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Treatment

The medications that are prescribed will depend upon your veterinarian’s final diagnosis of what is underlying the symptoms. If the condition is severe, your dog will be hospitalized for stabilization and fluid rehydration.

Living and Management

Your veterinarian will advise you on when you will need to return with your dog for follow-up appointments. There may be further need for a blood chemistry profile, a complete blood count, urinalysis, packed cell volume (PCV) test, and an arterial blood gas analysis. Genetic diseases are generally incurable, but can sometimes be managed by taking certain precautions with your dog. For example, neonatal isoerythrolysis, a congenital condition which results in the destruction of red blood cells, can be prevented by not allowing greyhounds with exertional myopathies (muscle diseases) to race; restricting exercise in Old English Sheepdogs with exertional lactic acidosis (abnormally high levels of acids in the blood); and not allowing Bedlington and West Highland White Terriers with copper-associated liver disease to come into contact with copper.