Is Bloodwork a Good Idea When They are Healthy?

[M.L.]

Hi everyone! Does anyone here get bloodwork done on their dogs every so often? I made my annual exam appointments for my dogs, and I've read that it is a good idea to have bloodwork done to see if anything looks off, as well as to have something considered to be "normal" to compare to if the dogs ever have something wrong and get bloodwork done. I have them tested for Heartworm every year, but other than that they have never had bloodwork done. Bailey is 5, Willow is probably about 4 or 5 and Ginger is 3.

 

Is it a good idea? Thanks!

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Yes, good idea. Gives you a baseline for comparison and ESPECIALLY if something is "off" you should definitely test. If you can.

[M.L.]

Thanks! Nothing is "off" at the moment, but since they are getting older it might give a heads up to something that we can't see by just looking at them. I spaced out their appointments by about a month so that it would leave me enough money to get whatever I need for each dog.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Yes, absolutely. Ever since I lost a dog to renal failure, I've been a stickler for getting bloodwork done if anything is a bit "off". And, to get the maximum benefit from this, it's best to have a baseline to work from. Most of the time I first have this done when the dog is spayed or neutered, or at the first year checkup if that's not applicable.

 

After that, if the money's there I try to do yearly bloodwork. If not, at least the years they get rabies shots (3 years for us). Maggie and Ben get bloodwork every six months as they are nearly 12 and 14.

[Liz P]

Yes! One of my dogs collapsed and almost died just 2 months after having baseline bloodwork. Having that info was important in diagnosing her.