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Animal Health – General (Expert Forum)
Low Platelet count in puppy
Answered by
Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A - Small Animals, dogs, cats, C.V.A, Western Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Herbalist, Acupuncture
American Animal Hospital
Randolph - NJ
This forum is for general pet health questions, such as questions about medications, parasites, vaccines, infectious diseases, breed specific and genetic problems.
Low Platelet count in puppy
by mamalle, Jan 24, 2008 08:44PM
Hi- we have a almost 6 month old King Charles Cavelier Spaniel that went in today to be neutered. The vet called me and told me her platelets were low at around 100,000. she said that was on the manual count and on the regular CBC it was lower 60,000-80,000. she would not do surgery on her and stated they had to be at least 200,000. I looked online and it said that this breed is prone to low platelets and their norm is 150,000-200,000 so my question is when I take her back again in 2 weeks- am I looking at about the same count or a possible rise so she can have surgery? she just had the corona, distemper and rabies vaccine on monday so Im wondering if that contributed. Should I wait longer then 2 weeks? Im aware that low platelets can cause issues with internal bleeding but at the same time dont want to be taking her back every 2 weeks if they are never going to rise. she is asymptomatic with it.. thanks
Doctor's Answer
by Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A, Jan 25, 2008 03:45PM
, Jan 25, 2008 03:45PM
The most important issue here is what is safest for your puppy. I would wait two more months, because if she developed thrombocytopenia (low platelets) secondary to the vaccines it may take the two months or even longer for her platelets to return to normal. Did your vet ask you about investigating why she has a low platelet count, or does your vet feel confident that the low count is secondary to vaccination? There are some herititary bleeding disorders and you may want to investigate them if her platelet count does not return to normal.
Member Comments (2)
by mamalle, Jan 26, 2008 02:15PM
To: thank you
thank you for your response. I have since switched vets since her exam. I had orginally signed her up for the wellness plan thru a local pet chain and didnt feel very confident about their practice so I called the vet that takes care of my older springer spaniels. He told me with her breed it can be genetic. He also told me to wait till we get back from vacation (end of Feb) and schedule her for a checkup in March for a redraw. He did say that its unlikely with her that she would see platelets rise up to 200,000 if its a genetic thing and not a issue with her vaccines but did agree that the current level was too low to operate on.
