During semi-annual wellness exams: This is recommended if your veterinarian suggests it as part of a thorough physical examination because dog blood work, along with other bodily fluids like urine, can help identify conditions that the examination portion of a physical cannot.On the first veterinary visit: We recommend puppies have blood tests to rule out congenital diseases, for baseline information, and for pre-anesthetic testing prior to spaying or neutering.The following situations can result in dog blood work being ordered: When Will A Veterinarian Recommend Dog Blood Tests? So, when understood in this way, canine blood tests are very valuable tools in a veterinarian's toolkit that help to detect, identify, diagnose, and even treat illness or disease. For example, blood tests for dogs can detect abnormal hormonal-chemical responses to environmental and internal stimuli, which alerts a veterinarian to a potential issue with the dog's endocrine system. Lab work for dogs can also detect and help to identify complex problems with body systems. For example, if dog blood tests show a deficiency in albumin levels, then a veterinarian knows to examine the dog's liver because albumin is produced in the liver This provides information about your dog's immune system (white blood cells) and oxygen carrying capacity (red blood cell count).Īdditionally, blood tests for dogs can also identify:īecause chemicals found in the bloodstream can also correlate with specific organs, lab work for dogs can help determine more than just blood count. This includes analyzing the shape and condition of the cells for health and functionality. This includes a CBC (complete blood count) and blood chemistries, which analyze chemical components in the blood.Ī CBC for dogs identifies and quantifies white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets in a given amount of blood. Blood or lab tests allow us to obtain information about your dog's health that can only be found from collecting a sample of blood and having it analyzed.

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