As a dog owner, we may be aware of many things related to the health of our dog(s), but blood disorders are something most of us don’t understand. The main function of a dog’s blood is to supply oxygen and nutrients to the body’s tissues and transport carbon dioxide and many waste materials away from them.
However, that is not the only job that blood has to do. Blood is a key contributor to things like cell development, tissue repair, and infection prevention. A dog’s blood is very similar to ours; It contains red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma.
Dogs are susceptible to many blood disorders, including low platelet counts, low red blood cell counts, high white blood cell counts, clotting problems, blood-related cancers, and even poisoning.
One of the most frequent blood disorders that our canine friends face is anemia. Anemia itself is not a disease of the blood, but causes a lack of oxygen circulation. There are two forms of this disorder, regenerative anemia in which the number of red blood cells is reduced as a result of tissue destruction or chronic bleeding. An example of this would be a deep bleeding wound resulting in blood loss. However, if the bleeding was internal caused by a form of parasite or gastrointestinal bleeding, the blood loss could continue for a long period of time before it was noticed.
The other form of anemia is non-regenerative anemia, here the bone marrow cannot restore red blood cells fast enough that have been destroyed or otherwise rendered useless. What causes this? Chronic kidney failure, bone cancer, or even a tick-borne disease.
Some dogs, such as springer spaniels and basenjis, have often been found to have hereditary anemia.
There are many other blood related problems that are frequently seen in our canine friends and they are:
blood cancers (acute and chronic leukaemias) mainly caused by an increase in the number of white blood cells in the bone marrow or in the bloodstream. If left untreated, these diseases can lead to bone marrow failure and loss of organ function throughout the dog’s body.
The toxicity of anticoagulant rodenticides is also known as poisoning. The ingredients in the poison used to kill rats and mice cause a dog to develop a tendency to bleed. It will take a few days to develop and can cause the dog to bleed from the nose and mouth or from urine and feces. If the bleeding is internal, it may continue for a while and go unnoticed until severe shock sets in and a breathing problem is noted. This type of poisoning can be fatal if not treated as soon as possible.
von willebrand disease is a bleeding disease caused by a lack of a certain protein in the system that normally causes platelets to stick to the lining of a damaged blood vessel. A dog with this disorder may have frequent nosebleeds and have blood in the stool. Some breeds, such as Doberman Pinschers, often suffer from this problem. The treatments used are blood transfusions.
thrombocytopenia is another name for a low platelet count, usually caused by infection, a drug reaction, cancer, or other causes. It causes the immune system to treat the platelets as if they were a foreign body and destroy them. Symptoms of this disorder are bleeding gums; strange bleeding from the skin, instant bruising, and bleeding from a wound that should stop relatively easily.
How can you watch for these and other blood disorders? Veterinarians suggest that after the age of six, your dog should have a full blood test. This would include a complete blood count (red, white, platelets, and plasma) and a chemistry panel that can show problems with organ function and determine if the dog’s blood has the correct amount of electrolytes he needs to function properly.
As an owner, you should be aware of some of the signs that could lead to blood disorders, such as pale gums, bleeding gums, lack of energy, blood in urine or stool. Any of these signs should indicate that a trip to the vet is necessary and as soon as possible.
Complete blood tests and chemistry panel are relatively inexpensive and very easy on the dog. You can have the results pretty quickly, and in this case, an ounce of prevention by doing these tests can save your dog’s life and a lot of money in health care costs.
