If necessary, your veterinarian will hospitalize your dog for anticoagulant and fluid therapy. Your dog’s activity will be severely restricted until the condition has reversed. Bed rest is essential when an animal has a blood clot blocking an artery, since physical activity can rush the clot into an essential supply organ or vein. Oxygen cage therapy will be prescribed for your dog if the blood clot is in the arteries or the lungs. If the underlying disease causing hypercoagulability cannot be resolved, subsequent clotting episodes will probably occur.
If anticoagulant medicines are indicated, your veterinarian will decide how much, and how long to administer these medicines. The course of medication and therapy will be dependent on the amount of time it takes for your dog’s blood to clot after treatment.
You will need to schedule check-ups with your veterinarian to monitor your dog’s prothrombin times (clotting times) twice a week following discharge from care. After that, your doctor will probably begin scheduling your dog for weekly check-ups over several weeks, until it is certain that the condition has been resolved. Once this stage has been reached, a check-up every few months will be standard.
Something that appears white or light grey on a radiograph
One of the proteins in plasma used for clotting
A medical condition; the contamination of a living thing by a harmful type of bacteria
A gland found in the neck of humans and animals that secretes glands responsible for metabolic rate, calcitonin, and others.
An in-depth examination of the properties of urine; used to determine the presence or absence of illness
The flow of blood through bodily tissue
A type of medical condition in which thrombus is created within the blood vessels
A gland that aids in both digestive and insulin functions
A large blood vessel that transports blood out of the heart.
Term used to refer to any drug that is used to slow down or stop the clotting of blood for medical purposes.
The amount of pressure applied by the blood on the arteries.
The species that a living thing has descended from
The removal and destruction of red blood cells
A condition of the blood in which normal red blood cell counts or hemoglobin are lacking.