Anemia is a condition caused by a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin in the circulating blood. This lack of red blood cells can reduce the transfer of oxygen in the blood circulation of the sufferer dog. Signs of anemia in dogs may not be obvious and come on slowly, but generally include a lack of energy and fatigue. If your dog seems to be shuffling as he walks or is sleepy and tired more often than usual, he may be anemic. If you suspect your dog is anemic, you should contact your veterinarian immediately.
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Method 1 of 5: Making Sure Your Dog Has Anemia
Step 1. Consider the possibility of your dog being anemic
Does your dog suddenly seem very tired or limp? Is the dog losing weight for no apparent reason? If there is no logical answer to this question, consider the possible cause of anemia.
Anemia can be caused by a number of problems, from parasites to the use of cancer drugs. The two most common causes of anemia are bleeding from tumors and autoimmune diseases that cause the body to attack its own red blood cells
Step 2. Check the color of the dog's gums
A dog's gums should be pinkish in color, much like human gums. It's a good idea to check the color of your dog's gums in a room with natural light, as lights can make them look yellow or beige. Gently lift the dog's lips and pay attention to his gums. Gums that appear pale pink or even white are a sign of anemia.
- Another body part you can examine is the inside of your dog's eyelids. In anemic dogs, this area will appear pale pink or white in color.
- Visit the vet if your dog's gums appear pale.
Step 3. Get your dog checked by the vet
The vet will examine the dog's overall health, including problems such as fleas, mites, or other parasites, abnormally enlarged organs, or a mass in the abdomen that could indicate a tumour. The vet will then draw blood for testing in the laboratory.
Laboratory tests will examine the dog's biochemistry to make sure its organs are functioning properly (to look for sources of anemia) and hematology. Meanwhile, in the hematological test, the dog's red and white blood cells will be examined. These two tests can help the vet determine whether the dog is indeed anemic, as well as determine the severity of the problem, whether the problem is recent or longstanding, and whether or not the dog is still able to produce new red blood cells. All of these parameters will help your vet figure out the source of the anemia, its severity, and what treatment is needed
Method 2 of 5: Overcoming Anemia Due to Autoimmune Disease
Step 1. Consider the possible cause of anemia is an autoimmune disease
Autoimmune disease occurs when the body attacks its own tissue and the immune system attacks it as if it were a foreign object. This can also happen to red blood cells, causing their number to decrease and trigger anemia.
Step 2. Determine if your dog is anemic due to an autoimmune disease
The vet will perform a number of tests to determine whether the cause of anemia in dogs is an autoimmune disease or not. Generally, the doctor will need to check various indicators in the dog's blood.
- In the Coombs test, the antigen bound to the red blood cell membrane is examined. These antigens cause the immune system to attack. The Coombs test in the laboratory is often used to confirm this. Unfortunately, the results of this test are often erroneous and therefore unreliable because they can only detect large amounts of antigen on the surface of cell membranes. This test may give a false negative result if the dog's red blood cells are contaminated with the antigen, but there are too few of them to show a positive result.
- Another possible test is the addition of a saline solution to a dog's blood sample. This sample is then shaken to mix the blood and saline together and then viewed under a microscope. If a red blood cell clump forms even though it has been diluted, this autoagglutination indicates that there is an antigen on the surface of the blood cell. Thus, the formation of this clot is considered a "positive" result.
- Another important clue is the shape and size of the red blood cells under the microscope. Red blood cells that are attacked by the immune system will have an atypical appearance (smaller without a pale center area) and are called spherocytes. If the vet finds spherocytes, the logical assumption is that the dog's body is destroying its own red blood cells.
Step 3. Treat anemia caused by autoimmune diseases
If your vet finds that your dog's anemia is an autoimmune disease, he or she will prescribe immunosuppressive medications, especially corticosteroids. These drugs will deactivate the immune response and stop its attack so that the body can produce red blood cells again.
High doses of drugs (referred to as immunosuppressive doses) are needed to inactivate these harmful mechanisms. High doses of the drug may be given for 2 weeks to start. If the results of follow-up testing show that the anemic condition in the dog is improving, the dose of the drug will be decreased gradually, often over a period of several months
Method 3 of 5: Overcoming Anemia Due to Blood Loss
Step 1. Check if the dog has recently lost blood
Dogs can experience this problem due to injury (traffic accidents), parasitic attack (fleas and mites), inflammation or ulcers in the digestive tract, or bleeding from tumors. Under all of the above conditions, the dog's blood will decrease faster than it can produce. As a result, the number of blood cells in the dog's circulation will decrease. If this condition reaches a certain level of severity, the dog will become anemic.
Step 2. Stop the bleeding from the trauma
In case of trauma, bleeding in the dog's body must be found and stopped. If your dog is in an accident and is bleeding actively, use a bandage (thick bandage) or a small towel to apply pressure to it. You should try to stop this bleeding while seeking veterinary help.
The vet will then stop the bleeding with arterial forceps and tie off the dog's veins
Step 3. Check for tumor bleeding in dogs
One of the most common causes of blood loss in dogs apart from trauma is bleeding from blood vessel tumors. Old dogs are prone to tumors in the spleen, an organ rich in blood flow. These tumors are often fragile and break easily, so even a small impact can cause bleeding. If not stopped, the blood will continue to leave the circulation and collect in the dog's stomach. In more serious cases, heavy bleeding can cause the dog to faint, or even die, from internal blood loss.
- Signs of a dog losing blood from bleeding tumors are vomiting or bloody stools, or dark-colored stools. If in doubt, take a sample to take to the vet.
- To confirm the presence of a tumor and determine the best treatment option, the veterinarian will need to carry out examinations such as ultrasound, CT or MRI scans, or radiographs.
- In the case of bleeding tumors, the vet will try to stabilize the dog's condition with intravenous fluids to maintain his blood pressure. If the dog's bleeding is heavy, the vet may give you a blood transfusion. Once the dog is strong enough to be anaesthetized, surgical removal of the spleen is the main treatment option.
Step 4. Watch for signs of an internal problem
Another internal problem that can cause bleeding is stomach ulcers or severe inflammation of the dog's digestive tract. The vet will provide treatment to protect the ulcer and allow it to heal, or reduce the inflammation.
If your dog is taking certain medications, especially nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as meloxicam, stop using them immediately and tell your vet. The reason is that NSAIDs are associated with the formation of ulcers in the gastrointestinal tract
Method 4 of 5: Overcoming Parasitic Anemia
Step 1. Check if the dog is infected with parasites
Severe infections from parasites such as lice or mites can cause anemia if the parasite sucks blood. Another significant cause of blood loss is the parasite lungworm or Angiostrongylus vasorum. It's not known how this parasitic infection causes bleeding, but the consequences can be serious and life-threatening for dogs. The treatment of a parasitic infection is to kill the cause. So, by eradicating the blood-sucking parasite, the dog can again produce red blood cells.
Consider blood-living parasites such as Babesia or Haemobartonella which can damage and destroy red blood cells. You should seek veterinary help for this condition as it requires specific drugs such as primaquine or quinine, as well as clindamycin for Babesia and tetracycline antibiotics for Haemobartonella
Step 2. Give the preventive medicine
There are many good and effective flea deterrents on the market. However, be sure to use medications that are safe for dogs and proven to be effective, such as (Frontline, Effipro), or lambectin (Stronghold UK, Revolution US), although other effective medications are also available.
The lungworm parasite is common in dogs in the UK and is transmitted through infected feces, or through snails or snails. Preventing is always better than curing. If the results of your dog's examination are found to be positive for lungworm infection, preventive medicine can also be used to kill the worm that causes it. However, apart from that, your dog may also need antibiotics to prevent pneumonia, and steroids to prevent inflammation and allergic reactions to dead worms
Step 3. For further treatment, follow the veterinarian's recommendations
If your dog is losing a lot of blood, the doctor may give you a blood transfusion. Dog blood banks can often deliver blood quickly. Ideally, the vet will find out the dog's blood type with a simple test and then ask the dog's blood bank to send a sample of the same blood type.
This step is most useful when surgery has been planned, for example removal of a bleeding spleen. However, a delay of just a few hours while waiting for a blood sample to be sent may be too long for a dog that is bleeding heavily
Method 5 of 5: Overcoming Anemia Due to Kidney Disease
Step 1. Check for rare causes of anemia
If you've determined that your dog's anemia isn't caused by a common disease, don't give up and keep looking. A rare disease that causes anemia in dogs is kidney disease. The disease is less common in dogs than in other species, such as cats. In dogs with kidney disease, anemia occurs due to the production of the hormone erythropoietin by the kidneys, which triggers the bone marrow to produce new red blood cells. However, in dogs with kidney failure, the active kidney tissue has been replaced by scar tissue. As a result, the number of cells that can produce erythropoietin is reduced.
Step 2. Provide care at home
One of the treatments is to give the dog iron and vitamin B supplements. Dogs with kidney failure often have no appetite so they lack the main building blocks of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying molecule) in red blood cells. However, the benefits of using this supplement are also limited, according to the severity of the problem.
Step 3. Solve the problem causing the anemia
This means that you have to overcome an erythropoietin deficiency. Theoretically, routinely injecting erythropoietin into the dog's body can stimulate the production of red blood cells. However, this simple solution has many problems. For example, synthetic erythropoietin is difficult to obtain and can be very expensive. In addition, the possibility of allergic reactions to artificial erythropoietin is high. As a result, the dog's body can actually reject its own erythropoietin, making the problem worse.
