Imagine this, waking up one morning and letting your dog in the garden to do their business, when suddenly you notice a big pile of black poo! Is this serious? What has caused this? What should I do?
As gross as it may seem, checking your dogs (and cats!) faeces on a regular basis is extremely important and I hope that after reading this article I can convince you to start. The following will explain what black poo could mean and how it can be investigated by your Vet.
Table of contents
Why is my dog’s poo black?
Black or tar coloured faeces indicates that there is blood present in your dog’s digestive tract, this is called ‘melena’. Black blood tells us that the problem is likely to be in the upper digestive tract (stomach or small intestine) because the body has already worked hard to try to digest this blood.
Fresh, red blood in poo would indicate a bleed in the lower digestive tract, this is called ‘haematochezia’. Dogs with melena may produce large volumes of black, tarry faeces in a short space of time, or alternatively, they may produce small volumes of black, tarry faeces intermittently over a longer period.
Is it serious and should I be worried?
Yes. You need to contact your Vet immediately if you notice black poo. Melena may represent a life-threatening illness. As weird as it may seem, it can be very helpful for your Vet if you take a photograph of the melena to show them during your consultation (or maybe even a faecal sample from your dog!)
What could cause this?
Below is a list of the most common causes of melena in dogs. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it covers the most frequest causes;
- Internal bleeding: Severe blood loss can be life-threatening.
- Medication reactions: If your dog is on medication and you notice black poo, stop giving the medication and contact your Vet immediately. The most common medications which can cause gastrointestinal ulceration are corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.
- Gastrointestinal ulceration.
- Parasites.
- Toxin ingestion.
- Liver or pancreatic disease.
- Anaemia.
- Haemorrhagic gastroenteritis.
- Activated charcoal: Sometimes your Vet may prescribe activated charcoal for you to feed your dog following a harmful toxin ingestion, this will temporarily turn their faeces black.
- Tumours: The presence of gastric (stomach) tumours or small intestinal tumours can bleed into the gastrointestinal tract.
- Blood clotting disorders (coagulopathies).
- Trauma: Your dog may have an internal bleed from acute trauma, for example an RTA (road traffic accident).
- Metabolic diseases such as Addison’s disease (hypoadrenocorticism).
- Recent surgery on the gastrointestinal tract.
- Stomach or small intestinal foreign bodies.
- Ingested blood: Blood that is swallowed could cause melena. This could be from the oral cavity, throat (pharynx), lungs or through licking a bleeding wound.
Are there other signs to look out for?
Your dog may appear absolutely normal apart from the presence of melena. However, the following clinical signs can also be accompanied by black poo and must not be ignored. Some of the below clinical signs are more urgent and serious than others, I have listed the clinical signs in order of urgency.
- Collapse.
- Pale or white gums: When you first notice melena, a great first step would be to check the colour of your dog’s gums to make sure they are pink. Dogs with a significant bleed may be anaemic from the blood loss and pale gums often indicate anaemia.
- Petechia: Petechia are tiny, red or purple spots on the skin or gums which indicate a bleed under the surface.
- Lethargy.
- Hunched posture: This is usually associated with acute abdominal pain or discomfort.
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhoea.
- Weight loss and poor body condition.
What will my Vet do?
When you take your dog to your Vet, they will first perform a full clinical examination to assess the general health of your dog. Depending on how sick and unwell your dog is, they may require hospitalisation and extensive diagnostics.
To investigate further, they will likely suggest a blood test to check organ function and to look for signs of anaemia (low red blood cells). Depending on these results, they may then suggest more complex blood tests and clotting profiles, diagnostic imaging (x-rays and ultrasound), urine tests and faecal analysis. Endoscopy may also be used to look at the inside of the upper intestinal tract.
Conclusion
To conclude, examining your dog’s poo will allow you to pick up on abnormalities quicker. This can help to diagnose serious conditions before they get worse!
As unflattering as it is walking around your garden to examine your dog’s poo, I hope this article has convinced you to check your dog’s faeces regularly. This article hasn’t touched on the treatment options because the treatment and prognosis for melena is very dependent on the underlying cause. If you notice melena from your dog, it is super important to act fast and do not delay contacting your Vet.
Discussion
Anjing saya umur 2 tahun lebih sudah 2 hari agk sesak kluar cairan dari hidung
Kemaren sempat muntah saya uda kasih obat terus muntah berenti jd sesak, saya bawa ke dr hewan cuma di kasih sudah suntik anti radang dan vitamin dan sekarang uda mau makan barusan buang air besar uda bs setelah 4 hari sakit tp pup nya berwarna hitam
Tolong kasih saran pak obat apa yg harus saya kasih knp dia bs sesak?
Saya khawatir kami tidak dapat menjawab pertanyaan klinis dalam bahasa selain bahasa Inggris
Hi my dog is 15 years old and is pooing black tar diarrea. It has a smell but not a poo smell almost a sick smell.
OK, definitely vet time!
My Germen sheperd who was 2 years was not eating for about 5 days.. i was feeding her by my self. She was kinda inactive . She even rejected her favourite foods. She was sleeping keeping her stomach up. Her poop was tar black and kinda dried . She was alright but last night she was breathing heavily and couldnt even stand,she vomited . She was feeling really difficult to breath and she died. May i know what has happened plz?
I’m so sorry to hear that – it’s impossible to be certain, but it sounds like she might have had a serious intestinal bleed. It’s possible that she bled to death through the bowel. This could have been due to stomach ulcers, or some other gut disease. Dogs that don’t eat for a prolonged period often have serious health problems, especially if they have black tarry faeces, and as here, sadly these conditions can often be fatal.
My dog is almost 2 years. I have noticed he has been eating my fake christmas tree. And i stop him every time i see him. He also did eat my cats food last night. Instinct in the flavor Rabbit. His food ran out
Really, REALLY not good for him – could easily cause gut damage or a blockage!
My dog recently wasn’t feeling alright. He wasn’t eating food and also black dots all over his skin. 3 days ago his leg was swelled up and his stool was tar black, we consulted a doctor and did all his blood checkup. Hb was 5 and thyroid was little high. He was very tired for the past two day. Today he vomited clotted blood and died due to cardiac arrest. Can you please tell me what might be the issue he was facing? Consulted doctors just prescribed some digestive medicines and something similar to that.
It’s very, very hard to know from your description – as all the signs could be symptoms of multi-system organ failure, cause unclear.
The only way to be sure would be to get a post-mortem or autopsy done, to see what the underlying issue was.
From the description, I’d wonder if this was sepsis, but without further tests, no way to be sure.
My puppy’s stomach is swollen and it hardly poops
Right, definitely vet time!
My dog has been urinating blood, I took her to the vet and she was diagnosed of having a kidney infection, we were put on drugs and now the bloody urination has stop. Just two days ago I noticed she is passing black stool . What should I do.?
Definitely get back to the vets – that’s not a normal connection, these are two very different body systems.
Thank you so much
Hi ,
My dog 2.4 years old and last 2 days back its started with yellow foam vomiting 3-4 times in a day. We did consulting with our Vet and we came to know 103F fever level. Also took blood test and she given the prescription of emepet spray, syp rantiraj, syp cefpet & syp hemobest. Once started the medication dog started with pooping in liquid and it seems dark and runny. What shall i do now? your answer and patience highly appreciated please
Hopefully, it’s just a really bad gastroenteritis and will rapidly clear up on the meds: but if not, or if she seem’s to be getting worse, definitely go back to the vet.
My 10 year old chihuahua has black stools. I cannot afford to take her to a vet I’m 81 and a very small fixed done come and I just don’t have the money. What can I do here at home to help her?
Try to find a charity or shelter who can help with vets bills – over here, not getting her veterinary attention would be a criminal offence!
My 1 1/2 year old goldendoodle recently stayed at a doggy daycare for 3 days, upon returning home he has diarrhea vomiting and 1 black tarry stool. Please give me some advice on what may be going on. Thank you!
Probably a nasty stomach upset, either due to a change in food, some sort of infectious disease, or possibly eating something nasty somewhere. However, if the stool is black and tarry that suggests fairly serious compromise to the bowel lining, so I’d definitely get him checked out by your vet sooner rather than later!
My dog is less then 3 month , my dog was making black poo from 2 days is it normal or can I take him to hospital?
No, black poo isn’t normal – definitely vet time!
My dog is a 14 yr old Rat terrier. We just took her to the Vet because she wasn’t eating and just wasn’t her self. The vet did bloodwork and said that her kidney levels were elevated and that he thought there may be a mass in her bowels, but was not certain. Three days later she still not eating, but she is drinking water. Refuses to take her pill and now just started pooping black. How do I get her to eat a little or to take her pills? She refuses treats of any sort, and basically turns her nose up to it.
Have you tried warmed or aromatic foods, that she might be tempted with, or fatty foods like cheese? If not, I definitely think it’s time to go back to the vets, I’m afraid, as it may be she is deteriorating a little.
My 15 year old Hermenegildo shepherd mix got diagnosed with pre kidney disease. She is finally eating better and drinking water where and a couple days ago she was refusing all foods, and extremely lethargic. she has improved but today energy wise as well and has been more active than sleeping. I’m only worried that she pooped black. Is this part of the process ?
Not normally – I’d suggest checking with your vet; it could be due to dehydration and constipation, but it could also suggest something else going on, so best to get it checked.
My grand dog has dark stools. Had him at Emergency Vet and they do not want to do a biopsy on a swollen lymph node due to him not producing platelets. They are afraid he will bleed out. He is very lethargic and not eating. What should we do?
Definitely see your primary care vet ASAP – there’s clearly a serious clotting issue, and the causes can be quite serious. It might well be he needs a blood transfusion to replace clotting factors and platelets before any diagnostics can be done… Good luck.
My dog is 6 and has been having these episodes for a few years now. I’ve been to four vets in town and they can’t figure it out. He will get really calm and sad. He’s a Pomsky, they are never calm and sad. He refuses to eat or drink anything. Most of the time he will throw up and it’s this dark brown slightly chunky, smelling throw up. When he poops it’s really dark tarry, very bad smelling poop. Small amounts will often seep out of him before or after he fully poops. You can see slight traces of bright red blood sometimes but not every time. He’s warm to the touch when it happens. He has these episodes every few months. I’ve had multiple blood work done on him, X-rays, stool tests pretty much everything the vets would do. Every test as come back clean.
It might be worth talking to your vets about an intestinal biopsy, as this really isn’t normal and suggests some fairly significant underlying condition; I’d be immediately worried about a clotting disorder or poisoning, but it sounds like they’ve ruled that out; the next best guess would be IBD (which fortunately is very treatable!).
Hi! My dog is 4.5 years old, she was seen about a week ago for lethargy, no appetite and vomiting. She was admitted to the hospital and had a variety of tests and was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and HGE. They also saw black stool upon her rectal exam and discharged her. Three days ago she started back eating and drinking again and keeping the food down and now acting normal. Today is the first time she’s pooped in a couple of days and it’s still diarrhea and black. What should I do? She’s improving but still has black stool.
That she’s improving is the most important thing; I’d definitely let your vet know about it but I wouldn’t be too concerned if it stays dark for a little bit longer, as long as in every other respect she seems to be getting better.
Hi, my 6yr old Male Staffie has been producing black (loosish – he’s raw fed so normally small and hard) stools for a few weeks now. Hasn’t worried me too much up until now as he runs around like he’s in fine fettle when he gets off lead.
However, the last few days, he’s started yelping when trying to jump up on the couch. I’m on benefits and can’t afford expensive vet treatments but am accepted on PDSA. Should I try and get him seen?
Yes, I think he really needs to be seen by one of the PDSA vets – it does sound like there’s a problem: quite possibly constipation which, especially in raw fed dogs, can easily lead to obstipation which is potentially life threatening.
Hi my dog is 9 yrs old and today seems very irritated and fidgety, I then noticed after she’d been out (in the dark so hard to see) she had diarrhoea round be back end so tried to wipe her to clean and there were tiny grains of black with blood. What could cause this?
Little black grains with blood suggest some sort of bleeding into the intestines. The most common cause is a simple stomach upset that’s caused gut damage – with more severe gastroenteritis, it’s not that uncommon. However, other causes include stomach ulcers and physical trauma to the gut wall (e.g. by swallowing something hard and sharp that she can’t digest); other possibilities include inflammatory bowel disease (although uncommon in dogs) and, sadly, some abnormal growths. I think it would be a good idea to get her checked out by your vet, as even gastroenteritis that severe is quite hard on an older dog, and dehydration and gut damage can be a dangerous combination – even if there’s nothing else going on. Good luck!
Greetings, my dog is 14, has black tar poop throwing up several times a day is not eating and laying around the house
How is the dog
What was thr verdict. Did your pup get well
Right, vet ASAP – that’s really serious
My mixed breed chihuahua dog will be 16 and has horrific teeth and breath (smells like poop) and her poop is black!! She’s eating and drinking normal and when she’s awake she will sometimes just stand and stare. She doesn’t cuddle like she use to. Help !! What should I do ??
Hmmm, lots going on there – I definitely think she REALLY needs an appointment with your vets to work out why her poo is that colour – the worry is that she may have a substantial intestinal bleed, for example, a bleeding ulcer. Her teeth are a concern, and will almost certainly need attention, but that and the abnormal behaviour are more immediate and urgent concerns.
Thank you so much for answering my concerns. I’m trying to find a place near me that has a good reputation, unfortunately I’m not having any luck. I am continuing my search. I will keep you updated. Thanks again David Harris.
Hi,
My 15 year old dog’s poop is black, she didn’t eat at all yesterday.
She is very lethargic and has severe weakness in her back legs, specifically one more than the other so it is hard for her to stand up and when she stands the front legs are supporting her.
How is your dog doin
Definitely get her checked out – lethargy and weakness along with black faeces (melaenia) are red flags for a number of conditions, which in a dog of that age need veterinary attention, sooner rather than later.
My dog is 17 1/2 years old. She was left to me when my mother passed 4 years ago. She has not eaten in 2 days. This morning her poo was tar black and soft. I know her life is short due to her age. From what I am reading, this is most likely blood in her stool.
I know if I take her to the vet, they are going to want to do bloodwork, test, X-rays and who knows what else.
Is it time for me to make a decision?
At that age, with those symptoms, I think you might be getting to that point. Alternatively, just explain to the vet you don’t want to do any advanced tests and see what their opinion is as to where to go – it might be a stomach ulcer that would respond to medication, for example.
Hello today when my dog pooped, I seen it was black and the other day it will be brown and she still eats drinks. Well I just don’t know what’s going on with the black poop but it it it will change.
It depends why it’s black – is it that she hasn’t pooed for a while so it’s dried out? Or because there’s a bleed in the intestine? If it’s a really dark “coffee grounds” black, I’d suggest a vet check, to be honest.
My 5 year old rotty has been having diarrhea for several days and our vet believed it to be a result of various medication he was taking for an injury. He finished his meds yesterday but today his diarrhea was almost black. Is it likely that this is still a result of processing all the meds, or should I take him to the emergency?
Without knowing the exact medications, I can’t say for certain, but it isn’t what I’d expect if he still has black diarrhoea a day after finishing them! I’d definitely be concerned and want that looked at ASAP.
My dog is nearly 14, he is not very well, he is hardly eating now, being sick, yesterday and today his poo is black, we have spoken to a lovely pet place that will come to the house as we cant get him to a vets, he was a rescue dog and has panic attacks if we have ever tried to take him out, we have been trying to make him comfortable we know his time is coming, but with the black poo does is this more serious now.
Yes, I think it’s definitely getting to time either to try and fix the problem, or (and I think it’s probably the right decision) to let him go now – that black poo suggests he is bleeding into his bowel somewhere.
My 4 month pup had a solid black poo this morning and then about an hour later it was back to normal. He’s now just had a a very watery black stool and is now whining but it’s only when he chews is toy. So I can’t make out if it’s teething. He’s still full of energy.
I don’t like the sound of that to be honest – it’s probably nothing that serious but at that age there’s a good chance he’s eaten something non-food, and that could cause some serious gut issues. I would suggest a vet check to be honest to make sure there aren’t any gut erosions.
Hi my rottweiler is 4 months old and this morning has just has a solid black poo do I need to be worried he is fine in every other way
I can’t categorically say that there’s nothing wrong, but if he had a stomach ulcer or a bleed I would expect him to be looking unwell, pale, and painful. Is it possible he found something odd to eat – I’ve seen this in dogs who eat coal, for example…
My 4 year old Rottweiler was spayed and also had a dog toy removed from her stomach about 5 days ago. Today her poop was solid black with normal consistency. Could the black poop be caused from trauma to her stomach during surgery? Her temperature is normal and her gum color is normal. She weighs 105 lbs. She threw up some flem earlier today after eating some grass, and then she threw up some dog food after eating later today.
As a reference, she has always had a tummy problem since we adopted her last year. The toy she ate has been in her stomach since we adopted her and was found through an X-ray before she was spayed.
It could be due to bleeding in the intestine, but I’d be a bit worried if the surgery was 5 days before the black faeces: definitely ring the vets ASAP, as some of the common meds used after surgery can cause bleeding ulcers, especially in combination with any underlying bowel damage.
Hello my dog pooped black….hes 9 years old ….its been few days he has not eaten properly and now pooping black….
OK, that’s a real worry – it suggest bleeding into the bowel. Definitely vet time, ASAP!
My Dogs poo is black on outside but brown inside what does this mean
There are a couple of options, but the biggest worry would be that there’s an upper intestinal bleed. Other options might include the faeces drying out (due to dehydration, or the faeces lying around in the head for a while before being seen). If it’s fresh and that colour, though, a vet check is a good idea.
Hello! My dog Dylan is 15…has a heart murmur and has been on medication for it for a year and he’s on it now for the rest of his life… however, I have noticed that his poo is black and has been for a while and I was wondering if the medication is the course of it!?
Thank you
Black poo can mean a number of things, but a stomach ulcer or bleed is the most important. It’s unlikely with heart meds, but not impossible… so I would definitely recommend a meds check sooner rather than later with your vet!
My 6 month old puppy has no appetite but is drinking insane amounts of water but throwing up over the last 3 days. Tonight she pooped watery BLACK poop. I don’t have money for vet, but hope they will do a payment plan as I’m scared she may have parvo.
Lord I’m on a fixed income. And I notice my 4 months. And I notice her poop looks very dark, or black. Is there some where I can get free help. I suffer with server despesion. I want a pet to help me through my hard days. Is it something I can do myself?
The costs of all these tests and exams is outrageous. I just spent 600 last week on fecal tests of black poo. He had giardia. More money for prescriptions. I’m glad there is a way to help animals, but the cost is prohibitive for most people. And you encourage everyone to rescue a pup?? Better realize the financial burden you are taking on. Sad.
It depends where you are – is there a local pet rescue charity that could help? Where are you – we might have readers who can help?
After reading all the tests my dog would have to go through at 16 years old, I’m not sure I want to do that. The other issue is how I would ever want to pay for such expensive testing.
That’s where I’m at! We love our dog Brandi more than it seems possible but she’s 14 years old and she has arthritis that is starting to really hurt her to the point that we question her quality of life as it is.
It feels weird to call Brandi a dog, she’s so much more than that!
I hope that you are able to find peace and comfort during this extremely painful time!
You’ll note that these tests MAY be needed. It depends what the vet finds on the basic diagnostic workup. But black faeces ALWAYS needs to be taken seriously – I’m sure you wouldn’t want your dog to bleed out either, so talk to your vet about the limitations you have, and they’ll work with you, but definitely get him or her seen!