3 Amazing Guides on How To Treat Anaemia In Dogs At Home

Dogs are loving and playful creatures. They are good company because they shower people with lots of love and affection. But do you know how to treat anaemia in dogs¹ at home?

Dogs are also referred to as a human’s best friend and a lot of people have pet dogs because keeping dogs at home helps people to overcome stress and anxiety.

But keeping any animal as a pet requires a lot of dedication and responsibility because when you pet an animal, it becomes your family member. Just like humans, pets also require the utmost care and attention.

Like human beings, they are also prone to diseases such as low blood pressure, high blood pressure, canine distemper, anaemia, etc. However, you need to take proper because they can’t speak and tell you how they are feeling.

Keep reading to develop an insight into what is anaemia in dogs all about, how can they acquire anaemia and how to treat anaemia in dogs at home.²

1. What is Anaemia in Dogs?

Anaemia in dogs is a condition in which a dog faces a deficiency of RBCs or haemoglobin in their body. A dog can also become anaemic due to severe blood loss due to some injury or surgery. It can also be caused due to internal bleeding, stomach ulcers or as a result of some disease.

Anaemic dogs show symptoms such as weakness, tiredness, peevishness, pale body, loss in weight etc. Anaemia can be classified into various categories. A few of them are mentioned below:

1.1. Hemolytic Anaemia in Dogs

Hemolytic Anemia in Dogs is also known as immune-mediated hemolytic anaemia.³ It is an autoimmune disease in which the dog’s body itself starts attacking and destroying the red blood cells. This causes a shortage of red blood cells in the dog’s body. It is the most common type of anaemia seen in dogs.

1.2. Non-regenerative Anaemia in Dogs

A non-regenerative anaemia⁴ is caused when the bone marrow is not able to produce enough red blood cells. It can be caused due to various reasons and if those reasons are identified and cured, then non-regenerative anaemia can also be cured.

1.3. Blood Loss Anaemia

As the name suggests, this type of anaemia is caused due to blood loss which might have taken place due to any injury or when the dog has undergone any surgery. It is a type of regenerative anaemia i.e., the bone marrow will respond appropriately to the deficiency of blood cells and will try to generate more red blood cells.

1.4. Iron Deficiency Anaemia

This type of anaemia is caused by chronic blood loss from the body and when the tissue stores of iron in the body are depleted.

1.5. Methemoglobinemia

Methemoglobinemia⁵ is caused due to genetic disorders in dogs. In this type of anaemia, the dog’s body starts producing methemoglobin instead of haemoglobin. It can also occur when the dog is exposed to any sort of chemical. In this particular type of anaemia, the colour of the blood becomes brownish.

2. Why Is Treatment Necessary?

Anaemia makes a dog weak and lethargic. It is very important to recover the blood loss as it will affect the dog’s health.

Moreover, anaemia might be a result of any severe disease. Therefore it is very important that a proper diagnosis is done to find out the exact cause of anaemia.

For an accurate diagnosis of your pet, you should immediately visit a veterinary hospital. Once you find out why your dog is suffering from anaemia, you can give it the proper treatment.

There are various ways to cure anaemia in dogs such as blood transfusion, using supplements, bone marrow transfusion, giving a healthy diet, curing the exact cause of anaemia etc. This should be done under the guidance of the vet and depending upon the underlying cause of the anaemia.

Before proceeding with the topic, you should know the importance of home-based treatments. Nature has no alternatives. The way nature can heal an individual no other thing can.

Home-based treatments have no side effects because they help in naturally replenishing the blood cells a⁶nd provide other benefits. You can also check another article on “Is Pepto Bismol Save for Dogs?”

3. How to Treat Anaemia in Dogs at Home?

If you ever wonder about how to treat anaemia in dogs at home, then you should know that there are a number of ways to treat anaemia at home. A few of them are mentioned below:

3.1. Give your Dog Iron-rich Food

Anaemia is caused due to iron deficiency in the body. Iron helps in producing haemoglobin. So, to cure anaemia, you should feed your dog some iron-rich food. A few natural sources of iron are:

• Green vegetables: Whenever it comes into your mind how to treat anaemia in dogs at home, without giving a second thought you should start with green vegetables.

Green vegetables contain a huge amount of minerals, vitamins and fibre. Feeding your dog with green vegetables will prove to be beneficial for your dog in uncountable ways.

Not only will the vegetables replenish the iron content of your Furry but will also maintain the amount of other necessary minerals in its body and keep them healthy.

• Eggs: Eggs are a rich source of iron, and vitamin B12 and thus help in maintaining the haemoglobin level in the body. Thus, if your dog is suffering from anaemia, especially iron deficiency anaemia, then eggs are the best option. They will help in the faster restoration of the iron level in the body of the anaemic dogs.
• Beef liver: Beef liver is one of the richest sources of iron as it contains approximately 23 grams of iron per serving. This is because the liver absorbs the most of iron. But make sure you feed your dog a limited amount of beef else your dog will suffer from diarrhoea.

So, whenever you plan to feed your dog beef liver, consult a veterinarian in advance so as to save your dog from any future complications.

• Canned Sardines:  Sardines are also a rich source of iron, proteins and other minerals and help in overcoming iron deficiency in dogs. Since they are anti-inflammatory in nature, therefore it is good to serve your dog.

However, these sardines are highly fatty so you should give them in a minimum amount and if your dog is overweight or has a history of any kind of pancreatic issues then you should avoid feeding your pet with canned sardines.

3.2. Giving Vitamin C-rich Food to the Dog

The purpose of feeding Vitamin C-rich food to dogs is that it will help to absorb iron from the intestinal tract. You can feed your dog 250-1000 mg of Vitamin C daily depending on its size. Examples of some Vitamin C-rich foods are carrots, sweet potatoes, cauliflower etc. For the fastest recovery of your dog, you should give both iron-rich foods and Vitamin C-rich food together.

3.3. Consult a Veterinarian

If you are not sure about how to treat anemia in dogs at home consult a veterinarian for an accurate diagnosis. You should also consult the vet about whether your dog can’t be cured by homemade remedies or does he needs any other treatment for a faster recovery of the dog.

4. The Bottom Line

Whenever you pet an animal, you should make sure that you take proper care of your pet and don’t let him feel alone. Keeping a pet is not an easy task. It requires a lot of patience, effort and sincerity. Pets also need proper food to stay healthy and fit. Feed your dog with healthy food so that it stays fit and fine. Take him for a walk daily.

You need to be extra careful about your pet regarding his health symptoms because it can’t speak for its own. Keep a check on your pet on a daily basis to ensure it is healthy.

You should ensure that a regular checkup of your dog to diagnose disease is done so that in case he is suffering from any kind of disease such as anaemia in dogs, it is diagnosed at an early stage and gets the best treatment.

5. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Can a Dog Recover From Anaemia?

Yes, dogs can recover from bleeding depending on the cause and severity of the condition. Anaemia in dogs occurs when there is a lack of red blood cells or haemoglobin in the blood, which can be caused by various health problems.

Q2. What Is the Fastest Way to Cure Anaemia?

If iron deficiency anaemia is severe, you may need iron given intravenously or you may need blood transfusions to help quickly replace iron and haemoglobin.

Q3. What Is the Last Stage of Anaemia?

The final stage is iron deficiency anaemia. It is characterized by a low concentration of haemoglobin with small (microcytic), and pale (hypochromic) erythrocytes. Symptoms include fatigue on exertion, weakness, headaches, apathy, pallor, poor resistance to cold temperatures, low physical work capacity and poor immune function.

1. Chikazawa, S., and M. D. Dunning. “A review of anaemia of inflammatory disease in dogs and cats.” Journal of Small Animal Practice 57.7 (2016): 348-353. ↩︎
2. Naigamwalla, Dinaz Z., Jinelle A. Webb, and Urs Giger. “Iron deficiency anemia.” The Canadian Veterinary Journal 53.3 (2012): 250. ↩︎
3. Garden, Oliver A., et al. “ACVIM consensus statement on the diagnosis of immune‐mediated hemolytic anemia in dogs and cats.” Journal of veterinary internal medicine 33.2 (2019): 313-334. ↩︎
4. Neiger, R., J. Hadley, and D. U. Pfeiffer. “Differentiation of dogs with regenerative and non‐regenerative anaemia on the basis of their red cell distribution width and mean corpuscular volume.” Veterinary Record 150.14 (2002): 431-434. ↩︎
5. Mansouri, Ali, and Aubrey A. Lurie. “Methemoglobinemia.” American journal of hematology 42.1 (1993): 7-12. ↩︎
6. Robscheit-Robbins, Frieda S. “The regeneration of hemoglobin and erythrocytes.” Physiological Reviews 9.4 (1929): 666-709. ↩︎

Last Updated on July 24, 2024 by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology