# Blood work question



## Mircea Hemu-Ha (Nov 24, 2009)

I have a health problem with Max, 5 yo Malinois, fed raw diet all his life, ~30-40% chicken back, ~10% offal, ~50-60% mutton and beef. I usually also give him fish oil and vitamin E, and sometimes boiled quail eggs and kefir, but he hasn't had any of those for some weeks.

He would sometimes vomit (liquid) before feeding time, on an empty stomach, or after eating a lot of grass :evil:, but lately he has vomited his food 4 times, a few hours after eating, and he seamed to have a bit less energy than usual for 4 days. This begun when i started giving him a new batch of food, but the first time he threw up was the night after eating a raw pig's year; he has eaten those before without issue.
No other symptoms, as far as i can tell. Took him to a vet, said it's gastritis from the pig's year, gave me something for his stomach, but i insisted we do a blood work.

I changed the food to muscle mutton and beef, no bone, and he's back to normal now, i think, although he did throw up (liquid) today before eating...

Please let me know if you have any idea on what it might be. I will go to a different vet tomorrow.

Numar leucocite (WBC) 9.83 K/μL 5.2 - 13.9
*Numar eritrocite (RBC) 10.03* M/μL 5.7 - 8.8
*Hemoglobina (HGB) 22.4* g/dL 12.9 - 18.4
*Hematocrit (HCT) 65.9 % * 37.1 - 58
Volum eritrocitar mediu (MCV) 65.7 fL 60 - 76
Hemoglobina eritrocitara medie (MCH) 22.3 pg 20.5 - 24.2
Conc. eritrocitara medie de hemoglobina (MCHC) 33.9 g/dL 31 - 36.2
Largimea distributiei eritrocitare (RDW) 14.3 % 10.6 - 14.5
*Trombocite (PLT) 160* K/μL 186 - 545
*Volum trombocitar mediu (MPV) 15* fL 7 - 14.1
Reticulocite (%) 1.37 % 0.1 - 1.5
*Reticulocite 137.9* K/μL 11 - 92
Neutrofile (%) 69.2 % 42.5 - 77.3
Limfocite (%) 16.8 % 11.8 - 45
*Monocite (%) 3.1 * % 3.3 - 10.3
*Eozinofile (%) 9 *% 1 - 8
Bazofile (%) 1 % ≤ 1.3
Neutrofile 6.81 K/μL 3.9 - 8
Limfocite 1.66 K/μL 1.3 - 4.5
Monocite 0.3 K/μL 0.2 - 1.1
*Eozinofile 0.88* K/μL 0.1 - 0.8
Bazofile 0.1 K/μL ≤ 0.1

The rest are all fine, withing the margins.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Is there a reason for going to another vet or just looking for a second opinion? 



I think a different vet would be the person best to answer your question.


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## Mircea Hemu-Ha (Nov 24, 2009)

A second opinion. The one i went to was scared of the dog and, i feel, never actually bothered to investigate, once she heard i gave him raw food.

I am also not saying she was wrong, i just want a second opinion and an interpretation of the blood work.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Best reason!


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

- what was the first opinion ?

- i don't think there are any vets here that could help you

- suggest you find a diplomate who is a nutrition specialist to read the blood work and forget about a general vet; especially one who does not promote raw feeding.

- throwing up yellow bile on an empty stomach is not uncommon. puking up a new diet is not out of the ordinary either. variety is good; making big changes frequently is probably not as good. i'm a raw feeder but not a specialist. that's Connie's are of expertise ;-)

- curious about the Vit E ? your decision to use as a preventative for something or to treat a problem ? how did you decide on the dosage ?
seems like an odd supplement to be given alone.

good luck and keep us posted


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## Mircea Hemu-Ha (Nov 24, 2009)

Thank you.

I got a second opinion, blood work is fine, the elements that were off the charts were due to him being dehydrated, as the rest indicate that he is fine. The second part of the blood work, the bio-chemistry ? part, is excellent, i didn't even post it. He does seem to be back 100%.

Right now i have Grizzly salmon oil, i give him 2-3 squirts, as per the bottle, i also give him vitamin E, 400 UI per day, as i read here, on the forum, that fish oil use up the vitamin E. The dosage is also taken from here, i believe Connie made the recommendation.


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## Mircea Hemu-Ha (Nov 24, 2009)

rick smith said:


> - suggest you find a diplomate who is a nutrition specialist to read the blood work and forget about a general vet; especially one who does not promote raw feeding.


That would be ideal and i would do it, if i could find one who accepts raw feeding. I haven't yet, that is why i decided to start this thread.


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

If you feed cooked pumpkin and yogurt or kefir, could the dog keep that down (not vomit)? It would be nice to get his stomach feeling better with some bland food that is easy to digest.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

It sounds like you have your answer or at least resolution of some kind tends to be the best answer in absence of knowing what it's all about.

I have experienced that vomiting issue from different dogs/breeds over the years. Most often seemed to precede the AM feeding. An additional but small meal ended that although I never really did figure out why it happened at all.

With one dog, the vomiting had to do with food allergies. The other, round worms.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

With all the numbers being good I agree with Nicole on the extra, small feeding. 



My present GSD has always been sensitive when fed one large meal. 



He would get the squirts.



In the past 9-10 yrs he gets two meals a day with at least 6-8 hours between. 



No more issues!


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## Mircea Hemu-Ha (Nov 24, 2009)

I've been feeding him kefir since i got him, small portions, 2-3 times a month, never had a problem keeping it down or with diarrhea. Anyway, he hasn't had any since November.

@ Nicole: worms is a concern, i will de-worm him in a week, to give him time to fully recover. It could explain everything.

I feed him 2 meals a day, about the same sizes, the first at about 7, the second varies, between 7 and 9. I never worried about his vomiting before, because his energy / mood never changed.

Thanks everyone for your help :grin: I will keep you posted on his progress.


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