Dog's black tar stool & straining on steroids: What can I do?

I would recommend that you find an emergency vet. Dark and tarry stools can indicate bleeding in the upper GI tract, which could be life threatening. I would discontinue the prednisone until she is evaluated by a vet.

Stomach ulcer, pancreatitis, Addison’s, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancers are all in my lists. If she hasn’t had a broad spectrum deworming then I would do that for sure even if fecal tests were negative. Also- if she has been on steroids she needs to wait weeks, Even months before the ACTH test for Addison’s can be run. It sounds like you and your veterinarian are on the right path to help find the cause. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

First of all, he seems to be suffering from a severe gastrointestinal issue and he must be taken to the vet urgently for treatment, if it';s an infection it's easily treatable, no need to fear about having to put him down. regarding the other issues, these are less urgent at the moment, have the primary problem treated first.

That class of medicines have potential to cause a GI ulcers which can cause vomiting and dark stool (digested blood) Taking him to the vet is the best option sonthey can also run blood work to check the kidneys as that can also be a side effect of that class of medicine. They have several different components to help with ulcers and preventing further damage. Feedings a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice is best until you can take him in

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Siri. I would recommend stopping her NSAID medication and having her evaluated by her veterinarian . A side effect of this medication, is gastrointestinal tract ulcers. This can be seen as black tarry stool in a dog or vomiting blood. I hope this information helps.

It seems a little unusual for a single dose of meloxicam to affect Blanca after two weeks, but I suppose it is possible. I'd recommend having your vet examine the stool and Blanca. They might also recommend checking some lab work.

Aw I am so sorry to hear this about her. Her illness is likely what is causing the decrease in appetite. The steroid usually helps to decrease the inflammation and increase the appetite. A few things I would talk to your vet about is whether a daily probiotic and a long term appetite stimulant would help her. I would also talk to your vet about starting her on weekly Vitamin B12 injections. Most dogs with GI cancer or IBD have low Vitamin B12. Your vet should be able to give her one injection a week for 4-6 weeks then decrease the injections to once a month if she is doing well. Vitamin B12 is also a natural appetite stimulant. I would also talk to them about whether an oral steroid daily would be better than the occasional steroid injection. I obviously do not know what type of steroid injection they are giving. Some steroid injections stay in the system for 6-8 weeks where others only stay in the system for 48 hours. I would also consider putting her on a hypoallergenic diet if she would be willing to eat it. If she prefers human food, you may consider making her own diet at home. If you do, I would visit balanceit.com for recipes and also talk to you vet about which type of foods would be safe for her. I hope this helps!