Dog Pooping Blood but Acting Normal – Should You Be Worried?

You notice something strange on your morning walk. It can be as simple as a streak of red in your dog’s stool. Your heart skips a bit. But your dog? They’re trotting along like nothing happened. Eating normally and always begging for treats.

What you have on your hands is a dog pooping blood but acting normal. Not uncommon, said to say. Sometimes, blood in the stool is not a sign of any underlying condition and passes on its own. Other times, it’s your dog’s body quietly raising a red flag, long before pain or illness shows up in behavior.

In this post, we’ll unpack why this disconnect happens, what it might mean, and how to figure out when to wait and watch. Here, you’ll learn when to pick up the phone and call your vet.

Possible Causes of This Condition

There are no shortages of potential suspects when you go into full McGruff the Crime Dog mode trying to figure out why there is blood in the dog stool but it’s acting normal. Here’s a breakdown of both mild and more serious possibilities for this. 

Mild and Temporary Issues

Let’s start with the mild and those minor issues that could have caused your dog to poop blood but act normal. 

• Dietary indiscretion: Dogs are usually guilty when charged for eating things they shouldn’t, such as table scraps, garbage, and unfamiliar treats. These can irritate the digestive tract and cause mild inflammation or bleeding, especially in the lower colon.
• Minor straining: Constipation or diarrhea can lead to mild rectal irritation. Bowel movements can lead to straining, which in turn can cause tiny blood vessels in the bowels to break, resulting in a small amount of bright red blood.
• Mild infections or parasites: Intestinal parasites like hookworms or whipworms can be the responsible parties when it comes bleeding in your dog pooping blood. These critters latch themselves to the walls of the intestines, eating it away, which leads to blood in the dog’s feces. These are usually accompanied by other signs eventually, but in the early stages, your dog may appear completely fine.
• Bacterial infections: Bacterial infections in the intestines, such as E. coli or Salmonela,  can be the cause of blood in your pooch’s stool. These are usually treated with antibiotics. 

More Serious Concerns

Will blood in dog stool go away on its own or not depends on many factors. When it doesn’t, that is an indication of something that’s not temporary, that’s for sure. Here are some more serious issues that your dog might be struggling with. 

• Colitis or Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): These chronic conditions cause inflammation of the digestive tract, leading to periodic blood in the stool. They can simmer quietly for a while before other symptoms appear, so, as a pet parent, you have to be extra careful. 
• Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE): HGE can be quite sinister. It may begin with mild bleeding but can rapidly progress to severe, bloody diarrhea. In fact, even if a dog has diarrhea with blood but acts fine, that’s not something you should take lightly. Call your vet immediately upon seeing bloody diarrhea. 
• Polyps, tumors, or clotting disorders: Growths in the intestines or issues with blood clotting can also result in bloody stool. These are serious and require a vet’s evaluation at once, just to be sure. 

When to Seek Veterinary Care

Instinctively, most pet parents reach out to their dog’s vets immediately upon seeing any signs of blood. It’s a sensible thing to do, so no issues there. However, not every case of blood in your dog’s stool is an emergency visit to the vet. Here’s how to tell the difference. 

Monitor at Home

It’s perfectly alright to keep a close eye on your dog at home if the signs of blood appear just once and in a small amount. Also, if our dog is eating, drinking, and playing like usual, it can be a sign that its pet wellness has not diminished. 

Moreover, if there’s no diarrhea, vomiting, or notable signs of pain, simply monitoring your pup closely for the next 24 to 48 hours should do the trick. Keep track of their stool, behavior, and appetite. Hopefully, things will have improved by that time. 

Vet Visit Recommended

If the blood in your dog’s stool appears more than once and increases in amount or changes from bright red to dark and tarry (which could indicate internal bleeding), don’t wait a second. Go to the vet’s office immediately. Also, if your dog shows other symptoms, such as vomiting or diarrhea, get it checked. These can be signs of an underlying issue that you must address promptly. 

How Maven Pet Helps

As a pet parent, your instincts are crucial in diagnosing any health issue your pooch may be experiencing. Your biggest ally in that fight is Maven Pet. Our pet smart collar is a tool designed to help you monitor your dog’s health in real time and not just when something goes wrong. 

Maven watches for patterns you might not catch. Here, we are talking about a gradual dip in activity, any disruptions in sleep pattern or even shifts in how much water your dog is drinking. 

You can also use the app to keep notes, log symptoms, and add photos, including stool changes so that you can help the vet get to the root of the issue faster. 

Conclusion

Blood in your dog’s stool isn’t always an emergency, but it’s never something to brush off lightly. Even when the dog is pooping blood but acting normal, you have to be aware of potential underlying issues. That’s where Maven Pet helps. 

By giving you a clearer view of your dog’s health and catching what you might miss, it allows you to react before things become acute. Maven Pet’s collar is a simple way to stay proactive, informed, and ready to act when your dog needs you most.

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Maven Pet focuses on improving the quality of life of our pets with technology, using artificial intelligence (AI) to enable proactive pet care. By accurately collecting and monitoring pet data 24/7 and flagging any irregularities, Maven Pet empowers pet parents and veterinarians to stay ahead of potential health issues, ensuring the well-being and longevity of our beloved companions.