• Yesterday, I stepped out of the truck and left a happy, healthy Basenji sitting on the bed minding his own business. Five minutes later, I returned to a dog who was frantically howling to get out of the truck. So out we went. As soon as his feet hit the dirt, he squatted and began spraying the most watery diarrhea I've ever seen and when he finished straining, there was blood dripping down his backside.

    Needless to say, I was extremely alarmed. He needed to get out about three more times within a 30-minute period, each episode followed by blood dripping out his behind. I found out where the nearest vet was and gave them a call. Meanwhile, my poor boy was laying in the back with his ears back panting kind of hard. Vet said cool him down and watch him for about an hour.

    So, I cranked up the A/C and watched him. He crashed out after about 15 minutes. Vet said leave him alone and let him rest. Four hours later, my AJ woke up acting like nothing had ever happened. Stools were a little soft, but this morning, normal consistency. Huge sigh of relief. All is well now.


  • Thank goodness he is alright Belinda. Poor boy, what a terrible fright he must have given you. Do you think it was something he ate ?


  • I watch what he eats like a hawk because I know he'll pick up anything he can find. He is, after all, a dog.

    I'm thinking he picked up a tummy bug similar to our "stomach flu" from those two young Siberian Huskies he was playing with all weekend. He had a slight fever while all this was going on.

    I can say my brain was going all kinds of directions…is his Parvo up to date...did he swallow something that's obstructing him...going back in my mind to remember whether he'd eaten something off the ground... He gave me quite a turn, but I'm happy to say he's back to his old mischief today. 🙂


  • AJ is such a special dog. Maybe do a visit to your own vet when you can. Blood anywhere just kind of sends up warning signals to me. Sending healthy hugs to both of you.


  • what a naughty boy, giving you a scare like that.

    on a related note, i just got an iphone and found a free app that will tell you where the nearest vet is to where you are. pretty cool and useful in a situation like this.

  • Houston

    Poor AJ..sounds like he is doing better though. I know you were freaked out. Otis had this once and we were all convinced he had swallowed something..but he pulled through and just ended up with a bug or something.

  • First Basenji's

    Wow… I guess when a dog knows he has to go, he HAS TO GO.
    That would have scared me too. I'm glad he's on the mend.


  • Bacterial poisoning for sure. Had that happen to my Basenji, Nipper on a camping trip in 1977 with blood coming out the rear too because she ate some old food off the ground. She stayed at the town vet all weekend as she was very dehydrated. You have to be careful as that can cause severe dehydration from the diarrhea.


  • Glad he bounced back so quickly…


  • Very happy your baby is well and doing great. Big hugs to boy.

    Rita Jean


  • Best of luck to you and AJ - hope he keeps mending quickly. It must be very difficult when you're on the road to always be able to find a vet nearby for such emergencies - the app suggested above sounds like something you could use! I go online whenever we are camping to find emergency vets near wherever we camp - something we really feel we need to do "in case." So glad AJ's problem has gone.


  • Thank goodness all is well now - I know just how frightening this can be and magnified by your being on the road. Give AJ a special hug from me, please.


  • Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and good "vibes." AJ is doing grat now. Stools are normal and his activity level is back. You're right…he is a special boy. He did drink lots of water after this little episode, but that's tapering off too.

    Thanks again, y'all. 🙂

Suggested Topics