What is anemia?
Anemia is a condition that is caused by a diminished number of red blood cells. Red blood cells carry hemoglobin which allows oxygen to be delivered to your dog’s tissues and also removes carbon dioxide from the tissues. Thus, too little red blood cells means too little hemoglobin which results in insufficient oxygen delivery.

What will anemia look like in my dog?
Your dog will be lethargic, will breathe erratically, have a reduced appetite and pale gums.

How does my dog become anemic?
There are 3 main ways in which your dog's blood cells become diminished:  the red blood cells may be destroyed; the red blood cells may be lost; or your dog may not produce sufficient quantities of red blood cells. Various underlying diseases and conditions can trigger these 3 ways in which red blood cells are destroyed.

Red blood cell destruction is often associated with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, an underlying infection or consumption of zinc. Ingesting zinc causes problems in the production of normal red blood cells which will lead your dog’s body to destroy these red blood cells which it perceives as abnormal.

Loss of red blood cells is most often due to external or internal bleeding such as may be caused by tumors, underlying diseases such as Von Willebrand disease or parasites such as hookworm.

Inability to produce sufficient quantities of red blood cells is often caused by chronic underlying diseases and conditions, especially those diseases and conditions impacting the liver and kidneys such as kidney failure or liver failure.