Neutropenia is when your dog has a lower than normal neutrophil count. A neutrophil is a type of white blood cell that is used by your dog’s body to fight infections.

Symptoms of neutropenia include loss of appetite, decreased vitality, fever, vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Neutropenia is caused either by the inability of your dog’s bone marrow to create neutrophils or by the destruction of neutrophils already in the blood stream. Neutropenia can be an unintended side effect of medications, or it can occur as a result of a variety of diseases or conditions including cancer and various infections. Chemotherapy drugs are the most common medications to cause neutropenia. Many tick-borne diseases can also cause neutropenia.

Neutropenia is diagnosed by performing a complete blood count. The cause of the neutropenia is then determined by reviewing all medications that may have been administered to your dog and by performing a complete physical examination of your dog. In examining your dog, the vet might also decide to perform infectious disease tests or a bone marrow aspirate to asses the ability of your dog’s bone marrow to make neutrophils.

The treatment of neutropenia is dependent upon the underlying cause.

There is no specific prevention for Neutropenia. If your dog is on chemotherapeutic medications for cancer, he should have his blood cell count monitored carefully so medications can be adjusted if the cell count becomes too low. Your dog should also be protected against ticks since some diseases spread by ticks can cause neutropenia.

No, you cannot contract neutropenia from your dog.