Blood results

Hi Allen,

There are a few things out of balance in that profile but nothing so severely that it points a definitive finger at any specific illness.

To take run through it:
<sup>Haematology Range Actual Comment
Red Cell Count 7.40 – 9.00 8.37 Normal
Haemoglobin 190 - 215 206 A fraction high but OK for a greyhound
PCV or Hct 0.55 – 0.65 0.58 A fraction low but reasonable
MCV 65 - 78 69 OK
MCH 21- 26 25 Slightly elevated due to slightly larger than normal RBC’s containing more Haemoglobin
MCHC 320 - 370 357 OK
White Cell Count 3.5 – 6.5 3.5 Lower than I would prefer and indicates a depressed immune system
Neutrophils 3.0 – 4.5 2.4 Too low as above
Lymphocytes 0.8 – 1.9 0.7 Too low as above
Monocytes 0.1 – 0.7 0.2 OK
Eosinophils 0.1 – 0.6 0.1 OK
Basophils -- 0.0 --

Biochemistry
Alk. Phosph. 10 - 120 --
ALT 5 - 80 97 Too high as it should be near the lower end of the range and does indicate liver damaging
AST (SGOT) 10 - 80 76 As for above
CPK 50 - 400 328 Muscle enzymes – too high as it should be near the lower end of the range and indicates muscle tissue under severe stress
Total Protein 45 - 62 63 Too high and indicates kidneys under stress
Albumin 23 - 34 38 Too high and indicates depressed kidney function
Globulins 21 - 32 25 OK
Phosphate 0.80 – 2.10 1.19 OK
Sodium 138 - 158 150 Slightly elevated but still OK
Potassium 3.5 – 5.8 4.9 OK
Chloride 100 - 115 110 OK
Calcium 1.75 – 2.50 2.05 OK
Serum Glucose 3.3 – 6.7 -- --
Cholesterol 2.8 – 6.2 3.8 OK
Urea 3.6 – 10.4 6.7 OK
Magnesium 0.6 – 1.3 0.9 OK
Creatinine 40 - 170 147 Higher than preferred indicates depressed kidney function
Bicarbonate 22 - 28 22 Lower than preferred
Bilirubin Total 2 - 15 4 OK</sup>

It basically shows a profile of a greyhound that has liver inflammation, a reduced immune system and kidneys that are struggling to cope with the waste products produced by exercise, including those produced by the muscle tissue breaking down.

Unfortunately it is extremely difficult to hazard a guess as to why this is occurring because there is no real indication that it is being caused by either a bacterial or viral infection.

However I have no doubt that anyone that has read most of my posts on this site would be well aware of how I feel about the high protein dry food being fed with meat by so many trainers trying to do the very best for their greyhounds, and while I have no idea what type of diet the greyhound is on, unfortunately this is the type of blood profile I so often see from greyhounds on a high protein diet.

Cheers,
Tom

Hi Allen,

It is going to take about two weeks to change the dog’s reliance from protein as an energy source to one of carbohydrates.

While burning protein for energy provides the same amount of energy for the dog as carbohydrates, the problem is that burning protein in the body increases the amount of waste that needs to be removed and this overloads the kidneys and increases liver toxicity.

Firstly you need to provide some support for the liver as the liver enzymes are too high. My recommendation would be for a product called Lipotropene manufactured by Bioceuticals and is available from some of the health food shops. Failing to obtain that you could use Livatone, but not Livatone Plus as that contains green tea and could cause a positive swab to caffeine.
Normal dose for both is one tablet morning and night for 14 days then one daily for another month.

As far as the diet is concerned my suggestion would be to feed meat and pasta for a week and then slowly swap the dog from pasta to a low protein kibble such as Winning Edge.

As far as additives are concerned you can use anything you wish, personally I would use Stock Gain only one teaspoon daily is plenty, a heaped teaspoon of DCP and possibly a teaspoon of human grade Cod Liver Oil.

To increase the availability of other essential proteins simply add a heaped teaspoon of full cream milk powder daily, and an egg every second day.

As far as electrolytes are concerned just a sprinkle of Lite Salt available from most supermarkets is generally enough unless the dog is suffering severe dehydration. Lite Salt contains both potassium and sodium in a reasonable balance.

Cheers,
Tom