New Shih-poo-help blood in stool

golfgirl · New member Joined: 07 Sep 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Ontario

I just brought home our new family memeber, Bailey, on Monday. yesterday I noticed some red blood in her stool-which is quite soft. Today I noticed she had some red blood around her bum after going. She visits the vet tomorrow but I'm so worried. It's just a bit of blood-not a lot, does anyone know what this could be? Ive washed her bum so there are no matts there. Thanks everyone, I love our little puppy already and don't want anything wrong with her.

DeLaUK · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:20 pm Post subject:

You dont say how old she is. Is she otherwise okay? Any vomiting, lethargy, is she eating okay? The blood could be a number of things, it can idicate a serious problem but not always, it could just be something like a little 'stress colitis'.....not unusual in a dog that has just had a major change in its life which your pup has in as much as moving to a new home with new people around.

Vet is your best bet. Keep us updated if you can.

golfgirl · New member Joined: 07 Sep 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Ontario

I called my vet and he wants me to bring her in tonight-so now I'm really worried. She is 9 weeks old, she seems to have her playful periods in between sleep-so I think her energy level is normal, but she has had the runs since we brought her home and they seem to be getting a little worse, so I'm happy we are bringing her in tonight. I'm hoping its not serious and ony hope its worms or something easily cured. I will keep you posted-probably tomorrow. Thanks again, "worried new mom"

golfgirl · New member Joined: 07 Sep 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Ontario

Well I took Bailey in last night and thank goodness she just has coccidia and is on medication for it-the vet said it is really common in puppies and I am so relieved! She weighs a whopping 2.55 pounds! She also got her next set of needles. He spent about an hour with her and was impressed with how friendly and unfrightened she was-even after he gave her the needle. When I asked about a quality food for her, he wasn't very knowledgeable on the subject so I am going to have to research these boards and decide which would be best for her. The kennel had her on purina, but I think I'd like to get her something holistic. Anyway, thank-you for your reply and you were right!

DeLaUK · Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:33 pm Post subject:

Glad to hear that she is doing okay now. There are so many foods on the market these days you have to be a nutritional specialist to know which is best. One thing to take into account is the first ingredients on the label are the bulk of what the food is made up of.....so foods with maize, corn, wheat etc as the first ingredient would be great if you were feeding a chicken but not so good for your pup.

I see you are in Ontario...Canada or California? (Im guessing Canada), the best food I could recommend is called APD by Breeders Choice, they are based in California but I dont know if they sell it in Canada, they make a puppy food in it as well as adult.

There are quite a few people in here that are much more knowledgeable on the different foods so hopefully someone can give you better advice than me. Just keep in mind that you shouldnt make a quick change in diet as it can cause diarrhea which is definately not something you want, even more so with your pup just weighing at 2# so I would use what the breeder was using for now and then when you do switch over do it gradually.....for the first 3 days do 3/4 Purina and 1/4 new food then 3 days half and half and then 3 days 1/4 purina and 3/4 new food then you should be okay to switch completely.

Good luck.

myshihpoo · Member Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 180

I'm very happy to hear that your puppy is fine! Smile

I don't know much about coccidia, so I didn't have a clue about the symptoms. I have a shihpoo named Bailey too Smile

(see the avatar) ...hehe.... but my Bailey is a "he".

As far as food choice, I'm a little surprised that your vet didn't know.. ? Hmmm. I am not sure what you have available in Canada either, but hope that you realize the higher quality (thus higher priced) foods are the best. Stay away from the food you can buy in grocery stores and discount stores like Walmart (such as Iams, Pedigree). The best, in my little ole opinion, is Natural Balance. The best part about that food is it's for all life stages, so you can feed a puppy all through way through adult life the same food Smile

(it was super great for us when we got the new puppy because I didn't have to worry about keeping Bailey out of the puppy's food and vice versa) Smile

gypsy · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 3:23 am Post subject:

I agree.......i LIKE a food that is suitable for all ages. We use Innova, in the large bites. The teeny weeny kibbles are so small that the poms were just swallowing them............no chewing! Not so good for teeth, they need to chew.

Chezza · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:33 am Post subject:

Glad she is good, I read but did not comment, until now.. I knew other more experienced board members would give you some good advice, as I know nothing about it too..
But anyway, good to hear its nothing too serious.. Still keep us informed on how she is going.. Surprised

Have you any piccs of her... Very Happy

Shineillusion · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 3:16 pm Post subject:

Myshipoo, don't be so surprised the vet didn't have much to say on the choice of food. Few vets get much in the way of nutritional training. They're more focused on disease and injury treatment.

When choosing a food, look for one where the first ingredient is meat or fish. If they say they only use human grade meats, that's even better. Avoid soy, corn, wheat; these are the most common food allergens. Rice, barley, oatmeal, potato or sweet potato are better carbohydrate/fiber choices at this point in time because they are less likely to cause allergic reactions. However, the more commonly these foods are used, the more allergic reations we'll start to see. Rice is slowly pushing it's way into the allergen catagory because it's so widely used now.

gypsy · Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:21 am Post subject:

Thats right.....Whole Dog Journal had a great article about this very topic last year..........first 3 ingredients should be meat. Meat is better than meat 'meal'l which is basically sweepings. Learn to read all the variations of corn and wheat, by the time they are listed in all of thier iterations, they can actually outweigh the meat in proportion! If you can't understand the ingredient list, shy away from it. Also check the expiration date on the bag........how old is the food? And how is it stored at the store? I'm pretty picky.........our dogs weigh around 5-6 pounds,so i figure every ounce of food is important.....and the difference in health and coat when i switched to Innova 2 years ago is phenomenal!