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Originally Posted by Maximo  I have the same questions as you do. Teddy completed his 1-year vaccs and physical yesterday. I asked our vet his thoughts about bloodwork. His response was that he doesn't think it is necessary to do an annual panel of tests. He said as long as the dog is eating, eliminating, sleeping, exercising, and behaving well, and doesn't show any signs of anything being off, then he would not recommend blood tests until later in life (or pre-anesthesia for dental work).
He did recommend coming in once a year to have a general exam in which the vet listens to heart and lungs, palpates the abdomen, checks the knees, and all the rest. |
I've always heard that about bloodwork, too, which is why I was curious. I know my vet didn't say anything about bloodwork the last time we were in.
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Originally Posted by Ellie May It's all about how careful you want to be. Blood work is pretty important to check organ function, blood count, etc. You catch things before they present a big problem this way... They are extremely important after about age 5, but are a really good thing to do before.
Heartworm test yearly. Shouldn't use preventative year-round in most states.
Fecal at least yearly.
Exam to check heart, lungs, gums, abdomen, etc. Very necessary. |
Thanks! I was worried I actually may have taken him off preventatives a bit too soon, but I honestly forgot the last month. I believe the last time I gave him his heartworm pill as well as flea/tick was the first week of September. But we've definitely still had some bugs around and warmer days, however I check him nightly and have not found any ticks all summer long so I figured he was okay. I usually go from October-March on no flea/tick or heartworm meds. So would it be smart to do the heartworm test right before starting him on the meds again? Because can't giving heartworm meds to a dog who has heartworms become deadly?