He just had diarrhea with red blood in it. There was a little solid poop at first and then a raspberry jelly looking stuff with some more pronounced looking red blood. I don't want to sound like an idiot posting this on a web board and not going to the vet, but I don't want to over-react either. He still acts fine and would have liked to finish playing.

Red blood is his blood. Go to the Vet things could possibly get serious.

Ok, nothing that he ate would come out as red blood.
I agree with Steve, your dog needs to get to a vet as soon as possible.

I hope everything turns out ok!

About tapeworms; Steve, have you considered getting your dogs on a preventative medication (like Sentinel) so that they don't get worms in the first place?

Isn't a dewormer more toxic to a dog when given a lot compared to preventative medications? I read that the over-the-counter wormers don't get rid of tapeworms anyway, apparently you need prescription drugs to do that effectively.

Freezing is a great idea - it's what I do with game meats.

My dogs are on Sentinel during worm season and it prevents them from picking up heartworm, fleas (they carry tapeworm eggs), roundworms, hookworms and whipworms...

I only feed human-grade inspected game meats anyway. If it's good enough for a human to eat without getting sick, I don't worry too much about my dogs.

Just got back from the vet. He had to stay since he was dehydrated and for observation. He said it was hemorrhagic gastroenteroitis(spelling?). He had another bowel movement before we left and there was quite a bit of blood. The x-rays showed alot of gas and some lumpy places in the large intestine that he pointed out, but I can't remember what he called them or what their signifigance was. There could possibly be some blockages, but that wasn't for sure either. His blood work came back good except for the platelets which were low, but he said he would have to do a smear to confirm that. I'm going to search this site and the internet to try to answer some questions. I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions in the morning so please be patient with me. I'm just trying to ease my mind.


THIS SUCKS!!!!!


Also, thank you Yuko and Steve for saying that I needed to go. Sometimes I under-react in an attempt to not over-react. I value everyone's opinion on this board so much. Thanks for your help.

Oh Michael, I'm so sorry for you and Turbo!
Poor little guy... at least you got him medical help quickly.

Anything that starts with "hemorrhagic" sounds so scary, but hopefully he'll get good treatment and recover...
Is he just being watched now, or is the vet planning some kind of treatment?

Please keep us updated on his condition! I'd be so panicked if it were one of my dogs - I can just imagine what you're going through right now.

Best wishes for you and your little guy.

We just got back from picking up Turbo. They said he did good the rest of the night. He passed a little bit more black goo when we got here. He's a little drunk at the moment and not quite hisself. In about half an hour we are going to our regular vet for follow up x-rays to see if anything changed or got better. We are just going to do the fluids here and sit on the couch all day. From what I read last night its pretty treatable when caught early. They didn't act horribly concerned so I'm trying to follow their lead. But then again, it ain't their pup.

Back from another vet visit. The normal vet thinks everything is going fine. He recommended bland foods for the time being. I offered pumpkin and yogurt and he refused it. Not normal, but I figure he's been through alot last night. He did get some kind of pain killer this morning before we picked him up so you can tell he's still pretty drunk and that is probably why he refused food. I hate seein' him so down. He's just mopin' around with flat ears and a tucked tail. He did drink a little so thats good. Anybody ever had a dog with this before?

When giving a bland meal of rice/turkey do you use more rice or turkey or equal?

Hmmm... maybe you can boil some raw chicken meat and see if he'll eat the chicken soup?

Chicken is pretty bland when boiled for a bit without any seasonings (especially if you get rid of the skin and fat). Also, if you can get him to eat something "soupy" he'll get his fluids. That can only help right? Especially if he's having trouble with impactions and bleeding? Warm chicken soup is probably more appetizing than yogurt and pumpkin for a sick dog.

I know that it can be hard to convince sick dogs to drink water.

I hope he recovers quickly... I'm sure that you staying with him is cheering him up - beats staying alone at the vet's. Best of luck

Edit: I guess it depends on how well he does on rice. My female shepherd always got worse (diarrhea) when given grains or starchy foods like rice. When she got sick we cooked/lightly boiled chicken and scrambled eggs for her. It was the only thing she could handle when she got sick as a pup (a nasty viral infection - had to spend two nights at the vet's with IV's).

Try not to expect him to eat too much at first... start with lots of fluids and build up slowly with the food.

Had to take him back again. He ate a little pumpkin and yogurt, but just wasn't interested in water. Not even boiled chicken water. Then he was still having bloody diarrhea. I just didn't feel comfortable trying anything else and took him back for IV fluids. They act like this is completely treatable, but warned that it is very likely to happen again in the future.