Border Collies TR Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 in the result of complete blood test, vets found my 4 years old BC anemic. The blood value is 6.11, It must be between 7 and 13. So does anybody have an experince about this. Can I recover by food diet or what? He is quiet active dog, playing frisbee and doing agility.Any advices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Did your vet have any suggestions as to the CAUSE of the anemia? I would think that the steps needed to correct the problem would greatly depend on what's causing it. Just my opinion, but if it were me I'd ask my vet to delve a bit deeper into the root cause of the anemia. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Have you had it tested again yet? Have you had bloodwork on your dog before that you can compare this too? I'm not saying this is the case but "normal" is different for individuals. I try to do bloodwork every year on my dogs so I have comparisions. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karrie Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 My first thought was Fleas. I've dealt with that. After that I would think of things like worms or ticks. But these things the vet would of or should have noticed. Did they say why anemic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Border Collies TR Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 My vet said they will make the test 2 weeks later again. She says it is not easy to figure out the reason immediatelly. 2 years ago he suffered low blood sugar level it was 34 and normally it must be around 76 or something like that. I solved the problem by feeding him 3 times a day, and lowering the exercise amount. There are no ticks or fleas because I check him very often and all necessary medical threatments are done properly. And we are at the end of winter season, ticks will come out by spring time. I can feel he has a problem because gets tired very soon (after 15-20 frisbee throws) and looks like shaking (not exactly) or foolish, reactions to the commands become slower till he recovers the tired condition. Is there a special food for BC's? I feed him with Eukanuba Performance, he is not food crazy, and never eats with hunger. Even meat from barbecue does not attracts him. I dont want him to give more blood, cause he feels much worse after that. He feels tired all the day after that happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I would be very concerned - he's symptomatic and if there's no particular reason (which is unlikely), there's things that can be done to make him more comfortable. Anemia makes one nauseated, among other things, and just generally icky. Anemia is a symptom of a multitude of serious problems, anything from malnutrition (not an issue here, I'm sure) to parasites, on up to various metabolic disorders, tick borne disease and some cancers. I've never met a vet that was blase about anemia, and didn't want to do more tests immediately. Good luck! B complex vitamins are a great way to support dog with anemia, meanwhile - get the kind with extra B12 and it will help give him some extra energy and help his appetite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrayburn Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 I wouldn't wait two weeks to do more testing. It sounds like diabetes is a possibility. Also, kidney failure can cause anemia as well. I lost a fabulous cat to an autoimmune hemolytic anemia that was associated with acute kidney failure. He was only three years old. If it was me, we'd be doing a full blood panel, kidney function test and a test for diabetes/blood sugar first thing Monday morning. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 I`d also look to testing the liver. It is the controller of blood sugar, and is involved in recycling the iron in the red blood cells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Scott Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Hypothyroidism can also cause anemia! Barb S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Border Collies TR Posted March 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Anyway I do not want my dog to be used as test material. He is happy with what we are doing. I dont want to make his life a hell visiting the vet all the time. I'm started vit B 12-6 cure. In a small dose. And lowered the exercises. But if you advice ıron tabletts or something supports the case ı will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katelynn & Gang Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 I do not think they mean to use him as test material. Just that there might be a underlying problem to the anemia that could be more harmful then the anemia its self. To me, I'd rather be safe then sorry. I had a dog suffer in the last stages of kidney failure because a vet did not do ever test available and told us it was "nothing" to worry about, that it would pass. It cost the dog a lot of pain as well as my family. It wasn't fair to anyone but most of all not to the poor dog. Now, if something is wrong, I make sure there is a full blood panel test done because no animal should have to suffer because of a vet not doing everything possible to find out the underlying problem. JMO Katelynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Border Collies TR Posted March 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 I didnt mean I will stop the search. The vets are my friends and one of them is Whisky's trainer. What we decided is to check him by activity. The day test was made 3 units of blood used. (we had rabies titre test for a visit to Europe) thats why we wait for two weeks. Also because the value is just under the limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkSheep24 Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Originally posted by Border Collies TR:Anyway I do not want my dog to be used as test material. He is happy with what we are doing. I dont want to make his life a hell visiting the vet all the time. I think you should get more tests done incase its something more serious. My last dog, Tanya, developed cancer of the bone last year and for the last year or so of her life we were in and out of the vets constantly and she had lots of tests done. She even had to get 1 of her legs amputated but in the end was put down due to cancer going into her lungs. So i guess Tanya's case didnt end happily but from the tests at the start and getting her leg off gave her a few more months of life, which i guess is better than none. To be honest Tanya actually loved the vets, all the vet nurses loved her and fussed over her like anything cause she was a little darling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Border Collies TR Posted March 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 By the way thanks all who replied my post. I will write the next results ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bo Boop Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 I don't want to alarm you, and I don't know the extent of your dogs anemaia, however, I recently lost a Border Collie to cancer, hemangiosarcoma. It is very common in BC's and almost undetectable. The tumors usually occur on the spleen, and when they rupture your dog bleeds out. Now they can also have slow bleeds initially...dog will appear lethargic, loss of appetite etc....I am by no means saying this is what your dog has, it could very well be something as simple as an ulcer...For my cancer dog,when he was anemic from the chemo. I gave him a liquid human iron supplement called Floradix, good stuff. Hope it's something simple with your dog,and you find a quick fix. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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