Severity:
Mild to Moderate
Table of Contents
Key points
- Pale gums can have many causes and require diagnosis by a vet.
- Diagnosis may include examination by a veterinarian, blood tests, and sometimes imaging or advanced tests
- Some causes of pale gums may be curable, but some require life-long management.
- Some causes of pale gums can be prevented
- Certain causes of pale gums can be passed to other pets or humans
Common in:
All ages, genders, and breeds, but especially older dogs as they’re more prone to the underlying causes. Some causes of pale gums are more common in certain breeds such as IMHA in spaniels and Von Willebrands in Dobermans.
Symptoms and types:
Pale gums are symptom, rather than a diagnosis, and may be caused by many different things. Gums are usually pale for one of two reasons:
- There is less blood flow reaching the gums (“poor perfusion”)
- There are fewer red blood cells in the blood, meaning it looks paler (“anaemia”)
There are many different things that can cause anaemia or poor perfusion, which we will discuss later. Certain things, such as severe bleeding, may cause both.
Your dog’s gums may also vary naturally vary in colour during the day. For example, when they have been resting for a while, the gums will naturally appear paler, whereas if they have been running around for a while then the gums will naturally appear pinker.
Pale gums can be a sign of many different problems, including bleeding, heart disease, or severe dehydration. Diagnosis requires a vet exam and further testing
Understanding the diagnostics
Your vet will need to examine your dog thoroughly, and probably run some tests to work out why your dog’s gums appear pale.
A blood test can be used to determine whether your dog is anaemic. Your vet might measure Packed Cell Volume (PCV) or Haematocrit (HCT) – these tell them how many red blood cells are in your dog’s blood, and therefore whether your dog is anaemic or not.
- Mean Cell Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Cell Volume (MCV), which tell your vet how healthy the red blood cells are.
- Reticulocyte count – reticulocytes are young red blood cells that have not yet fully matured. Their levels are high in certain kinds of anaemia, like that from bleeding or from the destruction of red blood cells, so finding them can help your vet work why your dog is anaemic.
- A blood smear will let your vet look at your dog’s blood under a microscope, to check the health of their red blood cells and look for certain blood-borne infections.
There are many more specific tests for different causes of anaemia. For example, your vet may do blood tests to check for signs of kidney or liver disease, or to check how well your dog’s blood is clotting, or to look for specific infections that can cause anaemia.
If your vet thinks your dog may be pale because they are bleeding, they may do an ultrasound scan, x-rays or a CT scan to look for signs of internal bleeding.
If your vet thinks that your dog has pale gums due to poor perfusion, they may run tests on your dog’s heart, including blood tests, x-rays or an ultrasound scan (“echocardiogram”
What causes pale dog gums?
1. Anaemia
Anaemia means your dog has low levels of red blood cells. This can happen either because they are not making enough red blood cells, or because they are losing them somehow.
- Not Making Enough Red Blood Cells
This can happen with many different types of chronic illness, including kidney disease, liver disease, hormone conditions, or certain cancers. It is sometimes called “anaemia of chronic disease”. More rarely, it can also happen because your dog has a disease that is affecting their bone marrow. - Bleeding
Bleeding will cause both anaemia and poor perfusion (see later). Sometimes the cause of bleeding is obvious – if your dog has recently had surgery or suffered a trauma such as a road traffic accident, for example. Dogs may also bleed if they are unable to form blood clots (a ‘coagulopathy’), for example, if they are suffering from rat bait poisoning or have a genetic condition (such as haemophilia). - Red Blood Cells Being Destroyed
The most common reason for red blood cells being destroyed within the body is Immune Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia (IMHA). This is an auto-immune condition where a dog’s body gets confused and starts seeing their own red blood cells as invaders, which triggers the body to destroy them. This is usually idiopathic (meaning there is no known cause) but occasionally it can be caused by another health condition such as cancer or certain unusual infections.
2. Poor Perfusion
If your dog has poor perfusion this means that they have enough blood in their body, but less of it is reaching the gums. This can happen for many reasons, such as:
- Stress or Pain
This can happen with many different types of chronic illness, including kidney disease, liver disease, hormone conditions, or certain cancers. It is sometimes called “anaemia of chronic disease”. More rarely, it can also happen because your dog has a disease that is affecting their bone marrow. - Heart Disease
If your dog’s heart is not working properly and cannot pump blood around the body as normal, then their gums may appear pale. - Low Blood Volume
If your dog has less blood in their body than they should, then their blood vessels will shrink and their gums will appear pale. This happens when your dog does not have enough fluid in their blood – for example, if they have been bleeding recently, or are very dehydrated.
If a dog’s gums are pale pink, white, bright red, yellow, grey, or blue, then this is a sign that they are sick and should see a vet.
Best treatment options for pale gums in dogs
Pale gums are a symptom, not a disease, and cannot be treated without knowing what is causing them. Your vet will need to diagnose the underlying issue and then discuss treatment with you.
Home remedies and their effectiveness
There are no effective home remedies for pale gums, as the cause of the paleness needs to be diagnosed by a vet. In particular, iron supplements are not useful for pale gums, as iron deficiency is very rare as a cause of anaemia in dogs (unlike in people).
When to see a vet if Your Dog Has Pale Gums
FAQ
There are many different reasons why your dog’s gums might be pale. Some of them are relatively harmless, but some are life-threatening. If you are concerned about how pale your dog’s gums are, you should speak to a vet.
Pale gums can be a sign of many different problems, including bleeding, heart disease, or severe dehydration. Diagnosis requires a vet exam and further testing.
Dogs’ gums should be a pink color, similar to the color you see if you pull your lower lip down and look at the color of the inside. Some breeds have pigment in their gums, meaning that they have black patches. This is normal, and not a sign of illness unless the black patches are changing size or shape. If a dog’s gums are pale pink, white, bright red, yellow, grey, or blue, then this is a sign that they are sick and should see a vet.
Ruth graduated from Cambridge in 2014 and has worked as a small animal GP vet ever since. She is particularly interested in internal medicine, as it combines her love of problem-solving and her somewhat geeky love of knowledge, and has completed her certificate in Small Animal Medicine. She loves animals of all species but is particularly fond of cats.
