Staffie X Tiger Diagnosed with AIHA

[Alyssa]

The first week Sassy was sick, she really refused food. I could not get her to touch her dry, and she literally ran away from the canned food the vet gave us. And any can food I bought and attempted to feed… eventually, I started making her homemade stuff.

She would take boiled chicken and lean beef drained of all fat(that’s important! you don’t really want the fat at this point). I started with that, then I added a little bit of mashed peas & carrots (really mashed into the meat so if she wanted the meat, she had to eat it! It also needs to be mashed up so they can digest it), added more each time. Then I started boiling sweet potato, oatmeal, peas, green beans & carrots. Mixed in with either turkey, chicken or extra lean beef – all drained of fat. Mixed really well. Once I got her eating this well, I started adding in little dry food at a time, started with very little at first or she would ignore it. Now she is back to getting her regular amount of dry for the day, with added homemade food. and she’ll eat the dry by itself again. I am still feeding the homemade stuff to offset her appetite, since it would cost a fortune to feed her the amount of dry she needs to sustain her crazy hunger! I made a huge pot a few days ago and froze about 11 days worth.

Maybe you could try something like this for Tiger? I hope he starts eating better soon!! I was so worried the first week trying anything and everything to get Sassy to eat. The night I discovered she would eat beef, I only had a tiny bit, and ran to the store (11pm) to get another roll to cook her. And she gobbled that up, still had to hand feed most of it but she took it eagerly. It was the first thing she’d really eaten in so long. It was such a relief. Before that, I was also boiling chicken breast in water. Shredding the chicken, and letting her drink the broth as well.

For the longest time, I literally had to sit there and hand feed her each bite or she would not eat. Have you tried sitting with Tiger and hand feeding him? It was literally the only way to get Sassy to eat, even when I presented her nothing but freshly cooked meat. The first week, again, I also kept having to bring the water bowl right to her face because she just didn’t have the energy to get up and drink, and I did this very very frequently. She also loved ice chips in the water.

Now that the steroids have kicked in full force, she’ll eat..anything. She is always hungry. I’ve also started mashing up green beans to give her between meals, because she gets so extremely hungry and I am trying to control her eating. She seems to genuinely enjoy them though!

[Alyssa]

Oh, another trick that worked when just trying to hand feed her wasn’t working was to try and get her to use her nose. I would cup the food in my hand and put it up to her nose but not let her see it. She would then try to get it out of my hand. It was the strangest thing, but worked on several occasions.

[Adam]

Hey everyone,

I’m struggling a bit tonight. Tiger has been good all day, active and running around. I keep checking his gums to see if they are still pink, but I’m finding myself wondering if they are getting lighter. I worry that he might be going backwards even though everything else seems to point towards his recovery.

These issues with taking his PCV rattled me up a bit yesterday. And the fact that it had dropped from 38 (who knows if that number was correct anyway?) to 32 has me paranoid that he might be going backwards.

Sorry if I sound needy, but I’m just having a bit of a tough time coming to grips with the fact this is a life long problem with such an uncertain treatment plan/outcome.

Adam x

[admin]

Hi Adam

You are really worried – just like I was – perfectly understandable. I promise we have all been through this – I can remember thinking Worzel looked paler, then got a nice surprise when his PCV was actually higher. I also used to look at the pink bits in the corner of Worzel’s eyes – you can see how pink these are too. Because Worzel is pale skinned, I can actually see how pink his tummy etc is. You may not be able to if Tiger is darker skinned.

Remember when Tiger is at rest, especially when he is asleep or just waking up, his gums will be pale. Dogs have the ability to store a lot of their blood in their spleen. It acts like a big bag of blood that can be pumped out at an incredible rate – for example when they suddenly wake up & start chasing something. Unlike me who takes an hour to come round! So make sure you check the gums when he is fully alert. Have look at this too:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/capillary-refill-time/

You must also trust your instincts – no-one knows Tiger as well as you do. How is Tiger acting? If he is lively, happy & eating OK, he is OK. How is he doing with the antibiotics? It is possible that the cephalexin can affect their bloods, but he has to be treated with it to get rid of the staph infection – you have no choice.

If you are not happy about Tiger’s gums when he is wide awake & alert, get a PCV check to make sure all is well .The only thing that ever put my mind at rest was to go & get a PCV done – believe me, I worried myself sick too. Any doubt, contact the specialists if you are not confident about the local vet’s equipment etc. I assume they have limited cover over the Easter period? Why this always happens to us during public holidays is one of life’s annoying mysteries!

I am around for a couple of hours until our friends arrive – I will check in on here as often as I can. One of us is usually around to help.

Don’t worry – it gets you nowhere. Re-check those gums & let us know how Tiger is.
Love Sheena x

[Leza]

Hi Adam

I check Molly’s gums at least 4-5 times a day & regularly convince myself something’s wrong! Then I check again after she’s been walking about & of course they’re lovely & pink. Molly has a lot of white on her so I can see her tummy colour easily but I also look at the inside of her ears. In there was so pale when her PCV dropped right down & now they’re pink on the inside again as she’s getting a little better.

You’re not needy Adam, you’re a terrified fur parent as we all are/were. I wake several times in the night, checking Mollys breathing, poking her awake to make sure she’s OK. Poor Pups must be right fed up with it!
You’re doing such a brilliant job with Tiger and things will get better for all of us. This is a lifelong illness but Tiger is in the best possible hands with a Daddy like you and you’ll find your way through it together with the support of your vets and of course the Team here.

Stay positive Adam.

Lots of love and hugs and licks

Leza & Molly xxxxx

[Alyssa]

I had a scare like this a few days ago too! I actually called my vet to see what she thought. All she really offered me was to come in and check her levels, but she didn’t except a drop like that overnight (we’d just been the day before). I decided to wait a bit and see how she was acting..she was laying around when I was freaking over her gums. After she ate, and we went for a short walk, she was nice dark pink again. So the advice to check after they’ve been active is a must!

I hope Tiger is well and if you really need peace of mind you should take him in – trust your gut!

[Patrice]

Hi Adam,
I see you took my advice and decided not to worry this weekend. ;-}

Pale gums during rest and sleep are normal in a dog. Anything stressful causes the spleen to send more RBC into circulation. This is also normal and is adaptive for survival.

See this glossary item. Transient Erythrocytosis
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/transient-erythrocytosis/

Promise me you will give Tiger a big hug and enjoy the rest of the day.
my best
patrice

[Vally]

Hey Adam, how is Tiger today?

As the others have said, the pink colour changes with activity.

Also, I always found that after a drop in medication, the blood levels always did go down a bit. I think it takes the body a bit of time to adjust.

Just keep checking.

Vally & Bingo
xxx