My dog has fever, no appetite, low blood cells, and mouth sores. What's wrong?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Based on this bloodwork I can see that she is anemic, has elevated inflammatory cells, has low chloride and sodium and perhaps a slightly elevated creatinine (which can signal kidney issues though I cannot read it well there). These are not indicative of any disease in particular. This can be due to an infection for sure though. Other possibilities include an inflammatory condition, among other possibilities. I highly recommend you contact the veterinarian that has been treating her to discuss this bloodwork and proceed with therapy accordingly as she has not improved completely. They know her case better and would be able to help further. Best of luck!

Sorry to hear about the troubles you've been having. As the ultrasound report indicates, the best method of telling what may or may not be wrong would be by obtaining biopsies of some of the internal organs. Otherwise, the only way you are going to be able to differentiate between the disease processes that are possible are with Coco's response to therapy. Unfortunately, there is no specific medication or therapy that is designed to increase platelet counts besides straight blood or platelet transfusions. However, if Coco has a disorder that is rejecting or destroying platelets, the transfusion is only going to offer a very fleeting response. The fact that Coco was having a fever which is now gone is supportive of some sort of infectious process versus something more aggressive. I would definitely continue to have his platelet counts checked regularly however for the next few weeks in order to ascertain if things are looking up or not. Hope this all makes sense.

Low white blood cells can be a sign of overwhelming infection, sepsis or cancer, and along with a fever I would be very concerned. I'm wondering if both chest x-rays and abdominal radiographs were performed, or if an ultrasound was performed because those might help determine what is causing these symptoms. I don't think there is much else you can do at home if you are unable to afford hospitalization, but you should definitely continue to recheck with your vet and if Aute seems to be taking a turn for the worse in any way you should have him rechecked immediately.

The problem here is to establish the underlying cause of thrombocytopenia (low platelets). Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia is one of the most common causes. This process usually occurs in the spleen although the liver also plays a role. Thrombocytopenia develops as platelet destruction exceeds compensatory production by the bone marrow. Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia can be classified as primary or secondary. Secondary processes can be caused by infective diseases or tumors very commonly. Usually to determine a diagnosis more tests needs to be performed like abdominal ultrasound and chest x rays. Infective diseases like Ehrlichia, Anaplasma spp for example should be ideally evaluated as well. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum (where you can post pics of the blood tests) or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello, The blanching of gums is probably due to a low red blood cell count. The low red blood cell count and white blood cell count is concerning for tick borne disease, bone marrow disease or autoimmune disease. In order to make a diagnosis, I recommend screening for cancer with chest x-rays and abdominal ultrasound, testing for tick borne disease, and possibly a bone marrow aspirate. If results are negative for infection and cancer, this is likely autoimmune and warrants immunosuppressive therapy with steroids. The only other possibility is an adverse drug reaction so discuss any medications your pet is taking with the veterinarian.

There is a very high white blood cell count that is mostly neutrophils so there is definitely an underlying infection somewhere in the body. She is also very anemic and her chloride is very low. Unfortunately, her symptoms are non-specific. Anything disease process or illness can cause lack of appetite. You can not use feel to assess body temperature. They often feel warm to the touch but their body temperature will be normal, however, in this case, with the underlying infection I suspect she is feverish. You would need to take a rectal temperature to get a proper reading. The first thing that always comes to mind in a an unspayed dog is a uterine infection (pyometra) so I suggest you speak to the vet about that possibility. If it is not that you will just have to continue testing for things until you find something. The list of possibilities is very long from tick borne diseases to cancer and anything in between. Unfortunately, there is no way for me to diagnose her via the internet. I hope this clarifies a bit and I wish Stephanie a speedy recovery.

This may be a good case to choose a Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach Consult as there are a lot of variables we would need to know to help you the most. Causes for low white cells could be severe, overwhelming infection, viral, or even something like cancer. Many medications would take longer than 5 hours to see a positive response, but it varies based on the presumptive diagnosis your vet has made and the particular medication. Some medications can be dual purpose and treat pain. There are many diagnostics I would recommend based Kent he bit of information you gave us, like other tick testing, blood chemistry, urinalysis, x-rays, ultrasound, fecal testing, etc.