Disease Description: A bleeding disorder is any irregularity that disrupts a dog’s hemostasis, or its body’s natural process to cease bleeding.

Inherit Mode: Other than hemophilia, disorders of clotting factors are inherited as autosomal traits, primarily autosomal recessive. These uncommon deficiencies have been identified in the following breeds: FactorI (hypofibroginemia) - Saint Bernard; factor II - boxer; factor VII - beagle; factor X - American cocker spaniel, Jack Russell terrier; factor XI - springer spaniel, Great Pyrenees, Kerry blue terrier; factor XII - miniature poodle

Disease Symptom: Factor XII deficiency generally causes no problems and is only discovered if coagulation testing is done. Deficiencies of factor VII or XI tend to cause mild disease. You may notice that your dog bruises easily or has nosebleeds. There is often prolonged bleeding after surgery or trauma and, with major surgical procedures or trauma, bleeding may be severe. Deficiencies of factor I, II or X are rare; however they cause severe bleeding problems. Factor X deficiency causes stillbirths or "fading puppies" that only live for a few weeks.

Disease Cause: -

Disease Diagnose: A deficiency of factor XII usually causes few problems and is only discovered incidentally if coagulation testing is done. Deficiencies of factor VII or XI may only be discovered when surgery is performed or if your dog is in an accident. In both these cases there will likely be increased bleeding which can be slow in onset and difficult to control, and your veterinarian will suspect a coagulation disorder. Special screening tests are required to diagnose the specific clotting factors involved. For the veterinarian:SCREENING TESTS: The mucosal bleeding time is normal for all factordeficient patients, although there may be rebleeding. Coagulationscreening tests (citrate sample) will localize the defect further to theextrinsic, intrinsic, or common pathway. Definitive diagnosis requiresan assay for specific factors. Specific factor assays can also be usedto screen for carriers (heterozygotes), who have a reduced amount ofnormal factor activity. (Consult your diagnostic laboratory for specificinformation about sample collection and submission.) CLINICAL: With factor XI deficiency in particular,onset of bleeding after surgery or trauma may be delayed up to 48hours, and hemorrhage may be severe.

Treat Method: A dog with a factor XI deficiency may require one or more blood transfusions if there is severe bleeding after surgery or an accident.For the veterinarian: If there is a severe bleeding episode, administer fresh or fresh-frozen plasma. Transfused factors have a relatively short half-life, so plasma may need to be transfused every 8 to 12 hours until the bleeding stops. Fresh whole blood may be used but it must be carefully cross-matched to prevent future transfusion reactions. If a dog has been diagnosed with a factor XI deficiency, fresh or fresh-frozen plasma should be administered before any major surgery.

Breeder Advice: Affected dogs should not be used for breeding, andparents and siblings should be carefully screened for these traits. Itis possible to detect carriers, based on the levels of factor activity.Many cocker spaniel breeders for example, have had their breeding dogstested for factor X deficiency, reducing the frequency of this harmfulgene in the cocker spaniel population.

Disease Description Source: Link