Is a blood test necessary for my senior dog's arthritis meds?

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.

No, usually blood test is not required, unless there is another specific reason for it (other than Apoquel). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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.

You will need to take your dog to a veterinarian for an exam and a blood test checking kidney and liver function. This will ensure that your dog can safely take NSAIDs in order to alleviate pain and inflammation caused by osteoarthritis.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Sundari. Her BUN and Cr are mildly elevated. This can indicate early kidney disease, but there are other causes as well. Simple dehydration will make these values increase. I would recommend that she has a urinalysis performed on a first morning urine sample. This sample will be the most concentrated and give you more information regarding how the kidneys are functioning. There is also a new blood parameter known as SDMA. This is much more sensitive indicator of kidney function than BUN/Cr. I would recheck her blood work in 1-3 months to monitor the liver value (ALT) that is slightly elevated to see if this is a consistent finding. Liver enzymes can fluctuate in the blood stream so this may not be significant. I hope this information helps!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm so sorry to hear Smudge was diagnosed with kidney issues. Unfortunately, a complete blood chemistry panel that includes a urinalysis is very accurate for kidney disease. If you have concerns about Smudge's diagnosis, I would recommend you reach out to Smudge's veterinarian to discuss what the findings were, and what steps may need to be taken. Good luck.

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!