my dog might be sick

Question
I have a great dane. On a normal day the only problem he has is a that one testicle is somewhere in side and one has droped. Now to the current problem, He has been babying one of his paws. When I touch his toe he jerks his foot away. Two days ago He refused to eat his normal food so I rushed to the store and bought a new brand of food. He eats it, which is good. But his stool is firm at first then really soft. And my boyfriend said that today he said his stool was like diarea and that there was some blood in his stool. What do you think could be wrong. We dont have a lot of money, so I cant go to the vet if it is something that I can take care of at home.
Thank you
Monica

Answer
Hi Monica!

If he does refuse to eat his food again, you should just call your vet and ask him for some suggestions.

As for the stool. If there is bright red blood in your dog's stool, that is from straining and pushing too hard when having a bowel movement. If there is dark blood mixed in the stool, then there may be something bleeding in the intestine. Your vet would be in the best position to answer your question by doing a good examination on your dog. Blood in your dogs stool could be an ulcer or he could of swallowed a sharp object such as a bone.There could be lots of things that this could. That is why it is very important to contact your vet A.S.A.P.
You can ask your vet what he thinks is best to do for your dog and if a vet visit is needed.Your vet will also tell you if this is diarrhea or not.

I hope this is helpful! Sending wagging tails your way!
Nicole.D.