Hi, I have a 5 year old Mini Schnauzer called Lilly that was diagnosed at the end of May with Hemalytic Anemia, it's a terrible condition and came suddenly out the blue, there are so many things that can trigger it but unfortunately vets can never pin point what it is. She is on the road to recovery but this is something that can have lasting effects for the rest of her life, it's something I'd never heard of before yet it's not un-common. Are there any members here at all that have had to deal with this condition with their beloved dog?

Mitch 17

I hope your dog is okay.

I have never heard of the condition before. What are the symptoms and what are the lasting effects?

hope is feeling a lot better soon
nor me not seen that

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hope your dog feels better soon

Hemolytic anemia is a condition where there are not enough red blood cells in the blood. It is caused by premature destruction of red blood cells. There are a number of specific types of hemolytic anemia, which are described individually.

Hemolytic anemia occurs when the bone marrow is unable to make up for premature destruction of red blood cells by increasing their production. When the marrow is able to make up the loss, anemia does not occur.

There are many types of hemolytic anemia, which are classified by the location of the defect. The defect may be in the red blood cell itself (intrinsic factor), or outside the red blood cell (extrinsic factor).

Causes of hemolytic anemia include infection, certain medications, autoimmune disorders, and inherited disorders. Types of hemolytic anemia include:

Sickle-cell anemia
Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
Hemoglobin SC disease (similar in symptoms to sickle-cell anemia)
Hemolytic anemia due to G6PD deficiency
Hereditary elliptocytosis
Hereditary spherocytosis
Hereditary ovalocytosis
Idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Non-immune hemolytic anemia caused by chemical or physical agents
Secondary immune hemolytic anemia
Thalassemia
Symptoms Return to top

Chills
Fatigue
Pale skin color
Shortness of breath
Rapid heart rate
Yellow skin color (jaundice)
Dark urine
Enlarged spleen

Hi and thank you for your replies. Lilly suddenly became ill at the end of May, she was perfectly well one minute then within a couple of days she was critically ill and we were told by the vet to prepare ourselves for the worse. It was a complete nightmare which devastated the whole family. I came home from work the one afternoon and as soon a I got through the door I could see that she had been really sick, she then attempted to wee and as she did so she just collapsed onto her side and I thought at this point she'd had a fit. I took her straight down to the vets who gave us meds and said to take her back if there was no improvement. She wasn't eating and keeping the meds down was difficult as she was being sick again and also collapsing. I took her back to the vets the following day as she was very lethargic and I was so worried. They kept her in for the day and took blood tests and put her on a drip to get fluids into her. They let me take her home on the evening and said they'd contact me when the blood results came through from the lab. She deteriorated more the following day and I took her back to the vets and whilst we were there the results came back from the lab. For some reason something had triggered off Lilly's immune system and it was attacking all her red blood cells, their blood counts are usually around late 30's to 55 and Lilly's had dropped to 16 she was extremely anemic, her gums were white and she was urinating blood, this was because her body was breaking down her red blood cells. She looked so poorly and it was breaking my heart seeing her like that. As the vet took her away to settle her in I really didn't feel I was going to see her again. He rang me the following day and explained that it was a very fine line as to whether she would make it and that weekend was the worse ever. Luckily they managed to stabilise her and she is on medication now that has supressed her immune system to enable her body to produce new red blood cells without them being attacked. The steroids she is on have many side effects and because of her immune system being suppressed she is open to infection. Dogs who get this condition generally get it again and some have to stay on medication for the rest of their lives. The side effects of the drugs aren't nice and I'm hoping she will back to her old self as they are gradually being reduced. It has to be a slow process and we will know more when she has her next blood test due the middle of August. She isn't allowed out for walks and the medication is causing weakness in her muscles. She does'nt like being held anymore or cuddling up on my lap which she used to love. Her breathing has been very affected by this and by the evening it can be quite laboured which is stressful to see at times. We also have the worry of her having blood clots which could travel to any of her major organs. She was on asprin for a month but we have finished that now. It's very frustrating not knowing what caused this but there are many different things that can trigger it. It is very unlikely now that Lilly will ever be able to have her yearly jabs, I've read up a lot on this condition and every dog I've read about has never been able to which is worrying to me. I'm not sure whats in store for us in the future but the vet did mention when she was critically ill that she may have to have her spleen removed sometime in the future.

Sorry I've gone on but it does me good to talk about it.

Thank you again for your replies.

Hi Sorry to hear about poor Lily. I know someone who's American Cocker had something very similiar. She went down the route of full transfusion and saved her dog. It was toucj and go for a long time and cost her a lot of money but thankfully her dog is back to full health. It cost a lot at the time but only thing that saved him

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Hi Clueless, so glad to hear your friends dog made a good recovery, it helps to hear positive outcomes. The vet had suggested giving Lilly a transfusion if her levels dropped lower than 16 but thankfully they didn't. It is a very costly time but Lilly is insured thank goodness.

My friends dog was only just over a year old, seemingly its in some lines of American Cockers. Hope Lily stabilises and gets better

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Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or hump it. Piss on it and walk away

hi ya...how sad to read this thread,but an eye opener as i've never heard of this condition..best wishes for you and your dog..please keep us up to date with her progres...

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