Introduction to Autoimmune diseases in the dog

2024 Breed Health

A short introduction and simple explanation of autoimmune disease in the dog.

These diseases are sometimes complex and hard for Vets to diagnose, you as the owner are the dog’s best advocate. You see the dog every day and are best placed to monitor how the treatment is working. You along with your Vet are a team and helping each other is paramount to a successful outcome. It’s a good idea to keep a diary between visits with notes on how your dog is behaving. Your Vet’s first question will be “How have they been”

Examples

Lupus in dogs - information sheet
  • Are they eating well, with gusto or picking at food
  • Are they active, stiff or lethargic, able to jump on sofa or climb stairs
  • Are their stools normal, or runny
  • Do they seem hot or cold, it’s a good idea to learn how to take a dog’s temp and what is normal temperature for a dog
  • Are their gums normal, pale or red
  • Are they showing pain, panting, restless, whining, excessive licking are all signs of pain

Never be afraid to ask questions if you are unsure, your Vet wants the best for your dog and should be happy to both listen to you as well as advise.

You may be offered, or you may request a referral to a specialist where you will get treatment from a Vet specialist in the field. This option is the gold standard of care but will be expensive, discuss with your Vet the possible cost and whether your insurance will cover the cost.

Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia diagram
Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia chart

Now a little about the diseases in general

All mammals, dogs and humans have a complex immune system with the ability to differentiate between cells that form part of the body and invader cells such as a virus or bacteria. The invader cells cause illness, the immune system is designed to attack them and prevent them causing serious illness.

In autoimmune diseases the immune system fails to differentiate between the two and attacks cells that are part of the dog’s own body. It can attack any part, from the skin to the blood cells which is why there are so many autoimmune diseases.

To use one as an example …

Steroid Responsive Meningitis which is the most common in Whippets . The immune system targets the cells lining the spinal cord (Meninges) causing inflammation, pain and usually high temperature.

The treatment for all autoimmune diseases is to supress the immune system completely with immune supressing drugs such as steroids or chemotherapy drugs

Symptoms of meningitis in dogs list

IT IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO RULE OUT INFECTION AS A CAUSE OF ILLNESS FIRST as suppression of the immune system will make any infection worse. This is why Vets will run tests first before considering any treatment. Your Vet may want to perform other tests to be sure of the diagnosis, a spinal tap, joint tap, muscle biopsy or skin biopsy will examine the fluid or cells for inflammation, bloods to check for any other cause of the illness. It will be much simpler for the treating Vet if a definitive diagnosis can be made with tests. Sometimes a definite diagnosis cannot be made even with all the relevant test results. Your Vet may well opt to try a steroid and see if the condition improves, if it does improve rapidly then it goes a long way to diagnosing autoimmune disease.

IMHA in dogs, diagram

Once the diagnosis is made your Vet will begin treatment. Generally, a high dose of steroids is the treatment offered, its’ success depends on the high starting dose and a slow reduction in the steroids over many months, usually 6 months before the dog can be steroid free. Of course, every dog is individual in both their disease and how they respond to the treatment so follow up visits are essential, and your Vet will decide on the timing and dose reductions. Your dog should recover fully although some of the diseases are harder to manage and some dogs need to remain on a low dose of steroids for life.

You may be asking why your dog has developed an autoimmune disease. The answers are not clear cut and is a mix of both the dog’s genetic make-up and environmental factors. The dog is genetically susceptible (has the genes in its make-up) but an environmental trigger causes the problem to manifest in the dog. The triggers are not specifically known but anything that requires an immune response can trigger disease. Vaccinations, infections, stress can all be triggers, sometimes nothing can be pin pointed as the cause. Once your dog has had an autoimmune disease, they will always be susceptible to another, sometimes a different one than the first. Discuss with your Vet whether you should continue to vaccinate.

Immune Mediated thrombocytopenia diagram

Because genetics play a role any dog that has had an autoimmune disease should NOT be bred from. Never do the same mating that produced a dog with autoimmune disease. Littermates can be bred with care but avoid breeding to relatives or dogs known to have produced an autoimmune disease.

Whippets as a breed have a higher incidence of autoimmune disease than most other breeds, this doesn’t mean it’s common but are a breed most referred to specialist Vets for these conditions. Knowing this may help your Vet with a diagnosis.

The ones most reported in Whippets are as follows:

  • Steroid Responsive Meningitis (Spinal )
  • Immune Mediated Polyarthritis (Joints)
  • Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (Blood)

This list is not exhaustive but the above are the most often reported.

1 thought on “Introduction to Autoimmune diseases in the dog”

  1. My late whippet bitch was perfectly 100% healthy, never any health problems, until at age 8 hrs old she became seriously ill . My own vet did a blood test and found very high white cell count, high temperature, (so something needed investigating re high white cell count .. as antibiotics would not help).
    She was very weak, unable to jump onto the sofa even,,… my vet immediately referred me to Davies and sent me there on the spot as otherwise we would have lost her. She was admitted, had every test, including a lumbar puncture, scans, ultrasound etc etc. coclusion was iodopathic ( unknown cause) autoimmune disease. Stayed there for almost two weeks on high dose steroids which saved her life. With careful diet, gradually managed to reduce over a period of time. A few months later developed bad food allergies.. diarrhoea .. chicken the worst allergen.I did my own research into best foods.. had to feed basically game, and vegetables. Various other catastrophes.. broken toe involving surgery, then plaster/ dressing which had to be changed at Davies ( an hour away) every week.. Then got a sarcoma . Medium aggressive. My vet removed it, sent biopsy to lab… it was doubtful he had managed to get it all, as close to the spine on her rump.( he was a brilliant surgeon) . The finally she went down with the most painful condition.. humans get it too… pancreatitis.
    Initially treated at my vet surgery but as they had no overnight care after 10pm until 8 am next day, she was very distressed. So I was given a supply of bupomorphine ( injections) to administer every six hours for pain relief at home.
    She was already on a specialist diet.. stuff like kangaroo meat, rabbit and sweet potato, from abroad.. ( researched by me, as desperate to save her)
    then unable to eat so I spoon fed her baby rice with marmite .. then a little of the special diet I’d found…. The vets had kept telling me there was a chance of recovery. She was 13 and half.. so I nursed her day and night for almost four months. But seeing photos during that time, I should have let her go earlier. She lost a huge amount of weight, finally I took her in.. saw another vet about her hip.. she was limping a bit. He hurt her. Then I decided I had to say goodbye. She knew. I took her in, wrapped in her favourite blanket, and my husband fed her treats as a lovely gentle lady vet administered the drugs. She died in my arms. The grief was indescribable. I later found that there was autoimmune disease in her line/ breeding. I do not know what type she had, but suspect the cancer had returned also. The pancreatitis killed her. Immense suffering. But brave, cheerful to the very last. The best most wonderful dog I ever owned, or ever will irreplaceable. I tried to find another whippet, being super careful about the lines, health.. saw some lovely pups.. but simply could not face that grief again.

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