My dog has low WBC, vomiting, and is in critical condition. Advice?

Hi, and thanks for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm so sorry to hear Winston isn't feeling good! The urination doesn't necessarily alarm me - I expect Winston is probably receiving a lot of fluids via an IV catheter, so he is likely producing a lot of urine and may have just really needed to urinate! However, I do worry that he's still vomiting despite his anti-nausea medication. The vet treating him will definitely be the best resource for input on his overall prognosis, since they have the full picture and can examine him in person. I think you're right to be concerned, but I wouldn't be giving up hope - some serious cases of pancreatitis just need several days of hospitalization before they start to turn around. You're doing the right thing by keeping him hospitalized at this point. Fingers crossed for your little guy! I hope this helps.

This may be a good case to choose a Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach Consult as there are a lot of variables we would need to know to help you the most. Causes for low white cells could be severe, overwhelming infection, viral, or even something like cancer. Many medications would take longer than 5 hours to see a positive response, but it varies based on the presumptive diagnosis your vet has made and the particular medication. Some medications can be dual purpose and treat pain. There are many diagnostics I would recommend based Kent he bit of information you gave us, like other tick testing, blood chemistry, urinalysis, x-rays, ultrasound, fecal testing, etc.

Low white blood cells can be a sign of overwhelming infection, sepsis or cancer, and along with a fever I would be very concerned. I'm wondering if both chest x-rays and abdominal radiographs were performed, or if an ultrasound was performed because those might help determine what is causing these symptoms. I don't think there is much else you can do at home if you are unable to afford hospitalization, but you should definitely continue to recheck with your vet and if Aute seems to be taking a turn for the worse in any way you should have him rechecked immediately.

Yes, it was the right decision, without taking him to the vet he would have zero chance to survive, now at least he stands a fighting chance. he is very young so overall i would say his chances are not very good, but you never know, with the correct treatment he might perk back up and survive this.

Your pet Tinku is in critical condition right now based on your description. Poor guy. A severe reaction to the medicaitons is possible or another internal unrelated illness. He needs bloodwork analysis and possible radiographs to diagnose the underlying problem so that we know how best to help his condition. There is unfortunately nothing you can do at home to help a pet that is this ill and unstable. He needs to be seen right away. His vitals sound good for now, but his extreme lethargy means that his cardiovascular system has been affected and this can progress quickly. I hope that your pet Tinku is able to see a vet right away to hopefully make a full recovery. Best wishes and take care.

Poor Lupo! I'm sorry to hear that he's sick. Unfortunately, the symptoms you describe are very concerning - repeated episodes of vomiting like this, especially with blood, are often a sign of a serious problem such as pancreatitis, an intestinal obstruction, a systemic illness like liver or kidney disease, or ingestion of something toxic. A curved back and acting very lethargic are signs of abdominal pain. I'm afraid this is not something that can be treated at home - he really needs to see a vet right away, as this may be a life-threatening problem. The vet can do blood work and x-rays to help determine what is causing the vomiting and get him started on appropriate treatment depending on what is found.

Poor Walter. Unfortunately, there are several things that can cause an elevated WBC. An upper respiratory infection or pneumonia certainly cause this, but so can any type of infection else where. I would first want to have his WBC rechecked to see if there has been any improvement since starting the meds. I would also talk to your vet to see if they ran a chemistry to look at him liver and kidney values. Just make sure you let your vet know that he isn't what you would consider normal. If everything is looking better, his change in behavior may just be part of him adjusting to the new living area and being away from the previous living arrangements. Any change in a dog's life can cause them to stress and become anxious and/or lethargic. I hope this helps and he starts to warm up to his new forever home.