Found Out My Hound Is A Hemophiliac!

[Guest BaltimoreHounds]

My poor Sunny who is always the boy that gets himself into trouble (over Christmas he fell down the basement stairs and required stitches- healed up great)

 

Saturday we went on a long walk and he somehow acquired a puncture would on the back leg. I actually didn't see it until we got back home and I saw that I had some blood on my leg. Basically the thing was oozing blood. I took him to the e-vet who put some staples into the wound. Then we noticed that the wound just kept on bleeding. So the vet did some clotting studies. Turns out that the aPTT (activated pro thrombin time) was three times the normal value. The PTT test was normal. She did a blood smear and the platelet number was normal.

 

Basically she just packed and wrapped the wound really well, and we went home.

Tomorrow I'm taking him for a bandage change, but he looks good. He got a big old hematoma (now I understand why he bruises so easy).

 

This seems to be more common in greyhounds than other breeds.

 

I'm just glad that Sunny is OK, but not I have this compulsion to wrap him in bubble wrap, and I see everything as a potential problem. Last night he was sleeping close to the edge of the bed, and I was freaking out thinking that he might fall off the side....so I started scooting him to the center. Poor Sunny just looks at me like "do not worry mother, I will find another way to self destruct no matter how hard you try to prevent it" LOL

 

 

[tbhounds]

Hummmm..

https://ckm.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/greyhoundpublic/documents/Resources/WhyGreyhoundsBleed.pdf

[Guest BaltimoreHounds]

Yes, I read that over the weekend.

 

I would save that Sunny would qualify as a Grade 2 or possibly 3 bleeder....definitely not 4.

 

He has certainly bee neutered safely, and recovered from his other injury just fine...just with some hematomas. But if he had some severe trauma then a blood transfusion might be in order.

[tbhounds]

If you feel he's a known bleeder you may want to have some Amicar in the house. Amicar is not always readily available.

[Guest BaltimoreHounds]

Good idea!! I will talk to my vet tomorrow about that.

[EllenEveBaz]

Just sending best wishes to your no-bubble-for-me boy.

[JJNg]

So the vet did some clotting studies. Turns out that the aPTT (activated pro thrombin time) was three times the normal value. The PTT test was normal.

 

The typical greyhound 'bleeder' has normal clotting times. With an elevated aPTT, Sunny may be one who really is a hemophiliac and has a factor deficiency, but this is pretty rare. If this is the case, Amicar might not help. Amicar helps stabilize clots, but an individual who is deficient in clotting factors doesn't form clots very well to begin with.

[tbhounds]

 

The typical greyhound 'bleeder' has normal clotting times. With an elevated aPTT, Sunny may be one who really is a hemophiliac and has a factor deficiency, but this is pretty rare. If this is the case, Amicar might not help. Amicar helps stabilize clots, but an individual who is deficient in clotting factors doesn't form clots very well to begin with.

Thought that too but, because of the rarity of true hemophiliac wondered if there was an error in the co-ag test ( poor blood draw-clot in tube...). I was going to recommend a re-draw????

[JJNg]

Thought that too but, because of the rarity of true hemophiliac wondered if there was an error in the co-ag test ( poor blood draw-clot in tube...). I was going to recommend a re-draw????

 

Never hurts to double check a test that yields an odd result or unusual diagnosis. Although if it was a poor blood draw and/or clotting in the tube, I'd expect that to have affected the PT too. (Assuming the OP meant that the PT was normal, and not the PTT, which is the same as the aPTT.)

[3greytjoys]

I'm not a vet, but having three excessive bleeders in our house, we keep Clotisol (blood clotting agent) available for cuts. Also Aminocaproic Acid (tablet form). Both have been a huge help many times. Latest episode was a few nights ago when a hound ripped a toenail halfway off walking by a door. He ended up pulling off the toenail himself. The only way I could get the bleeding under control was using both of the above. Tried Clotisol only at first, but ended up needing Aminocaproic Acid too.

 

There may be better blood clotting formulas than Clotisol, but I haven't found them yet.

We order Aminocaproic Acid (tablet form) from Costco pharmacy. Tablets usually have approx. one year shelf life. Liquid form tastes like a beef treat for the dog, but that comes from a "compounding pharmacy" and only lasts one month. Veterinarian's prescription is required for either liquid or tablets. Not being a vet, I can't address whether or not Aminocaproic Acid would help Sunny, but maybe it wouldn't hurt either(?).