My dog has anemia. What food helps him recover, beyond iron?

Sounds like she is a lucky girl to have found you. As you are feeding a balanced dog food she is getting the correct nutrition she needs. So diet at this point will not address the anemia. As there are many causes of anemia if it does not correct to normal in a few weeks than further testing should be pursued to find a cause such as testing for parasites (gi), heartworms, and tick borne diseases if not already performed by the shelter. Categories of causes of anemia are blood loss, destruction, and decreased production. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! To be able to help your pup, it is crucial to find out why he is not eating and most importantly why he is anemic. This may be due to an immune mediated condition or an infection of some kind. For this reason, I recommend that they proceed with diagnostics such as infectious disease testing and abdominal ultrasound to look for possible reasons. Therapy would be dependent on findings. Hoping for a speedy recovery!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! A low hemoglobin is not typically fixed with a diet. This is fixed by treating the underlying cause of the iron deficiency anemia and in some cases by supplementing with iron. If she is in a balanced diet you should be good. I recommend that you talk to your veterinarian about treating her anemia. Best of luck!

Hello. Sometimes when an individual starts off life in a poor way, full development can be compromised. But with good care, catch-up with littermates is possible. I think feeding the Royal Canin is a very smart move, but I am always a little concerned about adding supplements. It is just so easy to over supplement & cause more problems, especially when you are already using a nutritionally complete food. No one can guarantee that Luffy will develop totally in comparison with other GSDs, but he should be the best he can be. You also need to keep in mind that GSDs can be quite prone to hip & elbow dysplasia, & the wrong supplementation can exacerbate this condition. If you want to add anything to his diet, then I suggest you view this website to see if anything else is required. https://www.balanceit.com. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Yes, some active disease processes can skew some of these results. We should never diagnose a dog as hypothyroid if there is another concurrent issue being treated. You can add an egg or two to Duke's normal dog food every day, but I wouldn't start adding a bunch of other things until we know if the anemia resolves itself.

It will likely take several weeks until his face starts to gain it's shape and weight back. just keep feeding him 3-4 times a day with a high quality food, as long as he remains healthy he'l gain the weight back eventually.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be the time for your veterinarian to check in with an internal medicine specialist as this is a bit more complex than typical. Possibilities include an immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in which case other immunosuppressive drugs can be used with prednisone or possibly an infectious disease. They would be able to recommend further but reaching out to a specialist would be an option for further tests/recommendations. Hoping for a speedy recovery!