These holes can develop over time, and depending on where they are in the digestive tract they can cause black melena. Stomach ulcers are an erosion in your dog’s stomach or intestinal lining caused by an excess of digestive acids. Stomach Ulcers Image Credit: Stéphanie Briand, Pixabay Usually, a change in medication is required.ĥ.

Non steroidal anti-inflammatory medications are a more common cause of this.Ĭonsult with your vet immediately about a change in medication. When your dog is on a new medication, you should be watching more closely than normal for reactions like this, just in case your dog is sensitive to the medication. Medications can sometimes have side effects that shouldn’t be ignored, including digestive bleeding. Medication Reactions Image Credit: ALPA PROD, Shutterstock It's our product, and we love it so much, we just have to share! It permanently removes the very worst smells and stains, and we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee! Click here to get yourself a bottle!Ĥ. Having a pet means cleaning up smells, stains, hair, vomit, and more.and you can add to your pet clean-up routine with the Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray. Keep an eye out for other signs of distress in the meantime, especially if your dog ate something he shouldn’t. The dye should work its way through in a day or two. Like the bloody food, this one doesn’t need medical intervention. Food dyes will usually cause staining on your dog’s mouth and fur as well as dark stool. Black dye shouldn’t be a part of your dog’s diet, but if he has a habit of stealing food he might find something he shouldn’t. Some owners give charcoal biscuits as a way of easing bloating or gas in their dogs. Your vet might prescribe charcoal if your dog has recently eaten something toxic, and some dogs might get into activated charcoal products on their own.

One common source of this is activated charcoal. Ingesting Charcoal or Black Dye Image Credit: SillyDogPhotos, ShutterstockĪnother cause of black stool is food that’s dark black in color. Also consider changing up your dog’s diet to avoid eating food that’s literally bleeding.ģ. But if you aren’t absolutely sure of the cause, seek vet advice just in case. If the cause of black poop is bloody food, your dog shouldn’t be in direct danger. This is a good scenario, because it means that your dog isn’t bleeding internally, but it probably means your dog’s food is a bit too raw. Dogs who eat raw meat or attack live animals might swallow some blood that turns their poop dark. If your dog is passing black poop, there’s a chance it’s not his blood that is making it black. Eating Bloody Food Image Credit: manushot, Shutterstock Stomach and small intestinal bleeding can be very serious and usually requires veterinary attention.Ģ. This bleeding can have a range of causes but may be life-threatening and requires immediate intervention. Bleeding into the stomach or small intestine can result in a black, tarry appearance to your dog’s stool called melena. If it’s in his lower digestive tract, the blood will come out bright red. The most common cause of black poop is partially digested blood because your dog has acute bleeding in his stomach or small intestine. Intestinal Bleeding Image Credit: Lindsay Helms, Shutterstock The 7 Reasons Your Dog’s Poop Might Be Black 1. Here are seven reasons why your dog might be passing black stool. So, before you take your dog to the vet, it can be helpful to figure out as much as you can about the cause. But there isn’t one single cause of blood getting into poop, and there are a few other things that can turn poop black. That’s because the most common cause of black stool is partially digested blood. In fact, it’s an immediate cause for concern. As pet owners, we usually get a good idea of what’s normal and what isn’t when it comes to our pet’s bowel movements.

Dark stool from digested blood