Does Your Houndie Bruise Easily?

[Guest snowmo18]

Ok so maybe I over-reacted, but Raider has had a large bruise on the inside of his right leg starting at his knee area and going about 2/3rds down his leg. Its easy to see because he has white-no fur on this legs. He had it for about 2 days, but I thought I saw it a week ago too before I left for a conference for a week...So I got concerned thinking it was a blood clotting issue and took him to the Evet.

 

3 hrs and $400 later...his platelet count came back normal but his pt and ptt values were slightly higher. So she put him on a week of Vit. K and he needs to come back for a retest in a week. She said it could be just a bad bruise (he is not the typical greyhound and plays rough like a lab), a coagulation issue, or a tick borne issue, or even a kidney/liver problem. She didnt seem overly concerned, but just on the safe side.

 

So did I over-react? anyone have any issues with bruising? I was under the impression that dogs didnt bruise too easily..but greyhounds are different with their thinner skin and vessels being so close to the skin, so maybe he hit it on something, but being on the inside of his leg..it seems hard to do.

 

Anywho, let me know your thoughts

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I had one male who did bruise... and he was pretty sedate in nature, and still is. He's a SUPER lure courser and very successful at it, and there's nothing wrong with him. I think he just bruises more easily than some. He has a thin coat. He was half bald before I gave him melatonin. I wonder if that was part of it.

[Feisty49]

About once a week I see a new "mark" on Annie Bella and I never know where it comes from. She doesn't go to dog parks. She's an only dog. I don't have a fenced yard so we walk for exercise. But her marks are not anything like you describe.

 

Regarding overreacting: I think you did by taking him to an e-vet. He had the bruise for at least a couple of days, if not longer, so I don't understand why waiting until your regular vet was available would have hurt. Just my opinion.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Feisty49

[Guest snowmo18]

I forgot to mention that when I originally called the Evet..they kept askingover and over if he had got into any poisons or rat poison because it was such a large bruise, I think thats why I was so concerned because I had been gone a week for work and the husband had them outside in and around the garage area (we rent the house, so we didnt know if there was somehow a way he had found some old rat poisons somewhere...a crazy thought...but "what if" had crossed my mind

[Houndtime]

No to frighten you, but, at the end of his life, John E would bruise significantly on his inner thigh. We just thought he crashed up or down the stairs. Eventually he bled out. Seems he had a tumor on his speen which burst. I don't know how old your dog is, but maybe an ultrasound would be in order. Hopefully, this is not his issue, but I just want to throw it out there. Our vet also asked about poisons.

[Guest snowmo18]

Something worse such as tumors has crossed my mind, he is 4.5 yrs old, so he is young, but we lost other other greyhound a year ago to 3 tumors in the spine and he was also 4.5 yrs old..maybe thats why I am also extra worried. He goes next Monday for another blood workup to see everything has fixed itself with the Vit. K

[greyhoundgang]

For regular trauma from bruising, i always use Arnica - homeopathic remedy available at health food stores. In pellet form you put on gums/tongue. In cream form, you put directly on bruise. Also excellent pre and post surgery. Wouldn't be without it for me or my hounds.

 

However, what you are describing sounds more like something internal vs a bruise from running into something, or falling down.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Is Raider on fish oil? Is he taking much of it? If so, perhaps you want to ease off. Fish oil can act as a blood thinner. It's often added to dog food, but not in quantities that are likely to cause problems.

 

(I seem to be saying this a lot, these days, but I only learned this myself shortly before I had to take my girl in for a spay.)

[3greytjoys]

Yes, I do believe Greyhounds are easily bruised.

 

Also, several of our Greyhounds are excessive bleeders. It often happens during and/or after surgery. A few weeks ago one hound started subcutaneous bleeding (under skin) at home (no surgery within months). We think it was caused by her medication, Rimadyl (known to cause bleeding in some dogs). We stopped Rimadyl immediately, and vet called in a prescription to our compounding pharmacy for Amicar (trade name for Aminocaproic Acid). (Compounded liquid form is cheapest and works quickly, approx. $32. for 5-day supply). Bleeding stopped and she was 100% back to normal within a few days.

 

 

 

[Guest snowmo18]

Took Raider back to the vet last night, he had a 2 inch x3 inch bruise at the site that they drew blood on Monday..Vet said that wasnt normal, that dogs dont bruise like humans do after a blood draw...so more blood work and I am calling today at noon to see what results say...I think this test is for lymes and heart worm..

 

Raider eats Canidae grain free dog food and for awhile I was spraying on just a little fish oil (maybe a tspoon at the most)..but he hasnt had any of that in over a month

 

We have had him almost a year now and he gets pretty rough playing sometimes and he even goes to doggie daycare here and there..no bruises from playing hard then, so its odd that the bruises would show up now and that we hadnt seen any other ones in the past year if he was sensitive to bruising..

 

my mommy instinct just keeps telling me that something isn't right...

 

FYI...so glad we decided to get him pet insurance..its really paying off now

[sweetdogs]

When you get all your results together, you may want to contact OSU. Dr. Couto is a hematologist with a (not surprising) interest in greyhound bloodwork. If nothing jumps out at your vet, you can get a second pair of eyes to look it over.

 

I haven't found my hounds to bruise too easily so I think it's good you're pursuing this. Best wishes for Raider.

[Guest LittleGreys]

I'm glad you are having him checked out, but it seems odd to me that your vet would say dogs don't bruise after a blood draw. Why wouldn't they? They do, especially if maybe it wasn't held off long enough after the draw. If you do a search on my post entitled "tremendous bruising", you can see pics of my girl after a blood draw. She bruises very easily and has bruises several inches in diameter after blood draws.

[WHanson12]

I agree with several posts above: have an ultrasound performed to rule out a spleen tumor problem & continue to have his bloodwork monitored regularly, particularly the platelet counts, PT, & PTT values. I also agree with consulting with Dr. Couto at Ohio State University--he's also an oncologist who specializes in Greyhounds in all areas of their health & well being. We lost a dear Greyhound, Thumper, 3 years ago while we lived in the Columbus, OH area. Thumper was diagnosed by Dr. Couto as having ITP: immune-mediated thrombocytopenia; an immune system disease where something in Thumper's body was destroying her platelets. Her first symptoms were bruising, esp in the abdominal area & inside her hind legs & low platelet count. Dr. Couto treated Thumper with various drugs, including some IV & oral chemo, steroids, etc--everything that should have helped her improve. She lost the battle after 6 months of treatment when there was nothing more they could do for her once her spleen enlarged. ITP is not common in Greyhounds from what Dr. Couto advised us. I don't mean to scare you, but excessive bruising is not something to take lightly. Listen to your instincts & get a second opinion if the vitamin K doesn't help, preferably with a more Greyhound savvy vet (no offense to your vet).

[3greytjoys]

Personally, currently having three Greyhound excessive bleeders (two very healthy, plus one with hemangiosarcoma), I'm not alarmed with a 2" x 3" bruise from a known blood draw. Many non-bleeder hounds bruise some after blood draws. The blood is normally reabsorbed into the body (eventually). I would become much more concerned if I saw a full limb (leg) loading up with blood, possibly expanding to abdomen/chest and/or other limbs.

 

In case you didn't read a recent thread about a purple stomach, here's the link I posted for Ohio State University's Greyhound Heath and Wellness site. There are articles about excessive bleeders in the following "Articles" section. (Blood tests often result in normal ranges.)

https://greyhound.os...urces/index.cfm

 

Please share these OSU articles with your vet. If your hound, or another of your vet's Greyhound patients happen to be excessive bleeders, it is important for your vet to know, particularly if a hound is going in for surgery, including a dental with expected extractions.

 

Our vet orders Amicar (trade name for Aminocaproic Acid) before surgeries for our hounds. It's typically administed orally at home for about 5 days beginning day of (sometimes day before) surgery. Our hounds love the compounded, beef flavored, liquid form. They consider it a yummy treat.

(Amicar dosage is discussed in "Bone Cancer" article under "Treatment and Prognosis" section.)

 

 

[OwnedBySummer]

When Summer had a jugular blood draw, she had a tremendous huge bruise. The vertical length of the bruise was probably nearing 6", with a width of about 3". So, yup, they can bruise after a blood draw. She has a bare throat so it was easy to see. I've never noticed bruising for any leg draws but her front legs are thickly furred and, to be honest, I've never really looked.

[cleptogrey]

when i think about how hard they run,well my crazies do, and scrape themself- a bruise never surprizes me. annie had a good 4" scrape on her deep chest(she runs close to the ground and flys over a rock ledge)- nice bruise around the area. felix has brusied when blood was drawn,also when he has a good scrape. if it doesn't wane in a couple of days then i become concerned. but from what i remember even gentle emily bruised when she banged herself running. thin skin- nothing to hide the bruise- thin coats.

[duncan41]

What a coincidence! I was going to ask about possible tests to run besides for vonWillebrand's. Suze has a bundle of problems, but her clotting/bruising issue is perplexing. She has been tested 3 times for vW with results of 62%, 58% and now 20%. We don't believe the 20% is true, but need input regarding other clotting tests to run. My Vet has an appt for a consultation with OSU, but i haven't been very pleased with the bare bones answers to specific questions after submitting very detailed information backed up with test results. I hope that the Dr to Dr information exchange yields more direction and information.

Here's a photo of what started it all. This was taken less than 24 hrs after an x-ray in October of last year. My Vet assured me that Suze was very cooperative during the x-ray and nothing unusual happened. She referred us to a board certified internist who dx'd her as "borderline" von Willebrand's. The latest test was done as a check up - not because of any bruising.

[Guest snowmo18]

Well Raiders tests came back normal and platelets were back to normal after a little vitamin K..both bruises seem to have disappeared, so for now Ill just continue to monitor

[Guest Teresa]

Our Calvin has the same bruising problem. After testing our vet put him on vitamin k every other day about 4 months ago and we haven't seen any more bruising. It is very scary seeing huge bruises show up without any reason. I am so glad the vitamin k has worked.