Blood & Urine Tests Are Essential in Older Pets

If you communicate telepathically with your pet, then you don't need blood and urine tests. But, if you can't ask your pet how it's liver, kidneys, heart and other organs are doing, get annual blood and urine tests. This is especially important as your pet ages.

A study done at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham in England, showed that 80% of dogs had an unrecognized health problems that could be identified with blood &  tests. On average, each of these dogs had 7-8 significant laboratory findings—not just one simple problem.

These were ordinary geriatric dogs whose families hadn’t recognized specific health problems. Still, families noted that  about 1/3 of the dogs were sleeping more and 1/3 of the dogs didn’t hear well. Between 20-25% of the families noted increased vision problems, dental problems, stiffness & pain.  By having the pets tested, families were able to address medical causes of the dogs’ illness.

If you’d like to read the research, look for Geriatric screening in first opinion practice - results from 45 dogs published by the British Small Animal Vet Assoc in the Journal of Small Animal Practice Sept 2012.