Would heartworms be a possibility?

So what did the vet say? A diagnosis, prognosis?

Sounds like immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, but low platelets and a high white cell count doesn't explain the weakness unless your dog is bleeding into his abdomen or chest. He could also have Ehlrichia, Babesia, Anaplasma, or other tick-borne infections. I *never* send home a dog with low platelets without doxycycline just in case there is a tick-borne infection. Even if it is just IMTP, over 75% of dogs recover. But I worry in an older dog that it's not a straight-up immune-mediated disease. Cancer can trick the body into destroying its own cells. I've had WAY too much personal experience with that. I hope the vet looked for cancer- chest rads, abdominal rads or even better abdominal ultrasound- or a cause of thrombocytopenia before sending your dog home. I am also concerned about the high heart rate. That can be a sign of anemia, which if there was a massive recent bleed would not show up on lab work (it's a weird thing, but true).

If that's the only info you got, and you don't understand what is happening to your dog, then I would start making a list of questions.

Some I would ask would be:
1. What do you think is causing my dog to act so tired, since low platelets doesn't make a dog tired.
2. What do you think is causing him to have low platelets?
3. Did you test my dog for tick-borne diseases? And if not, are you prophylactically treating my dog for tick-borne diseases?
4. How are we going to track my dog's recovery? When should I come in for a recheck CBC?
5. What side effects should I expect from this medication? (And if she didn't tell you- SHAME!)
6. What happens if he doesn't improve as expected?

These are just a FEW questions I would have. I can certainly think of many more, but that's a start.

I hope your dog has just IMTP and recovers uneventfully. But do not let this slide. My first rottie Kang died from IMTP; I wasn't a vet at the time nor was IMTP well understood (it's still not, but much better than 10 years ago), so pets do die from this disease.

The vet told us the prednisone would cause him to want to eat more. I am taking him back this afternoon to the vet and ask if it could be thrombocytopenia.

My dog has had a cough for sometime and he had meds for this back in August.On Aug. 8 the vet gave him Antibiotic Corticosteriod Imsq and Delta Albaplex 3x 180mg. Then Aug. 25 she prescribed him Tetracycline 500mg and Prednisilone 20 mg. Could the meds have had an effect on him now. Also back in late April he had an allergic reaction to something maybe miracle grow that I had put on some plants and his eyes swelled up really bad. Could this have caused him to be sick now? He was given Hydroxyine 25 mg for that.
He still coughs from time to time. He has been breathing hard and fast the last few days.

"I took my dog to a different vet (within the same building as the other)(her son) this morning who said that he has heart failure and also fluid in his lungs. The vet decided to keep him over the weekend to help him. He didn't comment on the high wbc or the low platelets. I hope everything will be okay. I took my dog to the original vet back in August who said he had a healthy heart.

Thanks for all the comments and helpful advice

Well, fluid in the lungs is a more reasonable explanation for the weakness than low platelets. I guess the next question is the fluid really from congestive heart failure or is it blood from the thrombocytopenia? A quick sample of the fluid is all it would take to know for sure. How low was the platelet count?

I hope everything will be OK with your dog. Poor thing!

I will call the vet this morning and ask if he has thrombocytopenia also.

His platelet count was 81 on a scale of 200 - 500.

Thanks for your help and for your concern.

I strongly suggest that you go to another vet for a second opinion including
another blood test. My dog (a Yorkie) recently died of old age he was 20 years old with several age related dysfunctions (I had to euthanize him to release him from pain and ongoing misery), the major illness began last August 2006 and it was renal failure, diagnosed from blood tests. With change to a prescription renal dog food after his hospitalization that problem was brought under control. But in year 2008 he got increasingly tired and frequently falling as I walked him and the finally diagnosis was brain disease.
I was at one of the few top veterinarian hospitals in the nation and he was reviewed by the doctors and the neurologist, he had all the physical signs including pain. But a CAT scan nor other X-ray procedure of his brain could not be done to definitively determine if it was brain tumor or cancer of brain, because such invasive exam would be an unnecessary fatal hazard and only more discomfort for him due to his extreme age and ill conditions. (What kind of dog do you have, is age 13 considered old for his breed and size?).

I do not intend to scare you, but I truly do not like the idea of giving steroid medicine to a dog until a thorough review is discovered as to why he is so tired physically that he falls.

The internet advisory on dog health says that steroids are hazardous particularly for older
dogs and can be fatal for certain illnesses that the dog has; therefore the necessity to know what body illness is making him tired, before determining a need for steroids.

Prednisone I believe is a steroid, and a strong one. I always look up any medicine that the vet prescribes before I would give it to my dog.

Also look up the definition of blood platlets you will get very good information and how they work and the affect of antibiotics (unless truly necessary). My dog's doctors always refused to give him antibioctics unless extremely necessary for a particular diagnosed disease. I always just key into the google search engine which was very helpful to give me full understanding of all my dogs care and anything the vet recommended.

I hope I have not distressed you, I only seek to help.

Peace be with you.

A below normal platlet count is thrombocytopenia. The question what is the cause? You need another vet who will actually take the time to go over the test results and explain everything rather than dodging your questions and concerns.

I picked shadow up this morning and of course he is very tired and still breathing hard. He has drunk a lot of water and is resting on the kitchen floor. They gave him 17 pills of Tetracycline 500 mg 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening until gone.

Thanks for your information and concern.

Hummm...first thing I thought of was enlarged heart.

I hope he's going to get better what ever it may be.

Edna

OK, a platelet count of 81 isn't going to cause spontaneous bleeding. The steroids are to suppress the immune system and stop destruction of platelets. The tetracycline is to treat for any tick-borne diseases he may have. We often start treatment without knowing the cause because 1) tick titers can take weeks to come back from the lab, depending on what titers are taken and where they are run, and by that time the pet is often dead and 2) if it is an immune-mediated problem you have to suppress the immune system, but again diagnostics take time that we often don't have.

What are they doing for the congestive heart failure? He needs medicine for that too, unless they don't think it really was CHF. With him breathing hard, he needs at least lasix to help keep the fluid off his chest. Personally I'd add some other meds as well, depending on the type of heart disease. Coughing is a classic sign of congestive heart failure, as is exercise intolerance, so it seems like he's been having trouble for a while. He really needs help for this too.

I hope your Shadow gets well soon. Please keep us posted.

What kind of diet did the dog have during his puppy hood, adult years? Most regular pet foods only substain life until the beginnings of old age- then something like this happens.

Good foods include Innova EVO, Orijen,ziwi peak,Instincts,barking at the moon, ect.

Bad foods- Old roy, anything purina, euk, IAMS,science diet,S/D, dads bite size meal, Old yeller,ect.

Where did you get the dog?

Was dog on heart worm medication? is dog a purebred or a mutt?. These four questions sum up why your dog is sick in my mind.

Sorry to read about the problems, and all the treatments the dog is undergoing. I hope it turns out well.

Unless I missed it, I didn't see what breed your dog is. I have had several Westies over the years. They all have started to become tired on walks by age 13. Stuart, my current 14 year old, will generally walk about 1 3/4 miles then lets me know it's time to pick him up. Old age seems to hit this breed suddenly and quickly.