Dear Dr. John,
Our Portuguese Water Dog is 14 1/2 years outdated. He has been more and more agitated and aggressive. He even bit my husband when he reached for one thing he was consuming, one thing he would have by no means executed earlier than. The canine has additionally been very stressed at night time. Could this all be because of outdated age despite the fact that he in any other case appears fairly regular?
He has been slower getting round and on the steps to our bed room on the second ground. We had our vet have a look and had been given some Gabapentin 300 mg and it appeared to work at enjoyable our canine. Could he take it long run? Our vet did some bloodwork to verify the whole lot out. Our canine had a excessive platelet rely and slight anemia. Our vet indicated that it may very well be an indication of assorted problems together with most cancers. Further diagnostics may very well be executed however we’re opting out presently. What may very well be the attainable causes for his habits and are there any higher selections to calm our outdated boy down? J.L.
Dear J.L,
High platelet rely is called thrombocytosis. The trigger is usually unknown and may be because of most cancers, illness within the bone marrow, iron deficiency, blood loss, infections, irritation, and extra. Blood clots can develop that may trigger extreme points and even demise. Further diagnostics might embrace bone marrow analysis.
If his bodily examination was in any other case unremarkable, the adjustments discovered could be an incidental discovering and taking a wait and see method could be thought-about with a recheck of the bloodwork in 3-6 months. Opting out of a extra in depth workup is a good consideration given his outdated age. While I’ve seen many canines which have gotten much less tolerant and extra ornery as they age, the extent of agitation and aggression that you’ve got seen just isn’t typical or because of outdated age. The appropriate steps have already been taken in getting an analysis and bloodwork executed.
Gabapentin is protected to make use of however I might additionally contemplate Trazodone which I imagine would have extra of a relaxing impact. They may even be used collectively and each can be utilized safely for longer intervals. Work together with your veterinarian and good luck!
Dr. John de Jong owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic. He may be reached at 781-899-9994.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”