Blood in Poop

Question
My dog, is 16 years old and is blind in one eye and now starting today is pooping blood. Do you have any ideas what could be causing this???

Answer
This could be parasites, a viral or bacterial infection, colitis, or just a broken blood vessel from straining. He probably should be examined by a veterinarian, but most certainly take a stool sample in for examination to eliminate some of the possibilities. Watch him to make sure he doesn't dehydrate as an old dog can go down really, really fast. Make sure his gums are nice and pink (if white there might be internal bleeding), and when you pull up on the skin over his neck/shoulders, it will go back down very quickly if he is hydrated. In a dehydrated dog, that skin will stay up, or go down very slowly.