My dog has low WBC count and kidney issues. Should I be worried?

With a white count that keeps getting higher despite antibiotics I would be concerned there is cancer hiding somewhere. An ultrasound would be my next test as it can look at the intestine, lymph nodes, liver and spleen. The spleen makes the red blood cells, and if it has a tumor then that can cause that count to drop. An immune disease can also cause a low red count.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Why was the blood work done, is Harlow sick? If she is sick can you repost with her symptoms. Also it would be helpful to see the blood report as reference ranges are different. If Harlow just had routine blood work done and is normal then I wouldn't worry about the results and I would recheck the CBC in 1 month if she is still acting normal. Have a good day!

Blood work reflects a single snap shot in time. It can't predict any disease. Performing blood work days or weeks apart can help monitor disease progression or healing. On this lab machine, normal creatinine in dogs is under 1.1. This value can go up a bit if a dog is dehydrated, so that is why it is important to put the numbers together with the pet. The CBC isn't overly concerning. The red cell values are high, and the most common cause for that is dehydration. The total white cell values states high, but the individual values are within normal range. White cells increase with infection or inflammatory conditions. That supplement shouldn't cause increases in lab values.

I'm glad to hear that Missy's incision is healing well. White Bood Cell (WBC) counts can change quickly in the blood stream for a variety of reasons including even stress. Depending on the lab, her value in September may have been slightly high, but I suspect her value last month was likely within the normal range, so would wait for the results to come back from the biopsy testing and determine that to do from there. Her WBC count might not be a major concern at all. We often see VERY low WBC counts with cancers in the bone marrow (less than 1.5), so I would not be particularly worried about a value of 7.47. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I can see the results, but I'm unable to see the reference ranges for each value which can vary based on the machine so it's a little difficult to say for certain what these changes could mean. It looks to me like the monocytes and lymphocytes (specific types of white blood cells) are a little low - this could be a stress response which is very normal for a dog having it's blood drawn in the hospital. Some dogs simply lie on the lower end of the reference range as well. I can't think of any disease where low lymphocytes and monocytes in the absence of other changes would be significant, and this would not raise a flag for possible cancer in my mind. Red cell distribution width (RDW) gives an idea of the average size of a red blood cell and mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCH) tells how much hemoglobin is present in each cell - these parameters are really only significant when there is also anemia or low hematocrit. If you have other concerns you should definitely follow up with your vet - it's always easiest for the doctor who has examined the animal and is familiar with the case to interpret lab results!

This is best to discuss during a one-on-one consultation; however, the blood work results reveal that your pet has a high white blood cell count (indicates infection or inflammation), mild anemia (low red blood cells), a UTI with a low specific gravity (concentrating ability of the kidneys which should be rechecked once UTI resolved, as well as protein in the urine which should be rechecked after resolution of UTI. as well as high BUN, CREA, which suggests kidney damage or kidney failure. Because of the concurrent UTI, it is best to resolve the UTI with anti-biotics, perhaps consider a SDMA test (specific kidney disease test) to confirm suspected kidney disease/insufficiency, and then rechk Urinalysis in 2 weeks. I am not sure why your pet is on Lasix, unless there is also underlying heart diseasee, which could have caused the erroneous reading of low specific gravity on the test. If there is more to discuss, then pleasea don't hesitate to request a private consultation for this, because this is a complicated case that needs to be on a more personal level in order to get full clarity on the recommendations above. Best wishes and take care.

If Pudding has been normal and the veterinarian did not find any abnormalities on her physical exam, then try not to stress. The blood cells are cyclic in nature and sometimes we catch them at a low point. Stress can also impact the counts. Retesting in 3 weeks is the best route to go so that you can see what the trend is and then make an appropriate assessment. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.