How Do You Tell If Your Dog Has an Ulcer?

Ulcers are painful for both humans and dogs. When it comes to canine ulcers, the causes and symptoms can be similar as well. The diagnosis your veterinarian will perform will take the same route that a human doctor would take to track the exact cause and severity. Once everyone is sure of the cause, a treatment plan can be put into place quickly.

Identification

What is a canine ulcer? Canine ulcers are sores on the skin or along the mucous membrane and resemble similar sores in humans with ulcers. When an ulcer is found, it resembles a hole along the lining of the intestines or stomach; usually it is a dark looking patch along the wall of the intestine or stomach and there can be more than one.

Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of canine ulcers are non-visual pain such as loss of appetite and stomach pain usually shown by the dog not wanting his belly touched; if you do touch the sore spot your dog will give a yelp and quickly move away. The visual symptoms that occur later can include pale gums, vomiting of partially digested blood which shows as a dark substance, or black tar-like stools also caused by blood.

Causes

The causes of canine ulcer symptoms, and of the ulcers themselves, can be either from ingested material or from illness. Ingested causes can include lead poisoning, drugs such as NSAIDS and blood medication, cleaners containing bleach, mast cell tumors and foreign bodies that are found along the stomach walls. An illness such as a bacterial infection, liver disease or uremia, which is feces in the blood, can also cause canine ulcers. Stress and extreme anxiety can also cause canine ulcer symptoms as it does in humans.

Diagnosis of Canine Ulcers

Only your veterinarian can tell if the symptoms you see are from an ulcer in your dog's intestine or stomach. The veterinarian will do a host of tests including blood tests, urinalysis, ultrasounds, x-rays, and an upper GI study. A video camera may be passed down a tube into the stomach; this is called an endoscopy.

Treatments for Canine Ulcers

One of the first things you will need to do is re-evaluate your dogs diet. Limit the amount of salt and spice in your dogs food. Do not feed table scraps while trying to eliminate the ulcer. Take some of the stress out of your dog's life. Getting a companion pet or limiting your dog's time alone can help. If your dog yawns a lot, that is a sign of anxiety not tiredness. If your dog is taking anti-inflamatory medication, check with your veterinarian about an alternative because the medication can be part of the symptom. Remove any small items which your dog can break apart or swallow such as coins, batteries, plastic parts or balls and writing instruments. Time is the only healing method for ulcers; keeping potential infections or new causes down is the only way to allow the ulcer to heal.