How often should dogs get blood tests and comprehensive health checks?

If he is generally well then bloodwork every couple of years to record a normal level for him and to identify any changes is sufficient. From age 6-7years on then yearly testing can be helpful for early intervention

Screening wellness blood work can be helpful to establish a baseline or catch problems early. I often recommend a mini panel to establish a baseline around 5 years of age, and then yearly screening blood work starting at 7-8 years of age. I think a blood panel would be very helpful for Brownie.

Blood testing on any 9 year old dog is a good idea. It will always tell you something even if everything is normal. This will at least give you a baseline to know what normal is for him if he ever does get truly sick. As for the blood in the stool (hematochezia) there are many things that can cause this issue. The presence of hematochezia may be a symptom of either a minor problem, or a potentially more serious problem. One occurrence of hematochezia may be a minor and transient event. Repeated or persistent hematochezia is more serious and should not be ignored. There are several possible causes. The most common cause in older pets is cancer and in younger pets are parasites. General causes include: * Infectious agents, such as bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and intestinal parasites * Dietary intolerance/allergy/indiscretion * Cancer (neoplasia) of the lower bowel * Polyps (benign masses) in the colon or rectum * Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as colitis *Trauma to the lower bowel or anal area *Clotting disorders (coagulopathy) Diagnostic testing that is often performed as a first round for this issue: * Digital rectal examination (vet using their finger) * Complete blood count (CBC) - (blood testing) * Biochemical profile - (blood testing) * Fecal examination If all that is normal then we usually proceed to: *Coagulation profile (blood testing) * Abdominal X-rays (radiographs) * Abdominal ultrasound * Colonoscopy So, as you can see this can be a pretty complex issue. I would recommend talking to your vet about this more in-depth and consider starting with the first round testing and then go from there based on the results. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Bloodwork is typically done around 6 months of age before anesthesia for a spay or neuter. There is no set time that it should be done. Typically, if a dog is ill or requires sedation/anesthesia, then bloodwork is done to diagnose or to make sure the pet can undergo anesthesia. Some owners choose to have bloodwork done yearly as part of the physical exam. If Bruno has never had bloodwork, you can have your vet do it if only to obtain a healthy/normal baseline for comparison in case Bruno ever gets sick.

Actually this is true in the case of kidneys. It take up to 75% of the nephrons to fail in kidneys before symptoms are seen of kidney disease. It's always good to have blood work done on any dog, even healthy ones. Because our dogs cannot tell us if they are feeling sick or not, these tests are needed to make sure everything is healthy. In addition, many dogs will show no sign of illness until they are extremely sick. You can't know for sure if your dog is healthy without these tests, so if your vet is recommending doing the blood work, I suggest going along with your vet's recommendation.

An exam and bloodwork should be done at least once a year. After a cat turns 8, ideally bloodwork should be done every 6 months. If twice a year is not feasible, then yearly is fine as long as the cat is behaving normally.

Great question! Yes, I would recommend having the blood test done on Blazer. Even though you are aware of the side effects, there could still be effects on her organs from the medication that are not seen symptomatically. It's very important to have her organ function checked to make sure there hasn't been any damage done to her organs from the medication.