QuestionQUESTION: What would cause dark stringy pus looking stools. Our yorkie is a standard size 18 lbs he is eating and acting normal, just his stool is really dark and stringy with pus looking stuff in it during the past few days.
ANSWER: Betty,
Any time the stools are not normal is a cause for concern. There could be many reasons for this and only by testing the stool can a veterinarian determine the cause. You need to call your veterinarian and ask if he would like you to collect a sample or if he will retrieve one directly from the dogs rectum. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing, but you do need to have it checked out. Do not delay.
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QUESTION: We did have him to the vet last week and they took a stool sample and gave him 2 different medicines, he finished them up and is still doing the same thing. He has done this in the past and some pepto clears it up, but this time it is not working and the medicine is not working. The vet asked if he got poisoned some how. Not likely, indoor dog does not eat table food and never out of our site. Does not pick up and eat anything but his food
AnswerBetty,
OK, now that we have covered the vet I can tell you that I have seen something similar in the past. Some Yorkies have sensitive stomachs. I had one that had stringy stools and a jelly like (or snot) substance that was also present. This happened occasionally and I would take her to the vet and get medicine but I couldn't really tell if it worked or just cleared up on its own.
Dogs are like children. You can watch them closely but if an opportunity presents itself they will get into mischief during that two seconds you were not looking. It is possible that there is a chemical that he got into that you are not aware of. It could be something as innocent as dish soap which might not bother humans but could irritate a dogs intestines. Make sure when you use any household cleaner that he cannot lick the surface and get some of the chemical into his system. You may want to go online and look up common household chemicals that are poisonous to pets.
Another possibility is worms. I am assuming that the vet looked for and did not find any worms in his stool. If that is the case then you can eliminate worms as the problem. You may want to ask your vet if he checked for worms and if so what kind of worms. There are hook worms, round worms, tape worms, heart worms and I may even be missing some. Worms can wreak havoc on a dogs intestines.
You didn't say what the medication the vet gave was for so again, I am assuming it was to stop the diarrhea. If that is it then you may want to consider calling him so they can up the dosage. If that doesn't work you may want to consider getting a second opinion.
You stated that the stool was very black. Sometimes black stools can indicate bleeding or blood in the stools. Did your vet say if he found (or even looked for) blood in the stool sample you brought him? If not you may want to call and ask if they checked for that.
Another thing that can cause the diarrhea is changing dog food brands. My husband worked in a grocery store and when a bag of dog food got busted he would bring it home and we would feed it to our dogs. It seemed like a great idea because it saved us money. The problem was they would end up with diarrhea and after a while we finally figured out that it was because we were changing dog food. So now we only feed them the same brand all the time.
What brand dog food do you feed your dog? How long have you been feeding it that particular brand? Is it soft dog food or hard? Sometimes soft dog food is too rich for their digestive system and it can cause the stools to be runny and have yucky stuff in it. You said that he had dare, but you didn't say what the consistency was. Are his stools runny, pasty, watery? It makes a difference because if the stools are watery then he could become dehydrated quickly and that would be dangerous. If they are just runny or pasty then you would have less to worry about.
Lastly, you may just have to accept that your dog is one of those with a super sensitive digestive tract and that having these kind of stools occasionally is just the way it is going to be. Mine lived to be 14 years old and was an otherwise healthy dog all of her life. Of course because I am not there and cannot see the stools I can't be more specific. That is why I referred you back to your vet. I wish I could be more helpful but hopefully I have given you more questions to answer which will narrow down the possibilities.
