces at a time to their current food and gradually increase.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Renoman said:


> Lucky for me Buck is house trained and I didn't have the added grossness of cleaning up the carpet
> 
> Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato is very good for dogs with colitis. Salmon is easily digested and not in any way rich. My vet highly recommends it for colitis. It will work great for your other dog as well.
> 
> ...



That isn't rude, I've had big dogs that would eat anything prior to my 2 little ones now. Once I got Maggie, I was very careful when I changed her foods, but after Pippa, them eating each others foods was becoming an issue and I just made dumb decisions in trying to fond one food for both of them, I have defenatly learned my lesson!  I won't be changing anything until the vet okays it.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

It will all be fine in the 'end'.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

I just had to re-read this thread. It seems like Pippa has had this problem forever! She is 9 months old now and is still suffering from diarrhea. I have taken her to a different vet and we have been aggressivly trying to figure out what is going on with her. Her bloodwork was done and to quote the vet she is "severely anemic and has an extremely high white blood cell count". My first thought was cancer, but the pathologist reviewed her results and does not find evidence of cancer. I'm sure there was more to the results than what I quoted the vet, I've just heard so much latley, my head is spinning. So the not cancer part is great news, but we still have no answers. We are currently waiting for the results of a more in depth fecal culture which is testing for things like salmonella. Partial results have so far come back negative, they're still waiting for the salmonella.  I don't think that's it, it seems to me this has been going on too long to be that. I do hope it is something as simple as an infection, but they need to find out what soon. I know that she can't go on the way she is forever. I noticed in one of my posts, I said she was 5.5 months old and weighed 4.6 lbs. She's 9 months old now and only weighs 4.8 lbs. She is VERY boney. She eats fine, she plays, she does sleep a lot but she always has been more mellow than my other one. I just have no idea. I do love our new vet, I know they are doing everything they can to find the problem. They call to check up on her, and the doctor always takes my calls. 
So here's some of the things going on with her, whether they're significant or not, they are either facts or things that I think are unusual...


chronic diarrhea (sometimes with blood; goes about 4-6 times a day and 2-4 times at night; small amounts)
anemic
high white blood cell count
very boney (but has very normal appetite; eats 3 meals a day)
'mystery' spots in her ears (these appeared around Nov. and are flat & black; freckles maybe, but she hadn't been outside a lot and they seemed to have appeared overnight)
gurgling noises in her belly (I noticed this about a couple weeks ago)
active/playful (not extremely, but she never really was)
yeasty smelling eye goo

If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to throw them out.


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## crazydays (Jul 24, 2007)

I feel so bad for you and your pup- what a nightmare.
What tests did they do to determine no cancer? Has she had a colonoscopy?
What definitive test told the she had colitis? Has the pup been seen by a internist- specialized in pathophysiology. I am wondering about her going to a Vet Hospital. 
This little pup has a overwhelming process going on between weight issues, hunger, immune disturbance-wbc count high, eye infections, anemia.
How are they treating her anemia?
I am wondering if she has polps or a tear somewhere inside her bowel that causes her to bleed. I know colitis causes irritation that can result in blood loss. I am just thinking out loud.
You are so caring to have been dealing with all this.
Big hug for sure!!!!!


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

crazydays said:


> I feel so bad for you and your pup- what a nightmare.
> What tests did they do to determine no cancer? Has she had a colonoscopy?
> What definitive test told the she had colitis? Has the pup been seen by a internist- specialized in pathophysiology. I am wondering about her going to a Vet Hospital.
> This little pup has a overwhelming process going on between weight issues, hunger, immune disturbance-wbc count high, eye infections, anemia.
> ...


The only tests that has ruled out cancer was her bloodwork. There must have been other results that ruled it out, the anemia and white blood cell count was all my brain grabbed on to at the time. The vet did say that the pathalogist strongly feels it's not cancer. I'm afraid that if her current fecal culture all comes back negative, a colonoscopy will be the next step. The vet prescribed a short round of Baytril just incase it turns out to be an infection. But she threw up her 1st dose within an hour of taking it. The doctor told me to cut it in half and give her a half twice a day, instead of all at once. If she throws up again, we'll have to stop giving it to her. Everyone at the vet is working on this mystery, I am really impressed with how they are handling it. The colitis was determined when she had her spay and they pretty much pulled her insides out to look at her. But I question that now, because NOTHING is helping her and they might have just said that because it was the only thing that made sense. If I had stayed with the 1st vet (we've been with them for 9 years, but I'm done with them now!), she would die. I was in there all the time buying the food they told me to feed her and calling them asking, "... are you sure this is okay...?" they just told me it was a food allergy and that I had to give her body more time because she's small... I think because she is so young, they were never even going to look at anything other than a food allergy. 
Sometimes I think a diagnosis would be easier if she _acted_ sick.   I don't think it's anything contagious, because we have another yorkie that is perfectly fine and after 4+ months, I think she would have got sick by now. 
The vet has told me this couldn't have been done by the food change, but I'm always going to wonder because this all started around the same time.


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## crazydays (Jul 24, 2007)

At least with the colonoscopy they can see into her bowel-if there are tears, polyps, tumors etc. She is bleeding from somewhere. The anemia is caused by blood loss. I just don't know how they have ruled out cancer by only taking a blood test. You have many questions for sure.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

crazydays said:


> You have many questions for sure.


Agreed! I don't think they have 100% ruled out cancer, but feel that it may be an infection or some other digestive/intestinal disease more than the cancer. I should hear something soon. I did give her the 1/2 dose of the Baytril and so far so good, it's been a couple hours. I'm just keping my fingers (and toes) crossed that the current tests shows a positive so we can begin the proper medication.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

My first thought was with Shalva's.. and I was thinking Coccidiosis. the issue with that is the dog may show diarrhea and blood in the stool but if she is not shedding the oocysts, the stool comes out as negative. Repeated frequent testing is the only way to isolate the issue. 

Now reading through this I must say I am stumped. I have a few things I am wondering but with you working so closely with yur vet I don't want to add to the confusion. 

Do keep us postes as to the results and outcome. 

The only question I have is if anyone tested her for pancreatic insufficiency? The description of symptoms you list does not strictly fit with this, but I am wondering.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Elana55 said:


> The only question I have is if anyone tested her for pancreatic insufficiency? The description of symptoms you list does not strictly fit with this, but I am wondering.


I honestly don't know if they have tested her for that, I don't think so. To date, she's had 4 fecal tests, 1 of them is the current one that is not the basic test. This one is much more in depth and they are looking for toxins. She's had her insides looked at throughly during her spay and she had bloodwork done. I don't know if there is more than one type of blood test, nobody has mentioned doing another one. I do think she will end up having a colonoscopy, but I also think that just might be what finds the problem. Or that's what I'm telling myself, anyways. If she goes through that and they still don't know what's going on then my hope will begin to disappear because what else can they do after that?  It's a very strange situation, for sure!


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

All fecal tests are negative. Normally that would be good news, but in this situation it's not. Pippa goes in tomorrow morning for more blood tests, this one for a liver shunt. She doesn't really fit the symptoms, but we just want to be sure. The next step if that is negative is surgery and biopsy...   The vet said a endoscopy won't even be needed because she very possibly is too swollen inside to get a good look. She doesn't appear swollen, but I'm not the expert. The biopsy seems to be the surest way if it comes to that. I just want to know what's going on inside her little body.


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## crazydays (Jul 24, 2007)

Mrsd- I am thinking about all you are going through. Hang in and good luck ok!


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Okay, so today I spoke with a woman whom I was possibly going to work for. She owns a crystal/oil shop... here's a little description of her... 

_"...she discovered that she has a natural gift of hands that heal – perhaps part of her Native American heritage, she is a Reiki Master..."_

I'm not normally into that, (I called her to let her know that another potential job is in my near future), but while I had her on the phone, I mentioned Pippa and her situation and asked her if she ever works with animals. She listened to my story of Pippa's medical history and symptoms and said she felt she was stressed. Ahhh... stress is the 1st thing the vet asked me about and I said she wasn't. But this 'healer', without any knowledge of Maggie (our other yorkie), said she feels she's stressed because of "another animal". I was floored! When the vet asked me about it, I said no, not even thinking of Maggie, but after the other lady mentioned it... OMG... Maggie is SO stressful to Pippa! She isn't mean to her, but she is aggressive when she wants to play and looking back Pippa has always walked on eggshells around Maggie. 
I looked up the signs of stress in dogs and she surely fits them. Shaking, licking her lips (or whatever dogs have), diarrhea and other ones. 

I most certainly am still looking for a medical diagnosis and will continue until we have answers. But with all tests coming back negative, stress seems a very likely possibility. I'll talk to the vet about that when she calls me, probably today. 

And so if that's what this whole mess is, what now? These are my surrogate babies and removing one from our family isn't an option. How do I get peace and tranquility among them? 

I hope I don't sound off my rocker, but when you're in a situation like this and nothing is working and you're getting no answers, I think it's natural to start looking in different places. I AM DESPERATE for answers. She can't continue the way she is, she will die.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Well good news and bad news. The results came in today from the shunt test and all signs of that point to a liver shunt. What the...???!!! The vet said that a normal level of whatever they look for is 7, Pippa's is 98. I'm just speechless and confused, so is the vet. Pips doesn't fit most of the symptoms, but what little I've read about this, I did read that not all dogs with liver shunts have all the symptoms. On top of this, I also found out that the 1st vet, that was sure it was nothing more than a food allergy, had me feeding her z/d which is SUPER high in protein and she needs the exact opposite. So for the past 3+ months, she's been eating either the z/d (18% protein) or the fish & sweet potato (21% protein). Just wonderful! I've been feeding her the worst thing I could feed her. I have to start feeding her low protein. This poor dog has been through so much in her 9 months. I also contacted the breeder, whom I've been keeping updated on Pippa, to let her know what is going on and she can't believe it either. She said in her 34 years of breeding, she's only had 1 puppy that had a liver shunt. I also wanted to let her know that I don't expect anything from her (her health guarentee was for 3 months), but she assured me that if, god forrbid, anything does happen that she will take care of us. I feel she is an extremely good breeder, I was in a yorkie group and quite a few of the members had pups from this breeder, she's also an AKC registered breeder. 
So that's what's going on for now. I have amoxicillin & flagyl, vet said she'll be on these long term, possibly forever.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

The vet said that it's very possible Pippa has a shunt and a GI disease...she's taking her meds and the vet will check back in next week. Has anyone heard of a dog having a shunt and not having the typical symptoms?


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

Pippa seems to be doing much better! Her stools are almost normal most of the time, she still has occasional diarrhea, but has improved tremendously! She loves her homemade food (so does her sis, Maggie, who is pushing 10lbs. now!) Anyways, I took Pippa in to be weighed yesterday and she is 4lbs. 12oz. She's gained 4 oz.! We still don't know what exactly is wrong with her, but she seems to be improving on her new diet. She sleeps through the night and doesn't go 20 times a day. I also noticed her urine is more of a normal color, it looked a little dark to me before. I AM SO HAPPY that she is better. She plays a lot more now too. She'll actually initiate playing with Maggie, before she only played if Maggie wouldn't leave her alone. I know she may still be sick, but as long as she is going up, I think we'll hold off on more tests for now. As soon as I think things might be changing for the worse, she'll be back at the vets getting poked and tested. Hopefully it won't come to that.


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## lisa226 (Dec 19, 2007)

I am so happy to hear that Pippa is doing better! That is so great. I hope that she continues doing well. She deserves it after all she has been through!


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## CerbiesMom (Jan 30, 2008)

It's so hard dealing with a sick baby dog. But good for you for sicking with it. I adopted a sick dog, and my family thought I was crazy for spending so much money on him. At least here you have ppl who understand what you're going through. I'm glad she's feeling better.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

mrsd211 said:


> Pippa seems to be doing much better! Her stools are almost normal most of the time, she still has occasional diarrhea, but has improved tremendously! She loves her homemade food (so does her sis, Maggie, who is pushing 10lbs. now!) Anyways, I took Pippa in to be weighed yesterday and she is 4lbs. 12oz. She's gained 4 oz.! We still don't know what exactly is wrong with her, but she seems to be improving on her new diet. She sleeps through the night and doesn't go 20 times a day. I also noticed her urine is more of a normal color, it looked a little dark to me before. I AM SO HAPPY that she is better. She plays a lot more now too. She'll actually initiate playing with Maggie, before she only played if Maggie wouldn't leave her alone. I know she may still be sick, but as long as she is going up, I think we'll hold off on more tests for now. As soon as I think things might be changing for the worse, she'll be back at the vets getting poked and tested. Hopefully it won't come to that.


I am SO glad to hear this. I don't know HOW I missed this update before. Keep up the good work. If she continues to do well, I'd take her in any way to have blood work done to compare to her previous blood work and see if there's anything she may not be getting in the home cooked diet. That way you can adjust accordingly.

We were just talking about this in another thread.

http://www.dogforums.com/5-dog-food-forum/21414-those-you-who-feed.html#post197606

BD had some good advice for us home cookers.


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

ChrissyBz said:


> I am SO glad to hear this. I don't know HOW I missed this update before. Keep up the good work. If she continues to do well, I'd take her in any way to have blood work done to compare to her previous blood work and see if there's anything she may not be getting in the home cooked diet. That way you can adjust accordingly.
> 
> We were just talking about this in another thread.
> 
> ...


That is a great idea! I had thought of doing it when she first started getting better, but thought I should wait a bit. She still has some runny poop, but it's sooooo much better then it was and I'm so happy that she's putting weight on. However, her tongue and gums are still pale, so I'm sure she's still anemic. But we're watching her and the vet wants to keep her on the antibiotic. I'll be taking her in sometime in Feb. just so the vet can look her over and stuff. Probably get her blood work done then.

Lisa~ How is Maggie doing?


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## lisa226 (Dec 19, 2007)

mrsd211 said:


> That is a great idea! I had thought of doing it when she first started getting better, but thought I should wait a bit. She still has some runny poop, but it's sooooo much better then it was and I'm so happy that she's putting weight on. However, her tongue and gums are still pale, so I'm sure she's still anemic. But we're watching her and the vet wants to keep her on the antibiotic. I'll be taking her in sometime in Feb. just so the vet can look her over and stuff. Probably get her blood work done then.
> 
> Lisa~ How is Maggie doing?


Thanks so much for asking about Maggie. She is doing okay...this past week she had more days than not where she had softer looking poop, and it appeared as if her tummy was hurting her because she walked around the yard a bit. She also seemed to have a little bit more gas than usual this week. The diarrhea has still not come back so I am really thankful about that. Yesterday and today, she seemed a little better, so hopefully she will have a better week.

I hope that Pippa continues feeling better. Thanks again for asking.

Lisa


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

New Pippa update... since I've started making her food, she seems to be completely normal! She is FINALLY over 5 pounds! (5 lbs. 4 oz.) and we finally get to see her personality! I have pics below, kind of a before & after thing. Also, the mystery spots in her ears are gone! I hope you can see from the pictures, the weight she's put on! I am just ecstatic!!! She was near death, I feel that if I hadn't changed her food when I did, she would not be with us.

Picture taken on 1/19/08:









Picture taken on 3/25/08:


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## 5 s corral (Dec 31, 2007)

Hi 
I would try the dry to did they test her for parvo 
if not i would do that 
jamie


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## mrsd211 (Jun 28, 2007)

5 s corral said:


> Hi
> I would try the dry to did they test her for parvo
> if not i would do that
> jamie


 Yes, that was one of the first tests they did. She seems completely fine now! She has color in her tongue and gums, she's near her "ideal" weight. In January I weighed her and she was 3 lbs. 6oz., that was the lowest I saw her weight, she is now 5 lbs. 4 oz. I haven't seen diarrhea for a couple months now. And she finally seems to be housebroken!  We have given her very little treats and she's still had no problems. I'm starting to believe that all dog food has some common ingredient, because she stayed sick no matter what food I had her on, and I had her on vet prescribed food for months. She didn't start getting better until I started making her food. In fact, both of my dogs seem better, Maggie's weight has balanced out. I'm just so happy this whole ordeal seems to be behind her now!


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Congratulations. I'm so happy for you.


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## Hound (May 20, 2009)

There may be several possible causes of seeing blood in your dog’s stool. The first thing to do is not to panic, and to review the activities that your dog has been engaged in lately, including his diet, and the places your dog has been in. Blood in the stool is often caused by gastrointestinal problems that are caused by bacteria, intestinal parasites, and inflammation of anal sacs. There are home remedies that you can give your dog such as garlic and water. However, it is still advisable for you to immediately check with the vet to be able to determine the appropriate treatment.


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