4 year old rottweiler female, mucus in stool

RCT80 · 06-29-2009, 06:16 PM

Hey all,

I have a 4 year female rottweiler.

For the last 4 days I've noticed she has had mucus in her stool (minus 2 days ago when it was completely normal... odd?). It seems like normal stool surrounded by a sac of mucus. Yesterday, there was a tiny drop of blood in it, but today there was not.

I got some dewormer and have been giving her the recommended dosage for the last 3 days and only been feeding her plain white rice with fresh water.

She is not acting sick at all. She is eating and drinking normally, chasing squirrels around the yard, jumping all over me, and just being her normal self. She is not vomiting. She is not sleeping more than usual or doing anything that would make me think she is sick.

2 years ago this same thing happened and I took her to the ER vet. The vet didn't seem at all concerned and just told me to give her dewormer to rule out worms. The problem went away in about a week.

What is this? I don't have alot of money right now, but if I have to take her to the vet, I will find a way. I am going to give her a few more days and see if it improves. In the meantime, does anybody know what might cause this and if I should be concered?

Inga · 06-29-2009, 06:33 PM

I would at least call your vet and talk with them. That is free.
It does just sound like a mild intestinal upset. Is that why you just doing rice? Maybe you could add some boiled chicken to that for protein. I would also talk to your vet about the kind of wormer that you are using. It might be what is causing the issue.

RCT80 · 06-29-2009, 06:38 PM

Sorry, I should been more specific.

I started giving her the dewormer AFTER the first stool with mucus. Right after I noticed the weird bowel movement, I went to the nearest pet store and purchased the dewormer. This is what the vet had me do last time, so I figured I would give it a try before taking her to the vet.

Sadly, it's almost 7pm here and there is nothing open, so I wouldn't be able to call the vet until the morning. The nearest ER hospital is kind of far, especially when she's not even acting sick.

And yeah, it might actually be the dewormer itself making it worse. I'll give her a couple more days. If it keeps up, it's vet time.

RCT80 · 06-30-2009, 05:34 PM

Update.

Okay, so today I just gave her 1 cup of boiled white rice for breakfast. She ate it quickly and then looked at me, as if to say "Is that it, you cheapskate!?". So, a couple hours later I gave her some cottage cheese and a bit more rice with some boiled turkey. I've given her very small portions though.

She has not had any diarrhea today, but then again - she hasn't pooped either. I'm thinking most likely because her stomach is pretty much empty now.

She's still not acting sick. Today she was chasing me around the yard and playing with her toys. Still no vomiting. I have no idea. Maybe she just has a sensitive stomach?? Maybe the dewormer upset her stomach?? Maybe she ate something she wasn't supposed to when I wasn't watching?? So many questions...

I'll keep this thread updated. Thanks for reading.

trumpetjock · 07-01-2009, 02:43 PM

Rocky has a pretty sensitive stomach, but doesn't have a very picky sense of taste. The result is that every once in a while he eats something he shouldn't and has diarrhea or a mucusy stool. It will be a single time occurrence and he won't show any ill side effects from it.

Because I know his nature, I don't get worked up over one sloppy stool. If there's a second, I get concerned.

This may or may not be the case with your dog, but now you have my anecdotal two cents

RCT80 · 07-01-2009, 04:06 PM

Thanks for the reply. She didn't poop yesterday after I only fed her a very small amount of bland food, and then today she pooped a little bit, but it was normal stool (no mucus, blood, etc).

I resumed her normal feeding as she is not really acting sick or throwing up.

Just to be safe I called the vet, and they wouldn't even tell me how much it would be to bring her in and get some testing done. I told them I was on a limited budget and just needed a rough estimate, and they still refused to talk money over the phone. Sadly, I live out in the boonies with a dead car, and they are the closet vet and really my only option at this point.

I don't know what to do. I guess I can just wait it out and see if it happens again.

RCT80 · 07-11-2009, 10:38 PM

She was fine for like 10 days with normal stools and then tonight I just took her out again and bam - mucusy (not bloody) stool. Still not acting sick at all, still not vomiting. She's not giving me any indication whatsover that she isn't feeling well. She did the full dewormer course and everything.

I'm thinking it might be her food. I switched her to Purina Dog Chow - Healthy Life Nutrition about a month ago. Then a couple weeks later she was getting mucus in her stools. She has a very sensitive stomach and I'm thinking this might not be the best food for her.

I am about to throw the dog food out and just cook her meals and see if that helps. I'm going to go chicken and rice for the next few days, but what would be a nice, balanced long-term menu for a dog with a sensitive stomach?

komi · 07-13-2009, 10:30 AM

My puppy also has mucousy stools sometimes. I thought mucous/blood always meant that there was an actual infection of some sort. However, I talked to my vet about it this weekend, and she said this is not always the case (although sometimes there is an infection). She said that whatever food she's eaten could be irritating her intestine and the mucous lining sloughs off a bit into her stool. The blood can be seen in the stool because the mucous lining is compromised.

The vet also recommended a probiotic to help with frequent diarrhea. I've used Purina FortiFlora before (seems to help), but she mentioned a new probiotic from Iams called Prostora, which apparently contains probiotics which are specifically for canines (I guess the other stuff is probiotics that are useful in humans and not specifically for canines). Apparently Prostora is supposed to be pretty good for diarrhea symptoms too.

RCT80 · 07-13-2009, 02:49 PM

Thanks for the reply. I figure it's her food too. Last night, she threw up yellow liquid and this morning she pooped all yellow mucus. She's not really acting sick per se, but I think something might be wrong.

I called the vet and made an appointment for Wednesday morning. I'll see what the vet says. They're going to do a quick exam + stool sample test. I don't have a lot of money right now, but the vet said everything should be under $100.

Lexie99 · 07-18-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCT80

Thanks for the reply. I figure it's her food too. Last night, she threw up yellow liquid and this morning she pooped all yellow mucus. She's not really acting sick per se, but I think something might be wrong.

I called the vet and made an appointment for Wednesday morning. I'll see what the vet says. They're going to do a quick exam + stool sample test. I don't have a lot of money right now, but the vet said everything should be under $100.

Hello,

How did it turn out, my dog is having the same symtoms.

RCT80 · 07-21-2009, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lexie99

How did it turn out, my dog is having the same symtoms.

@Lexie99 - I actually had an unforseen expense, so she won't be able to get checked out for a couple weeks. She's not acting sick or anything and she's pooping normally now, so it probably was just an upset stomach due to something she ate. It's not a medical emergency seeing as how it stopped, so hopefully it won't come back between now and when I do take her to the vet. I'm not too concerned about it after I did a bit of reading on the net and found out a little mucus in the stool is actually pretty common from time to time.

Hope your dog is feeling better!