4lb Chihuahua Diarhea and Lots of blood

[baby_hopes]

My 5yr old, 4lb chi ate the whole top of a seafood lasagna....A LOT of cheese... Anyways yesterday she got REAL bad diarhea and there were drops of blood mixed in...then later that day she had it again but it was ALL BLOOD.... now nothing but blood drops are coming out of her...

She was still playing when I took out her toy and stuff but as soon as I put it away she cuddles up to me and won't do anything else, closes her eyes and tries to sleep...this is really unlike her, I'm worried does anyone know if she will get better or worse??

[TwoBitsMom]

This community is a wonderful place for information and support.
What a giant and glorious  "Think Tank"
This is the perfect place for "looking outside the box" so to speak.
I am so glad I found it...Thank-you to everyone here who shares their knowledge, offers their opinions, and give freely of their time. Though sometimes opinions differ, when all is said and done, the bottom line is always genuine concern for both the dog and the dog's owner.
Caring and Compassion shine through.  
Connie

[ginger899]

We DO have a nice community here. That is for sure. I think so anyway.

[teko]

I am wary of table food and little dogs. I had a pom that got hold of a piece of candy on the floor and he almost died. Blood and listless, ended up being a pancreatic attack and we almost lost him. So just be careful.

[tonyb286]

I agree. This site has been so informative and supportive to me when I lost my loopy lurcher BB - and I've stayed here and will continue to do so, in the hope of passing on some of my meagre knowledge and support to others. It's a fab site - with fab people on it. Tony

[Ghilly]

You're very welcome, Tony!  :)

Both you and Ginger in your responses to baby_hopes in this thread have offered some EXCELLENT advice on how to deal with run-of-the-mill tummy upsets!   But then, both of you (along with ALL of our regulars) CONSISTENTLY offer great advice to people no matter the subject.   I've recently been cruising around the web reading some dog forums and I have to say that I think that in terms of good advice, just plain common sense and also compassion our is THE BEST dog community out there!  :D

Ghilly

[ginger899]

Diarrhea often causes straining. And the straining can cause tiny blood vessels in the gut to rupture.
It is very common indeed for a bad bout of diarrhea in dogs to end up with some blood in it. But if the blood is more than a few drops, or if the dog is passing ONLY blood, then urgent medical attention is needed.
If it's just a little blood, or slightly bloodstained stool, then by far the best plan is to withhold all food -even the tiniest treat- for 24 hours. Allow water only. Just water -no soups or liquid foods. This gives the gut lining chance to heal. This usually works perfectly. Once the system has been completely rested, things are usually OK.

Then if the diarrhea stops, on the 2nd day start feeding only plain boiled white rice. Small amounts every 2 hours. See how that goes. If all is well include plain boiled chicken in the rice on the 3rd day. Or evening on the 2nd day if the dog seems well.
Doing this, it's likely the dog won't have a bowel movement for a day or so. That is perfectly normal.

More blood than a little blood -see the vet immediately.
Continuing diarrhea, or beginning to vomit, or any real lethargy or signs of pain -see the vet immediately.

[tonyb286]

Ghilly ... thanks for the comment. I wasn't aware about onions being so toxic to our best friends, so you have educated me yet again. Tony

[baby_hopes]

No onions thank god! Hubby is allergic :)

[Ghilly]

Were there any onions in the lasagna?  If there were, you need to keep a very close eye on her to make sure she is not developing a Heinz body anemia.  Onions, when consumed by a dog, cause the red blood cells in the body to rupture.  Keep an eye on her urine.  As long as it stays yellow you are OK.  If you notice it taking on a dark or brownish or reddish color you need to get her to a vet because this is being caused by the consumption of onions.  The bad part is they don't even have to actually consume onions, but onions are SO toxic to dogs that this can happen even if the dog condumes food that was prepared WITH onions.  IF there were onions in the lasagna, keep an eye on her for about 4 or 5 days to make sure there were no effects from the onions.  She, being such a tiny dog, would only need a very small helping of onions to affect her adversely.

Ghilly

[tonyb286]

All dogs are natural scavengers and have a digestive system designed to deal with almost anything edible, though some things can cause problems. Metamucil is good for helping form proper stools, but do make sure she has plenty of water available as it can dehydrate the digestive tract. Also, if she vomits (even slightly) stop giving the metamucil and let the vet know straight away. Metamucil can take 72 hours before any real effect is seen. I'm assuming the lasagne was cooked, and if the top of it had been browned under a grill, parts of the lasagne may have been hatrd and sharp, causing a trauma to the anus or intestine. Hopefully, this will repair over the next day or so, but keep a close eye on her and keep checking for blood. Tony

[baby_hopes]

It was scallops and shrimp to top it off actually. She won't anything anyways, I called the vet and they told me to put metamucil in her water, so I did this but still no change, she just hasn't gone to the bathroom since around 6am, only to pee. So no bathroom = no blood, if she has blood again I will bring her to the vet, she's truly a rat when it comes to food she eats everything and anything, it's frustrating, worst part is she got on the table by jumping onto the chairs first, it was totally out of reach, yet she found a way!