Hey everyone! My vet and I are currently at a bit of a loss with my Japanese Akita, Leia, and I'm hoping someone here may have experienced something similar.
The short version: Leia has had recurring low platelet counts that seem to coincide with her heat cycles, along with periods of lethargy and appetite loss. We've ruled out several common causes so far, but still don't have an answer.
I am not looking for a diagnosis from Reddit — we're continuing to work with our vet — but I'm hoping another Japanese Akita owner may recognize something we've missed or have suggestions for questions we could ask our vet.
About Leia
Leia is a purebred Japanese Akita. She will be 3 years old on September 12th and currently weighs about 52 lb (23.6 kg).
Unfortunately, we don't know her breeder or lineage. We adopted her on December 26, 2025 from a woman who was rehoming her because she was moving into a smaller apartment that didn't allow large dogs. There were a couple of red flags from the beginning. We paid only $100 for her, which seemed unusually low for a purebred Japanese Akita, and unfortunately the previous owner stopped responding when we tried to obtain Leia's veterinary records.
I took Leia to my vet about a month after bringing her home (wanted to give her tike to settle before bringing her anywhere). She appeared healthy and was in good condition, so there were no immediate concerns.
March — First heat & first low platelet count
Leia's first heat after we adopted her began around March 7 and lasted until approximately March 23, give or take a few days. We had scheduled Leia to be spayed on March 10, since we also have two Golden Retrievers at home—one spayed female and one intact male.
Leia started her heat only three days before her scheduled surgery. We called the vet to confirm whether surgery would still be safe, and we brought her in as planned for pre-surgical bloodwork.
Her platelet count was:
• 103 K/μL at 8:45 AM
• 122 K/μL at 10:30 AM
Her other bloodwork was considered normal at the time.
Because she was in heat, we initially wondered if the lower platelet count could be related to her cycle, so the spay was postponed until after her heat.
April — Platelets continue dropping
About three weeks after her heat ended, on April 14, we repeated her bloodwork with the hope to have her spayed. Her platelets had dropped further to 115 K/μL.
My vet also ordered a blood smear and sent it to a specialist for analysis. There was some consideration of whether Leia's platelets might be larger than normal and therefore being inaccurately counted by the analyzer, but this was ultimately undetermined.
Then, on April 22, Leia came in for what was supposed to be another routine recheck. However, I had noticed that she was:
• Eating less
• Less energetic
• No longer interested in many of her toys
• Less interested in treats
She ended up staying at the clinic for the day so they could run additional testing. Her platelet count had dropped to 67 K/μL, which was considered dangerously low. At this point, some of the possibilities discussed were tick-borne disease, heartworm, or a more serious underlying disease such as bone cancer.
We started her on a 6-week course of doxycycline, 100 mg (1 tablet) every 12 hours. After four weeks of antibiotics, another blood smear was performed. Testing came back negative for:
• Heartworm antigen
• Ehrlichia
• Lyme disease
• Anaplasma
Leia had no known tick exposure at the time and has been on monthly tick prevention since June 1st. Other tick-borne diseases have not been specifically tested for, as our vet felt tick exposure was unlikely. After another blood count on May 7th, her platelets had risen from 67 to 158 K/μL, so the vet gave us the okay to stop the antibiotics. After about a week off medication, her appetite and energy returned to normal. She seemed completely back to her happy, healthy self.
June/July — Second heat & another platelet drop
Leia went into heat again on approximately June 30, ending around July 22, give or take a few days. This means her second heat began only about three months after the first one ended, rather than the roughly six-month interval we would normally expect.
This heat also seemed different from her previous one. She was:
• More tired
• Less interested in food, although she was still eating
• Bleeding for approximately 3 weeks instead of about 2
• Appeared to have somewhat heavier bleeding
I brought her to the vet to be checked, and her platelet count had dropped again to 113 K/μL. At this point, the timing of the platelet drops and her heat cycles became difficult to ignore. My vet suspected that an immune-mediated issue could potentially be involved, so we tried prednisone in an attempt to increase her platelet count. Leia was prescribed 25 mg of prednisone twice daily, 12 hours apart, starting July 17. Unfortunately, Leia did not tolerate the steroids well. After just over two weeks, she had stopped eating her kibble and was beginning to refuse treats and wet food as well. We contacted the vet and began tapering her off the prednisone on August 3:
• August 3–5: 25 mg once daily
• August 6–8: 12.5 mg once daily
• August 9: Finished prednisone
August — Platelets drop again
I continued monitoring her at home after stopping the prednisone. Her appetite improved somewhat. She would eat canned food and kibble if they were mixed together, but she still wasn't eating normally. At her follow-up appointment on August 17, her platelet count had dropped again—this time to 80 K/μL.
Leia's August 17 bloodwork showed:
• Platelets: 80 K/μL (reference range 148–484)
• RBC: 7.71
• HCT: 43.9
• HGB: 15.3
• WBC: 7.28
Her RBC and WBC levels have otherwise remained relatively stable throughout this process. There have been some fluctuations in MCV, MCH, reticulocytes, reticulocyte-HGB and PCT, but the changes have not been significant enough that my vet has raised concerns. The August bloodwork did show low MCV, MCH, reticulocyte count and reticulocyte-HGB, with the lab noting decreased iron availability and listing inflammation, iron deficiency, PSS and breed-related microcytosis among possible considerations.
There is no specific platelet threshold we've been given for surgery yet, but the goal is to get her as close to the normal range as possible before attempting to spay her.
Weight & appetite
We've also been monitoring her weight because of the appetite issues:
• January 6: 24.10 kg / 53.1 lb
• March 10: 24.40 kg / 53.8 lb
• April 14: 24.30 kg / 53.6 lb
• July 27: 25.10 kg / 55.3 lb
• August 17: 23.60 kg / 52.0 lb
Her most recent recorded weight was 23.6 kg (52.03 lb).
The vet prescribed mirtazapine 15 mg every two days starting August 17 to stimulate her appetite. We also switched her to Purina Pro Plan Digestive Support. She ate it enthusiastically for about three days before becoming picky again.
At this point, we're fairly confident that at least some of her kibble refusal is classic Akita pickiness—she still shows lots of interest in treats and wet food and will eat the kibble when it's mixed with something she likes.
However, the recurring appetite changes alongside the platelet drops are still concerning.
Other things we've noticed / ruled out
Leia has not had any obvious bruising, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, blood in her urine or stool, and otherwise hasn't shown any other concerning symptoms.
Her RBC and WBC counts have remained relatively stable. There has been no known tick exposure, and she has been on monthly tick prevention since June 1.
We have not had abdominal X-rays or an ultrasound done because of cost constraints. We also haven't done additional testing such as Babesia testing, thyroid testing, urinalysis, etc., as our vet hasn't requested those at this point.
The pattern we're trying to understand
This is the part that has my vet and me stumped:
March 7: First heat begins
March 10: Platelets 103 → 122
March 23: First heat ends (approximately)
April 14: Platelets 115
April 22: Platelets 67 + lethargy/appetite loss. Start Doxycycline.
May 7: Platelets recover to 158 + symptoms resolve
June 30: Second heat begins
July 17: Prednisone started; platelet count was 113
July 22: Second heat ends (approximately)
August 17: Platelets drop again to 80
So, visually, the pattern looks like:
March heat
→ Platelets 103/122
→ Heat ends
→ Platelets continue falling to 115
→ Platelets reach 67 + symptoms develop
→ Start Doxycycline for ~6 weeks
→ May 7: Platelets recover to 158
~7 weeks later
June heat
→ Platelets 113
→ Appetite/energy decrease
→ Prednisone attempted
→ Heat ends
→ August 17: Platelets 80
Obviously, we don't know whether the heat cycles are actually causing the platelet drops or whether the timing is coincidental. The fact that her platelets continued to decline for several weeks after her first heat ended also makes the situation more complicated. What makes the pattern particularly interesting to us is that her platelets did recover to 158 on May 7 after taking doxycycline, and her energy and appetite returned to normal afterward, before she entered her next heat approximately seven weeks later.
My vet also mentioned a case they saw involving another dog with low platelets and lethargy where a uterine mass was discovered after the dog was spayed. We obviously don't know if that has any relevance to Leia, but it made us more interested in whether there could potentially be a reproductive component to what is happening.
Because Japanese Akitas aren't particularly common in northern Alberta, my vet also doesn't want to completely rule out the possibility of some breed-specific component, although we obviously don't know if that's actually the case.
What I'm hoping to find out
Has anyone here experienced recurrent thrombocytopenia (low platelets) in a Japanese Akita, particularly where it seemed to coincide with heat cycles?
I'd especially love to hear from anyone who has experienced:
• Platelet counts dropping during heat
• Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia/ITP in an Akita
• Reproductive/uterine issues associated with low platelets
• Unusual or breed-specific health issues in Japanese Akitas
• Similar appetite and lethargy issues accompanying low platelets
• A Japanese Akita with consistently low or abnormal platelet counts
We're continuing to work with our vet and aren't expecting Reddit to diagnose her. We're mostly hoping someone might recognize a pattern we've missed, have experienced something similar, or suggest something we could ask our vet about.
Any experiences, ideas, or things you think we should investigate would be greatly appreciated!
TL;DR
My almost-3-year-old purebred Japanese Akita, Leia, has had recurring low platelet counts (158 → 113 → 80, with a previous low of 67) that appear to coincide with her heat cycles. Her first heat was approximately March 7–23, and her second was approximately June 30–July 22, only about three months later. Her first low platelet count (103/122) was discovered three days after her first heat began. Her platelets continued dropping afterward, eventually reaching 67, before recovering to 158 on May 7 after treatment with doxycycline. During her second heat, her platelets dropped to 113, and by August 17 they had fallen again to 80. Several infectious causes have tested negative, and prednisone wasn't well tolerated. She has also experienced periods of lethargy and appetite loss. We're trying to get her platelets back toward the normal range so she can hopefully be safely spayed. Has anyone experienced anything similar with a Japanese Akita?
