My dog has anemia. What do blood tests mean for her liver health?

Hello. Anemia is generally the result one of three things, 1. excessive bleeding from trauma or internally from a tumor or ulcer, 2. from the inability of bone marrow to produce more red blood cells, or 3. from an increased destruction of red blood cells usually due to an autoimmune disease. Your pet is probably being worked up to discover if any of these things may be the cause. Blood work, x-rays & an ultrasound examination of the chest & abdominal cavities may be necessary to diagnose the anemia. I hope all is well soon & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm sorry to hear that Sarah is sick! Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "liver is # one to come back." It would definitely help to have more information about what her specific diagnosis is, or more specific information on her lab results in order to provide any helpful suggestions. Anemia has many different causes, so I'm afraid it's not possible to say what kind of treatment she should be on without more information. Feel free to post again with more information, or request a consultation with one of us for a more in-depth discussion if you prefer.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Blu is anemic and liver values are poor then I think you need to think about whether or not Blu's quality of life is good or not. An x-ray will show if there is free fluid in the abdomen (a bleeding tumor for example) or a mass effect (signs of a tumor or other changes). It is used to determine what the cause of the anemia and the liver values being poor are, and whether or not it is likely due to cancer. X-rays are also recommended of the chest to look for spread of cancer to the lungs. This is recommended whether you wish to pursue surgery or not so that you know if Blu has compromise to the lungs. These x-rays give you information that will help you determine if signs that you are seeing with Blu are relavent or not. For example, if Blu has x-rays that show spread of cancer to the lungs, when she starts breathing up then you know this is severe and euthanasia should be pursued and you shouldn't 'wait' on it. This is the same if we know if she has a mass in the abdomen, this will tell you that if she has a collapse or weakness episode, you will know whether or not it is a bleeding tumor, and know not to wait- as waiting will prolong suffering. If she is clinically unwell at this point and you don't wish to pursue surgery or other interventions, then euthanasia should be discussed. I'm sorry Blu is having these issues, I hope she feels better!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! We’d be happy to help through the forum if you can post pictures of his bloodwork and provide his symptoms or through a consultation. A consultation is live and text based where you can ask questions like a chat. I hope this helps!

The most significant finding I am seeing in the lab work is a decreased hematocrit, or anemia. Anemia can be related to intestinal parasites, blood loss from ingestion of rat bait or other toxins, some blood infections, or autoimmune disease. Your vet might recommend a fecal analysis, x-rays of the chest or belly, or sending out blood tests to look for infectious disease as a next step. Most of these diseases would be treatable. It seems like creatinine, a kidney value might also be elevated but there are no reference ranges listed so it is also possible that that is considered normal for that particular chemistry machine. If the creatinine is truly elevated there might be some concern for kidney disease. A urine sample would help determine if the kidneys are functioning okay and your vet might recommend this as a next step as well. Of course, your veterinarian was able to examine Dora in person and that is also an important part of interpreting lab work. I would recommend checking in with your vet to see what they would recommend as a next step, and what diseases they would prioritize based on her full history and exam.

Hello. I am, unfortunately, unfamiliar with all the parasites present in your area, but there are several tick borne diseases that can cause the symptoms you describe. Ehrlichiosis is a blood parasite that is spread through tick bites & will cause fever, malaise, anemia, thrombocytopenia ( low platelets ), elevated ALT ( liver enzyme ), loss of appetite & weight loss. The disease can be mild or life-threatening. Many of these tick borne diseases present in a similar manner. Treatment with tetracycline drugs such as doxycycline are standard, & treatment is often 3 weeks long. Most dogs do very well if there are no other underlying diseases or problems. If this sounds like what WaWa has, then for the most part, she should recover. Make sure that from here on out you do meticulous tick control. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Anemia should be ideally retested. At this stage, with the clinical informations you provided, is mild to moderate and could have been caused only by inflammation. I would recommend to retest the anemia when both the abscess is completely resolved and the course of treatment over. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.