How often should a healthy 4-year-old dog get routine blood work?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Max. I do recommend blood work and urine testing on a regular basis. I typically start testing to obtain baseline values around 2 to 3 years of age. It is good to test every year or every other year while the pet is young. Then I start annual testing or every 6 months when the pet is a senior. This age can vary a bit between pets, but typically start around 7-8 years of age. I recommend fecal testing every year as intestinal parasites can be spread to people. I hope this information helps!

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.

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.

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.

You can get general blood work done at his next wellness visit - it's a good idea to do this yearly if possible, to get a good normal baseline established and help spot any problems early on. If his liver is normal, there is likely no benefit to giving milk thistle - but it won't hurt anything if you do decide to give it.

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.

A good, balanced diet, keeping Oscar at a healthy weight, and routine checkups with your vet (every 6-12 months for a senior pet) are a great way to keep him healthy. Your vet may also recommend a baseline of tests such as bloodwork so that you know what "normal" is in case he gets ill and his values change. Your vet can also recommend any supplements or medications as needed to help treat any underlying conditions.