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Originally Posted by 107barney  All of my dogs have annual blood work done at their wellness visits. Some vets do this routinely for every dog but others do it only with older dogs. I like my Heartworm tests to be performed by outside labs not by in-house snap tests. Since the vet has to poke my dog for blood to do a heartworm test, I just have them do a regular chemistry with blood counts and also a urinalysis is performed. I don't like surprises and if my dog has fatty blood or elevations in liver enzymes, or is harboring a subclinical urinary tract/bladder infection, or the many other things that a yorkie can show up with, I want to know about it sooner rather than later. I have seen my dogs' blood work change dramatically from things like diet change -- things I would not have known if I was not doing blood work.
The wellness visit therefore in my view should include a full exam by a veterinarian who is thorough and also should include annual heartworm testing and routine blood work. My idea of prevention is that a stitch in time saves nine. |
I see. Thank you for the information. I think this is a very good idea. Ivan and Iris just had an exam with a new vet this week (we just moved so it was mostly for us to check out the new vet) and he did not suggest this. They aren't due for their yearly heartworm test for a few more months so I will ask about doing blood work then and also a urinalysis. We did just have a titer test for their vaccines done so I wonder if the blood work could have been done then. I hate to have them stick my babies more than necessary.