VETS & TECHS please HELP? My dog has elevated WBC.?

Question

My lhasa (vets says 6 yrs old; rescued him 4 yrs ago) had bloodwork & showed slightly elevated WBC. All else ok per vet. Hes usually active & playful, but sometimes suspect he doesn't feel well. Have blamed that on allergies; sneezes a lot & nose runs of clear water. Old allergy test showed some + to grasses. Never cough or fever. On 5mg zyrtec qd for allergy relief. Has VERY bulgey eyes that run constantly; perhaps contributing to nose drip.
Has occassional limp up front. Vet says prob arthritis given poor conformation. He's on cosequin & Carprofen 12.5 mg qd. Vet does anal glands every 6 wks. He's well groomed & clean. Skin and coat healthy but skin often pink in color.

Ears healthy. Potty normal (some mucousy stools). Food & water intake normal. Teeth & gums healthy. Neg for hot spots & dry eye. Excercise daily. Canidae food.

1. Should I be concerned about the WBC & what should I do? Vet says to watch him closely!
2. Should I have front legs imaged?

$ no issue

Answer 1

I would just continue to follow your vet's advice. You should just monitor your dog for any decline in health. If he has allergies, that may contribute to the elevation in WBC (although you don't mention if there is a rise in one particular one or if they are all elevated). If the vet isn't too worried, then I wouldn't be either. As far as getting rads in the front, again, if the vet isn't worried, I wouldn't be either! Good Luck!

Answer 2

How elevated? Over 18? If so, I would just ask the vet for antibiotics.

Are his front legs in pain for luxated patellas? The vet can feel those. The cosequin & Carprofen will help the legs, so unless you plan on having surgery for them an image won't tell you much more. Longterm use of carprofen (rimadyl) or any NSAID can cause problems too, so you have to weigh that against the discomfort of not using it. You might ask the vet about ASA instead of rimadyl just because it is easier on the kidneys longterm.

As far as the allergies which are causing the eye and nose issues, diphenhydramine or another antihistamine should help those. If they get really bad or if the dog starts chewing and licking his legs and feet too much a short term run of steroids will do wonders for him.

Answer 3

not one of the story makes any experience and Amerz has you lifeless to rights. A vet can certainly tell a pyometra from a being pregnant and that they do no longer require value up front. And your different posts instruct which you're making this up. that's felony in the experience that your mom exceeded the canines over and besides that's needless to say no longer ordinary. Get your data right now - human beings do notice once you do no longer tell the reality.

Answer 4

An elevated WBC sometimes means there's an infection. I'm not big on meds. for my dogs unless it's short term, but I do give glucosomine/condroitin for arthritis. Just watch him for other symptoms as your vet said. The imaging will only show arthritis and he's on meds. for that anyway. Good luck.

Answer 5

a high white blood count usually means infection, also mucus in stools shows dog has some type of arthritis or autoimmune disease. but only known cause for wbc high is infection....

Answer 6

I think you should seek the help of a Holistic vet. He is a very young and has a lot of problems. People can blame it on being poorly bred and that does play a role in health but what else plays a role in ill health is all the things we are supposed to do to dogs in the name of health.
We are supposed to take young puppies and start injecting them with live vaccines over and over. Starting at 6 or 8 weeks giving 5 way or 7 way shots, repeating that every 2 weeks until the dog is 16 weeks old, then jab them with a rabies vaccines, then start them on heartworm prevention/chemicals, douse them on a monthly basis with flea and tick chemicals, feed them a grain based food for a lifetime of recieving all nutrients in synthetic form then sit around and wonder... why is my dog having all these problems?
Vets blame breeders or say its normal for dogs to have all the skin issues, behavior disorders, digestive disorders, cancers, allergies etc. But all of these things that happen to a dogs health is for the most part caused by man forcing them to live a life on chemicals to stay healthy. Ever notice how the vet parking lots are always full?
And whats more, you take them in for infections, skin problems, stiff joints, gooey eyes, chewing on their own legs and feet and what do you get? Another batch of new drugs and a another appointment to come back for more vaccines and more monthly regimen of chemicals to prevent things your dog may not even ever have an issue with.
If you do some research on adverse reactions to vaccines, heartworm preventions, flea and tick topicals you will see that ALL of these things can cause everything that you see going on with your dog. If you research how commercial foods are made, you will see that this is no way for ANY living animal to be forced to live.
We raise our dogs with a very holistic approach and we don't have problems with skin, eating, digestion etc.
We do extremely limited vaccines ONE parvo shot at 12 weeks and ONE distemper at 14 and nothing else the rest of the dogs lives. We feed a raw food diet of raw meaty bones and organs from a variety of animals, some fish and egg. We do not use heartworm prevention but test 2 times a year for it. We do not need flea and tick meds because fleas and ticks are not interested in our healthy dogs.
I could have by now given my 8 year old 96 doses of drugs/chemicals to prevent soemthing she has never had an issue with in the first place. ALL of the things we are supposed to do in the name of health can and does cause poor health.
I would suggest you do some research and maybe look at going in a totally different direction in trying to achieve health in your dog.
You can start with a Holistic vet. http://www.holisticvetlist.com
Find one who practices many modalities. Those are the better ones.
Do some research into vaccines and the life long damage they cause which includes skin problems, digestive disorders, allergies, cancer and death.
Learn something about vaccines.
http://www.britfeld.com/vaccination-adverse.htm

http://www.whale.to/vaccine/driscoll1.html#A_Wide_Range_of_Vaccine-induced_Diseases_

http://www.petresource.com/Articles%20of%20Interest/rabies_shots.htm

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/examples_of_vaccine_reactions_in_great_danes.htm (Be sure to scroll down to the pictures of Danes with reactions to vaccines) It's eye opening!

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12399614&dopt=Abstract

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1713&articleid=962
http://www.critteradvocacy.org/Are%20We%20Over%20Vaccinating%20Our%20Pets.htm
http://www.puppyworks.com/speaker/odriscoll.html

Learn how a life on monthly chemicals causes harm that more often then not goes ignored as the problem.
http://www.apnm.org/publications/resources/fleachemfin.pdf

Take a realistic look at Heartworms and make informed decisions about drugging your dog on a regular basis.
http://healthydogs.org/2005/12/heartworm_meds.html

I feel that instead of masking the issues with more drugs that maybe a step back to nature will be your answer. Good Luck.

Answer 7

unfortunately this is what usually happens to poorly bred dogs.. health issues abound,,, i would try to wean him off all the drugs.. if at all possible,

congrats on Canidae,,, excellent choice