Dog with blood in stool ( Dx Gastrointestinal Pythiosis)(Update Post 108)

[csaper58]

This is my 2 yr. old aussie. He is current on vacc. no fever or vomiting, acting normal, good appetite, gums look good.

No access to rat poison that I know of.

He is a scavenger…eats acorns, earthwoorms, cat poo, I pulled part of a dead bird out of his mouth the other day.

Vet rx is Flagyl and Endosorb and bland diet of chicken and rice. Stool was negative for parasites and Giardia.

It isn’t a lot of blood just traces of it and a lot of mucus in very loose stool.

Anything else to do for him? Anything to watch for that would warrant rushing to the vet?

Thanks!

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Feb. 29, 2016 (5 months later)

Just updating for posterity. This dog was diagnosed with Gastrointestinal Pythiosis in November 2015, after two surgeries, and more $ than I want to add up he has been declared cured today. The vets say this is not the usual outcome.

I must add that although Himself was able to have the recommended surgical treatment, our primary care vet has another dog he is treating that was not a candidate for surgery due to the location of it’s disease. That dog has been treated with the vaccine and at this time is still alive, although not cured. The vaccine is very hit or miss but if surgery is not an option it may be worth a try.

[Horsegal984]

I would still treat for whipworms, do Panacur for 5 days now and repeat in three weeks. Whipworms are not easy to find on fecals, but can frequently cause those symptoms.

What heartworm prevention is he on?

[Horsegal984]

And to answer your questions, increasing to a lot of blood (more bloody than brown) would warrant an immediate recheck/ER visit. Often it’s just colitis but if it progresses to HGE it can become serious quickly.

[ElisLove]

My poodle will sometimes have a little bit of blood in his stool when he eats all the things. Such as the things he manages to find out of the trash at the barn (usually the trash is in a trash can, but the odd time that gets full so they pull the bag out and leave it on the ground). He’s usually a bit stinky (farty) for a couple days, and takes a few additional bathroom breaks but otherwise is his normal self.

[csaper58]

Thanks!

Horsegal, He is on Sentinel, it is labeled to treat whips, but the Panacur is a good idea.

ElisLove, your pup sounds a lot like mine, good to hear he recovered uneventfully.

[BuddyRoo]

Reasons for blood in stool vary. In your case with such a scavenger of a dog (i own one of those!), I’d be worried that something might be scraping his intestine.

I am not kidding when I say that I ended up with a 10k surgery, resection and anastomosis, due to my dog ingesting a vertebrae–probably from a squirrel corpse–that scraped along his intestine and damaged 30 cm of it that had to be removed.

Keep a good eye on this. If it kind of comes and goes, don’t let your eye off of it. You’ve ruled out the usual suspects as far as GI infection via parasites. But given what your dog eats…it could be that he has something else poking at him. So just…be ready and bank up some $$.

My guy ended up actually rupturing and it was horrific. But he acted fine right up until he wasn’t. And it became emergent.

[csaper58]

That’s what I’m worried about. I 'm not sure he is a candidate for surgery. He’s not good at the vet, gets stressed, has to be muzzled or he’ll bite. I had to take his stitches out after he was neutered, he wouldn’t let the vet near him.

[BuddyRoo]

Ugh, sorry to hear that. My guy is a dream at the clinic. Everyone loves him. I’m still friends with the resident docs who dealt with him for both of his big surgeries.

He was an easy patient. Better than that…and aggressively happy one. LOL Labs…gotta love 'em.

Anyway…in your case, if things don’t resolve with the endosorb and meds in a few days, not sure what to say.

When the squirrel vertebrae hit us, it was like all was fine then not then fine then not…for months. Til he perforated and went septic. It was pretty nuts. I hope that you don’t have to deal with that.

[Stefon]

Ours went through a brief phase of small twigs and acorn eating. She was obsessed. Had some blood in the stool that in the course of 2 days had diarrhea with more blood. Spent a few nights in the vet hospital, mostly because of the acorns, which apparently are toxic.

[csaper58]

Thanks Stefon, I’m glad your girl recovered, fingers crossed my boy does as well.

[csaper58]

Went back to the vet this AM. They pulled blood, and gave us have more Flagyl and Endosorb. Vet wants him in a muzzle when outside so he does not eat any more acorns or pine cones.

[2broketohalter]

Why are you taking him back to the vet instead of just making sure he stops eating toxic substances? Stop letting him eat the crap that is irritating his guts and he will magically get better without vet work.

[BuddyRoo]

[QUOTE=csaper58;8328487]
Went back to the vet this AM. They pulled blood, and gave us have more Flagyl and Endosorb. Vet wants him in a muzzle when outside so he does not eat any more acorns or pine cones.[/QUOTE]

The basket muzzles are pretty great and easy to use. They can still drink and everything. I know several people with rock eating dogs that have to have them.

[Bluey]

I expect coccidiosis is also a concern here.

Hoping whatever it is will pass and all will be fine without any more trouble.

[csaper58]

Thanks Bluey, he was tested Fri. and was neg. Vet will re-test if muzzle and meds don’t help.

Yes, BuddyRoo, I have a Basket muzzle. It is a little small for him, he can’t totally open his mouth. The Vet and tech greatly appreciate this feature. But for walks he needs to open his mouth to pant, so another must be found or ordered.

2broke, We are as diligent as humanly possible, but he is sneaky and quick. Thus the ‘grazing muzzle’.

[csaper58]

Blood work came back this afternoon as “all acceptable range of values”.

[toady123]

OP my dog has a sensitive tummy, and twice has ended up with bloody stool that also had a lot of mucus (which the vet explained is a sign of irritation). A round of antibiotics worked wonders each time and cleared things right up.

[Belmont]

How long has this been going on?

It could just be colitis. In most cases, a little antibiotic clears it right up.

[Bluey]

Around here, aussies are known for having touchier digestive systems than other dogs by breed.

That may complicate that he is prone to “garbage gut” also, as our vet calls it when dogs tend to keep getting sick from eating all sorts of things they should not eat.
Dogs can’t put together the thought they ate something hours ago and now that is making them sick, so they eat it again later.

Most dogs do that, some just are more intense about it and so suffer the consequences.
It takes vet work to find each time what exactly is ailing them and treat for the right culprit.
I hope your vet finds what is going on and/or a way to get him over it this time around.

[Flash]

Kitty had this.

Her stool tested fine. Went away with a round of meds. She got antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. I’d bet it’s from his diet. I attribute my cat’s coming from when I changed her food.