My dog has low red blood cells. What does canine anemia mean for him?

Although below 'normal', at red count of 5.1 is not severely reduced (and less concerning if all other values are within normal limits) and I would recommend retesing in 3-4weeks to assess any change in her levels whilst also monitoring for nay changes in her health or exercise tolerance. Some dogs are always mildly lower than others (remember a reference range is merely the average of what is normal) and some can have temporary reductions due to a period of ill-health/bleeding etc and very occasionally small blood clots can formwithin the sample making the results appear lower than the actually are. Be sure to keep fully up to date with deworming and flea/tick prevention as many parasites can lead to low grade blood loss/anaemia

Puppies usually have lower red cell values than adults since they don't have as many red blood cells yet. But 16% is a little low for a puppy. Has your vet tested for intestinal parasites? Hookworms (and fleas and ticks) can remove a surprising amount of blood from a small puppy. Another cause of anemia with normal white blood cell values are blood diseases such as tick-borne disease. If a puppy is able to eat a good-quality puppy food and the cause of the anemia is treated, they will be able to replace the lost blood cells over time.

Hi there. If Clyde's other CBC values were all in the normal range, then no - he would not be considered anemic, and I would not expect this to have any impact whatsoever on his anesthesia risk. :) Anemia has to do with the actual red blood cell count, or hematocrit (which are normally abbreviated RBC and HCT on lab reports, respectively). Reticulocytes are immature red blood cells released by the bone marrow, and it's completely normal to have a certain number of them in circulation at any given time. RETIC-HGB refers to the hemoglobin content of the reticulocytes, not the red blood cells as a whole. If we see an elevated reticulocyte count in a dog who IS anemic (low RBC or HCT), then this can give us some additional information about the types of things that might be causing the anemia. But in a dog who *isn't* anemic, it doesn't really mean much of anything or have any particular clinical significance. If you're concerned about it, you could always opt to have lab work repeated in a few weeks to see if the elevation is repeatable, or if there is any kind of trend in his overall hemoglobin level or hematocrit that might warrant further investigation.

Hello. I am sorry that Alex isn't doing well. A thin body condition with a low red blood cell count is very concerning, especially in a young dog like Alex. I would recommend having him back to the vet for work up. I would recommend performing a fecal analysis to look for worms that could be causing the weight loss and anemia. I would also recommend full bloodwork to check the red cell count and also if the bone marrow is responding. Looking for infection/inflammation as well as the organ function is important as well. You also should talk to your vet about parasites and viruses in your area that could be causing this, and discuss medications for this. Good luck with Alex, he looks like a very sweet boy.

Hello. Those blood results indicate that there is a low red cell count, low white cell count and low platelets. This COULD indicate leukemia as all three cell lines are low, however it could also be due to a systemic infection and the platelets being low could be due to clumping. The first next step would be to send the blood away to an external lab to look for regeneration, as well as platelet clumps. If your dog is acting sick your vet may want to start on antibiotics in case of a systemtic infection. I suggest you go back to your vet and discuss these results, and discuss what the pathologist comments were if the blood was sent away externally. If bone marrow disease is suspected they can do a bone marrow biopsy.

You are describing pancytopenia which is a low red blood cell, white blood cell and platelet count. We see this disease process secondary to infectious diseases carried by ticks, toxins such as hormones or even secondary to some medications such as anti-inflammatories, primary diseases of the bone marrow and cancer. Unfortunately, it is a problem because if left untreated his platelet count will continue to drop resulting in bleeding and his low white blood cell count predisposes him to infection. He needs to be tested for tick borne disease and possibly have a bone marrow aspirate. In the meantime, your veterinarian may recommend treating him with doxycycline and prednisone.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Polycythemia is just the medical term for higher than normal red blood cell count. This is most commonly related to mild-moderate dehydration, though other causes are possible. I am more concerned about the platelets. They are not terribly decreased, and if they are much improved from the last blood count, it may not be a concern. Speak with your vet about how to interpret these results and how much concern you should have about these values. Best wishes to you and Bruno!