Dog Diseases – Anemia
Anemia is a reduced number of red blood cells, hemoglobin, or both. It is not a specific disease, but the result of some disease process.
If your dog is tired and listless, showing little stamina, and if your dog’s gums have lost some of their normal pink color, your dog has the symptoms of anemia. To verify this condition requires that some blood tests be performed.
There are several tests that are performed on the red blood cells. The most common test for anemia is the packed cell volume (PCV); it is also called the hematocrit. Thirty-five to fifty-five percent of the normal dog’s blood will be red blood cells. If the PCV is below 35%, the dog is anemic. Other tests to determine anemia include the red blood cell count and the hemoglobin count.
It is also important to know if the bone marrow is producing an increased number of new red blood cells. Often, this can be determined by a study of the stained blood smear. The presence of increased numbers of immature (young) red blood cells usually means the bone marrow is responding to the need for more red blood cells.
