The dog has black stool with a foul odor. Weakness, dark feces, vomiting in an angry dog

Monitoring the quality of a pet's feces is the responsibility of any owner. The dog does not have the opportunity to complain that it has a stomach ache or feels unwell, so it is extremely important to constantly monitor the quality of your four-legged friend’s bowel movements in order to be able to provide him with timely help.

What is dog poop like?

Normal dog poop

Proper dog poop– moist but strong. Doesn't have a very strong smell.

However, dogs that eat dry food normally produce slightly different stool. In principle, it is similar to normal, but there is a lot of it. Often more than the dog has eaten. This is especially noticeable in dogs of decorative breeds. A dog can poop out as much as it is unclear how it ended up in it.

This “high potassium content” is due to the fact that dry food contains a lot of plant fiber, as well as other carbohydrates that are not natural food for predators. And dogs are predators. And therefore them.

In addition, dry food is enriched with ingredients such as soy, rice, and beets. And so-called “carbohydrate-free foods” usually include potatoes and peas.

It is obvious that all these components of food are not absorbed by dogs at all and come out. Therefore, a dog on dry food produces significantly more feces than a dog on natural meat feeding.

Those dogs that eat natural food with a very high calcium content (the food contains a lot of bones) produce little feces, and it is light in color, sometimes almost white, color. The stool is usually hard and weak-smelling. Often the animal has a tendency to.

All types of dog poop shown are normal. Signs of diarrhea are a cause for concern for owners.

Below are some types of dog stool that, if they do not disappear within 24 hours, require seeking veterinary help.

Types of pathological dog feces

1. Soft stools without blood or mucus

Usually occurs when the food is changed or when the dog is overfed with handouts from the table.

In most cases, no treatment is required. But if it persists for several days, it may indicate an infection in the intestines, usually in the Giardialamblia.

1. Yellow liquid stool

Associated with the dog’s consumption of food that is too fatty for it. Again, it often occurs when a dog is pampered with handouts of fatty treats. Or they give you fatty cottage cheese (more than 5% fat) and butter.

If it does not go away within a few days, it requires contacting a veterinarian, as it indicates the development of pancreatitis in the animal, which can threaten its life.

1. Black chair

It can occur while taking certain medications, as well as when switching a dog from dry food to natural or canned food, when the dog begins to walk noticeably less and less often. But if the dog is switched to natural feeding, the stool is not completely black, it is just very dark.

Along with such harmless black feces, black dog stool can be a sign of bleeding in the animal's gastrointestinal tract, the cause of which can be anything from improper food to cancer.

Therefore, if black stool is not associated with switching the dog to natural food or taking medications, it always requires prompt attention to a doctor.

1. Extremely loose stools (with water)

Always open bleeding from the colon, anus or anal glands. Associated with damage to the gastrointestinal tract from inedible objects, ulcers and tumors.

Causes of diarrhea in dogs

Since diarrhea can be a reflection of a variety of animal health problems, it is logical to list these problems. Diarrhea in a dog can be associated with:

The main thing to remember is that a dog is also a “person”.

And just as any of us from time to time have digestive problems that do not require the intervention of specialists for their treatment, dogs also have similar problems.

Therefore, if you know the cause of your pet’s diarrhea, for example, it is a change in food, stress, or overfeeding a holiday dinner, there is no need to run to the veterinarian.

But in cases where a dog has loose stools more than 1-3 times, contacting a veterinarian is mandatory.

As for puppies and older dogs, medical attention may be required even after a single loose bowel movement, since in “old and small” dehydration occurs very quickly.

Here you no longer need to look at the dog’s behavior. Even if she is not yet showing signs of illness, she is seriously ill.

Treating diarrhea in dogs at home

If your pet behaves normally and does not show any signs of illness, except for one or two loose stools, you just need to isolate it from food for 12 hours. But at the same time give him something to drink.

After 12 hours, if everything is fine, you need to feed him boiled turkey (not chicken or beef). You cannot add any porridge to turkey meat. But you can add a little boiled pumpkin.

No more than 2-3 small meals a day.

It is also very good to introduce into the dog’s diet during and after treatment.

The duration of the diet is 72 hours from the onset of the disease. During this time, the stool should normalize. If it doesn’t return to normal, you need to go to the doctor! Even if the animal behaves normally.

When treating diarrhea in a dog at home, when the exact diagnosis is not known, you should not give your pet any medications.

The exception is activated carbon. But this is only the case when you know for sure that your dog was poisoned by something stale. For example, you yourself ate something bad and shared it with her.

In this case, you can distribute an activated carbon tablet in water and give it to your dog to drink. If she doesn’t drink, then you can try to squirt it into her mouth with a syringe.

The digestive system is very vulnerable in both humans and dogs. Her health largely depends on proper nutrition and caring for the animal. She is one of the first to react to the lack of healthy food, the occurrence of a serious illness, and various symptoms immediately appear. For example, a pet refuses to eat, and during a walk he may have black feces. What diseases of the gastrointestinal tract occur in four-legged animals?

Black feces

Black feces are a very alarming symptom that indicates that there is blood in the dog's feces. It can be either liquid or very dense, but one thing is clear - some serious pathological process has begun in the pet’s body. A visit to the veterinarian is required.

Black feces usually tell the dog owner that the animal is bleeding in its internal organs. Typically, dark stool indicates that blood is oozing somewhere above the colon as it moves through the digestive system. It is possible that the dog's internal organs have some kind of damage, although in fact there are many reasons for the appearance of black feces.

Symptoms and causes

Normally, a dog's feces are quite dense, but not hard, and colored brown in various shades. The presence of bright red or dark, almost black discharge in it can be a consequence of various diseases. Why do they appear?

Treatment

Only a veterinarian can prescribe the correct treatment for black stool after determining its cause. All of the above diseases require a special approach, and one treatment method cannot be chosen here. One thing is clear - you should immediately rush to the veterinarian, after remembering when the animal was vaccinated, whether deworming was carried out and what the dog ate.

Enterocolitis

Enterocolitis is a set of inflammatory processes that develop in the small and large intestines. It can be both chronic and acute.

Symptoms and causes

Very often, enterocolitis occurs as a result of an infection, poisoning, ingestion of a foreign body or helminthic infestation. Old animals or puppies are most susceptible to developing the pathology - often the disease can kill them within a couple of weeks. Often the cause is a change in food, so it is recommended to change the animal’s diet gradually, over 1-2 weeks.

The main symptom of enterocolitis is loose stools, which are periodically followed by constipation. After some time, mucus appears in the stool, and then blood (black feces). The dog also experiences abdominal pain, bloating, nausea and often shaking. Another characteristic sign of enterocolitis is loud rumbling in the stomach, especially during palpation.

With chronic enterocolitis, the dog quickly loses weight and becomes lethargic. In acute cases, she is very worried about the area near the anus - the animal constantly licks this place and crawls along the floor.

Treatment

You should not treat the disease yourself - you should definitely go to the veterinarian as an emergency. The fact is that enterocolitis is very similar in symptoms to other diseases. These are plague, enteritis, leptospirosis and others. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis.

The main therapeutic measures are as follows:

• strict diet, it is better not to feed the animal at all for a couple of days. You can only give rice water and water;
• cleansing the stomach and intestines with castor oil;
• if severe dehydration occurs, the veterinarian will administer IVs;
• depending on the cause of enterocolitis, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics, prescribe an anti-helminth drug, but in any case will prescribe an anti-inflammatory;
• Also, the dog is often prescribed antispasmodics, vitamin complexes, and enzymes. After treatment of enterocolitis and stabilization of the dog’s condition, it should be fed medicated food for a long time. If the animal is on a natural diet, then it is important to carefully monitor every ingredient it eats.

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the stomach and small intestine. This disease should under no circumstances be ignored, and it won’t work – its symptoms are quite vivid. The video talks about gastroenteritis.

Symptoms and causes

The reasons for the development of gastroenteritis can be different: viruses, poisoning, food allergies, bacteria, stress and serious experiences. And if a dog has ever had this disease at least once before, then there is a high risk that it will develop a predisposition to it. Like enterocolitis, it can develop after changing food.

Gastroenteritis is always accompanied by nausea, vomiting and increasingly frequent loose stools, sometimes black. The dog does not want to eat, becomes weak, its temperature rises, and colic begins. Vomit comes out with traces of bile, mucus, and sometimes blood. There is drooling.

Stool with gastroenteritis is often mixed with blood, dark, liquid, sometimes with pus and gases. When you feel the belly, the dog experiences pain. The mucous membranes gradually lighten, the ears, nose and paws become cold. The heart beats unevenly, intermittently, the pulse is weak.

Treatment

Treatment of gastroenteritis begins with stopping food. Be sure to follow the diet for at least 8 hours, giving the dog only water. Then feeding the animal begins often, but little by little. The products that are used are those that do no harm - usually boiled rice.

Ideally, you should call a veterinarian at home, who will prescribe antibiotics and drugs that stimulate proper bowel function. If the dog continues to have loose stools, then it is prescribed fixatives. Be sure to ask your doctor for vitamins suitable for gastroenteritis - they will help your dog recover faster.

Gastric volvulus

Volvulus of the stomach (intestines) is a very terrible pathology, which for all owners of four-legged animals is unconditionally associated with the death of the dog. Pets of large breeds - Great Danes, Bloodhounds, Rottweilers and others - are predisposed to its development. Gastric (intestinal) volvulus requires emergency assistance within 2 hours; very often volvulus tends to recur.

Symptoms and causes

When the stomach (intestines) are torsioned, one of its sections seems to be twisted. Because of this, the blood circulation of the tissues of the internal organs is disrupted, and they begin to gradually die.

The main signs of gastric (intestinal) volvulus are as follows:

• tight, swollen belly;
• sharp pain;
• nausea and vomiting;
• the dog cannot poop. Gastric (intestinal) volvulus can be provoked by improper feeding (rarely and in large quantities), outdoor games after meals, and severe stress. Often the cause of the development of pathology is poor quality food.

Treatment

When the stomach (intestines) twist, the count is not on hours, but on minutes - you can’t hesitate, you should rush to the veterinarian. The disease is eliminated surgically. Often, when there is a gastric volvulus, a dog can be saved if you don’t get confused and manage to get it to the clinic.

To avoid having to treat gastritis in dogs and diseases such as gastroenteritis and enterocolitis, you should simply follow a few preventive rules. They will also help you avoid volvulus.

Video “Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in dogs”

In the next video from the Dog-channel.tv channel, you will learn about the symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases in dogs and their causes.

An attentive owner always notices in time the changes that occur with his dog. After all, this is the only way to diagnose and treat ailments that the dog cannot talk about in a timely manner. The same applies to your pet's stool, its color and character. Sometimes it turns black for some reason. What does it mean? How should the owner react and how can he help the dog? Let's find out specifically.

Why is the stool black?

A change in the color of an animal's stool to black may indicate that it contains blood. And this is an indicator of most dangerous diseases. That is why this cannot be left without attention. Delay in treatment can have serious consequences for your dog's health.

Black stool is a sign of internal bleeding. The color of the stool will help determine the real cause. If it is red or burgundy, then most likely your child’s bleeding occurs in the large intestine or in the rectal area. When the cause of bleeding is located higher, for example, in the area of ​​the esophagus or stomach, then the blood will already be in a processed state, which means that the feces will take on a black tint. In this case, it will even be more difficult for the dog to defecate.

What does bloody diarrhea mean?

Often a dog unpleasantly surprises his owner with a rare red feces. This type of diarrhea is always a danger sign. Its causes may be the following situations:

Plague of carnivores. In the initial stages, this disease develops in the same way as parvovirus enteritis. It can destroy the dog’s systems and organs, including the stomach. Diarrhea as a result of plague infection is burgundy or black in color. And besides this, signs of a dog’s illness will be fever, photophobia, and pus in the eyes.

Parvovirus enteritis. This disease in dogs is often fatal. The virus has an attachment to the heart and intestinal cells. It is so strong that it affects these organs quickly, which causes irreversible consequences. And the first “bell” may be black stool, often in the form of diarrhea. The stool contains blood clots. The disease is accompanied by a sharp apathy of the dog and loss of appetite.

Diagnosing and fixing the problem

To make a correct diagnosis for a dog, you need to know exactly when it was last dewormed and with what drug. The veterinarian needs to be informed about the pet’s vaccination schedule and its diet. The specialist must know exactly how long ago the animal’s feces changed their natural color and what other signs of an unhealthy condition are present.

Sometimes the cause of black feces in a puppy can be food poisoning or ingestion of inedible objects. They injure the digestive system and cause bleeding. Its causes in dogs in rare cases include cancer, acute pancreatitis, and Addison's disease.

For an accurate diagnosis, in addition to collecting an anamnesis, the veterinarian performs a rectal examination, stool analysis and ultrasound examination of the animal's abdominal organs. And based on the results of the above, treatment is prescribed for the dog.

You don’t need to do this yourself, listening to the recommendations of other dog breeders. The same symptoms in different dogs may indicate completely different diseases. It is unlikely that self-medication will help your dog, but after it it will be much more difficult for the veterinarian to help the dog. Therefore, the only right decision when detecting black feces in your pet is to promptly contact a veterinarian.

Treat your students with care and understanding. Observe changes in their behavior. This will help to diagnose in time, and sometimes prevent dangerous diseases.

Every dog ​​owner should know that normally your pet's stool is well-formed, somewhat moist, and dark brown in color. Any change in the characteristics of bowel movements is an alarming symptom that requires attention. Black diarrhea in dogs is especially dangerous.

Of course, stool with a liquid black consistency is not always a sign of pathology; the reason for this may be the pet’s excessive curiosity or indiscriminateness in food. But still, it is imperative to show the animal to a veterinarian.

What causes diarrhea?

Black diarrhea in dogs can occur for various reasons. But it should be understood that loose stools in themselves are already an abnormal phenomenon, and if the stools are still dark, you should under no circumstances ignore the disease. Black diarrhea is caused by the following factors:

1. Using activated carbon. This is an effective remedy that helps cleanse the body of toxic and other harmful substances. Its only side effect is the coloring of stool a charcoal color.
2. Addiction to “street” food, eating food from garbage cans.
3. Previous long-term constipation.

Also, black diarrhea in a dog is provoked by the following dangerous reasons.

A veterinarian can identify the cause of black diarrhea in a dog, as well as select the correct drug therapy. Self-diagnosis and self-medication can lead to unpredictable negative consequences.

Why is self-medication dangerous?

A veterinarian will prescribe treatment for black diarrhea in dogs. Before prescribing medications, he will identify the main cause of the disease and conduct a thorough examination. Therapy is selected depending on the root cause and the general condition of the four-legged friend.

You should not give medications without knowing the cause of black diarrhea in your dog. You should also not give your pet medications that are intended to treat the disorder in humans. Most medications are real poison for pets. For example, drugs with an analgesic effect based on ibuprofen have a negative effect on the dog’s body. Their use is fraught with serious allergic reactions. Aspirin is also harmful to animals. The use of such medications, especially for a long time, is fraught with ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract and internal bleeding. No less dangerous are medications that have anti-inflammatory, antifungal effects and hormonal medications.

The use of any drug for loose black stool in a dog should be discussed with your doctor. Particular attention should be paid to the dosages of the drugs and the scheme of their administration.

To improve the pet’s condition and normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, doctors prescribe the following:

• Sorbents and agents that help protect the intestinal mucosa;
• Rehydration therapy. Helps prevent dehydration, compensate for loss of electrolytes and restore acid-base balance;
• Antihelminthic compounds (for helminthic infestation);
• Drugs that have an antibacterial effect (for intestinal infections or hemorrhagic gastroenteritis).

You should also keep your four-legged friend on a diet for the first day. Water must be given in unlimited quantities. On the second or third day, the animal should be fed with liquid rice, low-fat cottage cheese, rice water, oak bark or chamomile. Only after normalization of the pet’s stool is the pet transferred to its usual diet.

Diagnostics

To identify the root cause of black diarrhea in a dog, the doctor will prescribe:

• stool examinations;
• Ultrasound of the gastrointestinal tract;
• clinical examination;
• gastroscopy.

It is after a thorough diagnosis and identification of the root cause of the dog’s black liquid feces that the veterinarian selects treatment. Until the results are obtained, symptomatic therapy is prescribed to help alleviate the animal’s condition.

Prevention measures

The disorder is easier to prevent than to treat. To do this, you need little - monitor the dog’s condition, visit the veterinarian every year (preventive examination), carry out deworming, feed high-quality food, and treat diseases in a timely manner.

If your animal has problems with stool, or the stool has turned black, you should not risk its health and hesitate to consult a doctor. Timely detection of the disease and a competent approach to therapy are the key to a speedy recovery and excellent well-being for your pet.

Every experienced dog owner knows that the animal's stool is normally well-formed, slightly moist and dark brown in color. Any sudden changes in the characteristics of feces are an alarming bell that should not be ignored. The appearance of black diarrhea in a dog does not always indicate the presence of any pathology; it is likely that the cause of this phenomenon was indiscriminateness in the quantity and quality of food.

However, such a symptom should not be neglected, since there are often cases when this kind of disorder indicates a serious pathological process in the animal’s body. To avoid undesirable consequences and identify a possible disease at an early stage, you should definitely show your pet to a veterinarian.

Main reasons

The occurrence of black stool in a dog may be associated with the use of activated charcoal. This often occurs when an animal is given this drug in an attempt to stop diarrhea. The medication does an excellent job of removing toxins and other substances harmful to the body, but its only “disadvantage” is that it turns stool black.

It is also possible that black feces may appear due to the animal eating something inedible that contained a large amount of dark dye. In this case, there is no serious cause for concern, but it still won’t hurt to visit a veterinarian.

Another cause of this type of disorder can be prolonged constipation. Often this condition is accompanied by episodes of vomiting provoked by severe intoxication of the body. If the act of defecation is disrupted, the feces are pressed, harden and painted in various shades, including black. This condition cannot be ignored, since the pet most likely has developed severe intoxication, plus hardened feces could injure the intestinal mucosa and cause bleeding.

There are other, more serious, causes of black diarrhea in dogs. These include:

Only a qualified specialist can determine the true cause of black diarrhea in a dog. Therefore, if such a symptom appears, you should not engage in self-diagnosis and voluntarily prescribe treatment.

Self-medication

First of all, you should remember that medications intended for treating people can negatively affect the health of the animal. As a rule, practicing veterinarians warn about this, but breeders do not always listen to medical recommendations.

Moreover, it is important to know that some medications for animals are real poison. So, for example, painkillers, the main component of which is ibuprofen, have a detrimental effect on the body of pets and can lead to the development of serious allergic reactions.

The same applies to aspirin. Such medications, especially with prolonged use, provoke the appearance of ulcers on the intestinal walls, which ultimately threatens internal bleeding. In addition, anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and antifungals are no less dangerous.

The use of such medications must be approved by an experienced specialist; their unauthorized use can lead to serious consequences.

Diagnostics

Black feces in dogs are a symptom of many diseases, so experts, as a rule, insist on carrying out a number of diagnostic measures to determine the exact cause of this phenomenon.

Diagnosis usually includes:

• three types of stool analysis aimed at identifying infectious agents and protozoa;
• ultrasound examination of the gastrointestinal tract;
• clinical examination of the pet;
• performing gastroscopy.

Of course, there is no universal remedy for all pathologies that provoke the appearance of black feces. Therefore, the most appropriate treatment is selected only after an accurate diagnosis has been established. Before receiving the test results, the specialist, as a rule, prescribes symptomatic therapy to alleviate the animal’s condition.

Prevention

To maintain your pet’s health, you need to follow fairly simple rules, which include:

1. Compliance with all medical recommendations of the veterinarian regarding diet.
2. Carefully monitor the general condition of the pet. If you have black diarrhea or blood in your stool, you should definitely consult a specialist.
3. If you have diarrhea, you should not give your animal medications intended for treating humans.
4. Balanced diet. It is important to avoid eating spoiled foods and foreign objects.
5. It is necessary to check your pet annually for the presence of protozoa and carry out anthelmintic treatment.
6. If there is no positive dynamics during treatment, additional diagnostics should be performed.

It is better not to risk the health of your pet and not to self-medicate, because illiterate use of medications may not only not bring positive results, but also significantly worsen the situation. Therefore, the only correct decision when a characteristic symptom appears is to contact your doctor in a timely manner.