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can I give my dog iron pills
Optional Information: Type of Animal: black lab/border collie Pet's Gender: female Pet's Age: 7 yrs Name of Dog: Boots Already Tried: liver but she don't like it also red meat
HI,Welcome to Just Answer. What diet is this girl normally on? Is there a specific reason you're wanting to give these pills?
she eats pedagree up to 3 cups a day along with table scraps. she has been lossing Weight i have taken her to my family vet they have taken blood work still waiting for results. very day she is getting weaker her gums are very white my vet said i could feed her liver to boost her iron but she doesnt seem to like it. im have trouble getting her to eat it for me. my vet is not in on weekends which is why im asking if i can give her pills in the mean time.
Ok. This is a situation where supplementation of iron isn't going to be the treatment needed here. At this time, if her gums are very white, she's either not producing red blood cells, having them destroyed or bleeding internally. If your vet examined her, I would hope they could tell if she was bleeding internally. This can happen with spleenic masses that start to bleed. This is something that is a surgical issue. I would be very suspicious that at this time she has destruction of her red blood cells due to her immune system. This is called autoimmune mediated hemolytic anemia. This is a very, very serious situation that needs immediate treatment. Here is a link on this.http://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1390If she's that weak, pale in her gums - overall as critical as I'm worried about - she needs to go to an ER clinic to be evaluated and then further therapy started up for this. Administration of iron isn't something that is going to fix this.
My vet believe it may be the same thing and I know iron pills won't fix it I'm asking if the iron would help boost her until the test results come back and my vet knows next steps to to take to make her well. Is it safe to give her iron supplements
I wouldn't give the iron supplement at this time. It won't help her situation as her body isn't depleted at this time enough to need supplementation. The iron supplementation would most likely cause further stomach irritation / upset and make her possibly nauseated.
Experience: 12 years of experience as a small animal veterinarian