Hi there. My BC started stumbling around a little bit back in September 2025. He had lost interest quite a bit in playing, and he wasn’t jumping on me like he was before. When we moved back in August of 2024, he was interested in eating the dirt in the backyard, so when he was eating the dirt around this time, I noted it but didn’t think much of it. I took him to the vet, where I discovered he had 18% PCV. He was diagnosed, tentatively, with IMHA. She prescribed Prednisone and he never received infusions. I fed him liver and gave him supplements for Iron Complex and Cobalequin (B12). He recovered about a month later: no remaining anemia. The rest of his bloodwork, even when anemic, seemed fine. He didn’t have any tick-borne illnesses.
Flash-forward to February 2026. I notice he started to try and eat the dirt again. He didn’t do that since the September anemia episode. I check his gums, and they’re paler than they should be. Back to the vet - now he’s at 30% PCV. Everything else looks normal - they did a full blood panel to monitor organ health, and everything is okay. She started him on Prednisone again, and she’s recommended me to an IMHA specialist. Tonight was the first night of Prednisone since September. I will have to leave for a job from mid-May to July, and I’m hoping I can get him on a low-dose steroid treatment plan while I’m away. He’ll be with my mother, so she won’t be able to get him into the car if he collapses (he never has, FYI). The vet said she is hesitant to put him on a longer dose of steroids thanks to the complications of being on them, but I don’t want him getting sick again (she claimed that stress could trigger IMHA, which may suggest that he became sick last summer because I left).
I’m very worried, although he seems to be doing okay for now (some minor clumsiness - she says I brought him in time).
Oh gosh, the dirt eating — I never would have connected that either but it makes so much sense in hindsight doesn’t it? Your instincts were spot on bringing him in when you did.
The stress trigger thing is something I’ve wondered about a lot with my own dog. Honestly I still don’t fully know what to make of it — there’s part of me that wants a reason, you know? Something to point to. But I’ve also had to make peace with the fact that sometimes it just… happens.
I haven’t been through a remission myself yet so I can’t speak to what that looks like, but what I can say is 30% is a very different situation than 18%. You got to him so much faster this time and that matters.
The specialist referral is huge. Go in with all your questions, especially about what a care plan might look like when you’re away. Write everything down. And if your mom is going to be watching him — maybe show her the gums thing? Once you know what to look for it’s actually not that hard to check.
Really glad you found us. How is he doing today?