Simple Spay Request

[ypstimo]

Howdy,

Our Yorkie princess is almost six months old. We never doubted getting her spayed. Our vet required a acid bile profile test. He went on and on about liver shunts in small dogs. He went on and on again about her results. The pooch, Monique is AKC bred from a breeder with a fifty year line of healthy dogs. Monique shows no symptoms of anything. I suspect the vet of padding his take. Any thoughts!

[gemy]

Originally Posted by ypstimo

Howdy,

Our Yorkie princess is almost six months old. We never doubted getting her spayed. Our vet required a acid bile profile test. He went on and on about liver shunts in small dogs. He went on and on again about her results. The pooch, Monique is AKC bred from a breeder with a fifty year line of healthy dogs. Monique shows no symptoms of anything. I suspect the vet of padding his take. Any thoughts!

Definitely should be done in my opinion. THe rate of LS in Yorkshire Terriers is quite high. THe blood draw the last time I did it was about $60 or so. A small amount to pay to insure a healthy surgery. Now what exactly were her results?

[yorkietalkjilly]

I think your vet knows about Yorkies and was acting in her absolute best interest. So many Yorkies have liver shunt/MVD these days, it could save their lives if more vets did pre-op BAT's. I have a dog diagnosed with MVD who had completely normal liver studies and all blood work WNL year after year but a fasting BAT at age 6 years showed he, indeed, had liver dysfunction. Subsequent tests and exams and he was properly diagnosed and successfully treated with a hepatic diet and his vets now know about his bad liver - and would never have w/out the BAT.

[ypstimo]

Thank you!

[Lovetodream88]

A full blood panel should be done before any surgery.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

A full blood panel should be done before any surgery.

Which normally doesn't include a BAT, does it? Aren't those separate from the routine liver studies on the routine full blood panel? My vet doesn't do BAT's routinely.

[ypstimo]

I don't trust the vet. We switched. He knew that we have pet insurance and created a few extra bills.

[lisaly]

BATs are not done as part of a normal CBC. It is a separate test.

[Rhetts_mama]

Originally Posted by ypstimo

I don't trust the vet. We switched. He knew that we have pet insurance and created a few extra bills.

Whether you trust your vet or not (which is something only you can decide) is entirely separate from the issue of BATs. Bile acid tests are recommended for all yorkies because of the prevalence of liver shunts. Not all cases are a result of problems in a line; it can show up spontaneously in an individual pup. If they aren't done initially at about 4 months, then they should be done prior to a spay/neuter. The safety of anesthesia can be affected by liver problems.

The tests are prudent and I would be wary of a vet who didn't recommend having them done. Going cheap with the health tests is, IMO, penny wise and pound foolish.

[KeeganRiley]

I had to specifically request bloodwork and an IV for my little one when we had her spay surgery. It cost extra and may have made me seem overprotective, but I don't regret the peace of mind in taking extra precautions. YMMV

[gemy]

Originally Posted by Rhetts_mama

Whether you trust your vet or not (which is something only you can decide) is entirely separate from the issue of BATs. Bile acid tests are recommended for all yorkies because of the prevalence of liver shunts. Not all cases are a result of problems in a line; it can show up spontaneously in an individual pup. If they aren't done initially at about 4 months, then they should be done prior to a spay/neuter. The safety of anesthesia can be affected by liver problems.

The tests are prudent and I would be wary of a vet who didn't recommend having them done. Going cheap with the health tests is, IMO, penny wise and pound foolish.

And we have yet to hear the results of the BATS. THis is of concern to me, if the values were very high, that is of concern.

My experience is that only a very few knowledgeable imo, vets ask for bats to be done. I did so ask for Razzle, and my vet said well we did a full blood panel and no anomalies were noted. I said not good enough for Liver testing, nor for Thyroid. He needs both expanded panels done.

So we did those. And his Thyroid expanded came back low Normal. The vet was surprised. I said we repeat in 4 months. And then everything on thyroid came back nicely normal.

Of course this is a breeding dog, and it is part of the health tests I do.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by gemy

Definitely should be done in my opinion. THe rate of LS in Yorkshire Terriers is quite high. THe blood draw the last time I did it was about $60 or so. A small amount to pay to insure a healthy surgery. Now what exactly were her results?

Originally Posted by Rhetts_mama

Whether you trust your vet or not (which is something only you can decide) is entirely separate from the issue of BATs. Bile acid tests are recommended for all yorkies because of the prevalence of liver shunts. Not all cases are a result of problems in a line; it can show up spontaneously in an individual pup. If they aren't done initially at about 4 months, then they should be done prior to a spay/neuter. The safety of anesthesia can be affected by liver problems.

The tests are prudent and I would be wary of a vet who didn't recommend having them done. Going cheap with the health tests is, IMO, penny wise and pound foolish.

Originally Posted by gemy

And we have yet to hear the results of the BATS. THis is of concern to me, if the values were very high, that is of concern.

My experience is that only a very few knowledgeable imo, vets ask for bats to be done. I did so ask for Razzle, and my vet said well we did a full blood panel and no anomalies were noted. I said not good enough for Liver testing, nor for Thyroid. He needs both expanded panels done.

So we did those. And his Thyroid expanded came back low Normal. The vet was surprised. I said we repeat in 4 months. And then everything on thyroid came back nicely normal.

Of course this is a breeding dog, and it is part of the health tests I do.

I am impressed that the vet wanted to do the BATs. Definitely not a sign of padding the bill. I am far more upset by vets who are cutting corners because they think clients want whatever is cheapest. I want whatever the best surgery protocols are for my pets.

Doesn't matter how well bred your pup is. Even the best bred dogs in the world can be imperfect. That is nature.

If your pup's BATs indicated there might be a problem, I would consult a specialist and hold off on spaying.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by ypstimo

Howdy,

Our Yorkie princess is almost six months old. We never doubted getting her spayed. Our vet required a acid bile profile test. He went on and on about liver shunts in small dogs. He went on and on again about her results. The pooch, Monique is AKC bred from a breeder with a fifty year line of healthy dogs. Monique shows no symptoms of anything. I suspect the vet of padding his take. Any thoughts!

Originally Posted by ypstimo

I don't trust the vet. We switched. He knew that we have pet insurance and created a few extra bills.

Liver Shunts in Dogs

This is a really good explanation of anesthesia and the reason to Bile Acid test your puppy. The liver breaks down anesthesia during and after surgery so it is very important to determine if the organ is healthy prior to surgery. To be perfectly blunt, if she is put under and cannot rid her body of the drugs because her liver is not properly functioning there a very real possibility that she could die. I am always on the bandwagon that surgery is very safe for our dogs and the benefits out weighs the risk of things like spaying, neuters and dentals. But certain tests should be done as a baseline especially for a puppy to ensure they are healthy. When you bypass a $60 blood test because you feel the vet's padding the bill, there's no turning back. Either she will or will not be able to metabolize the drug. There's a reason beside your assumption of bill padding that the first vet placed so much emphasis on this test.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by KeeganRiley

I had to specifically request bloodwork and an IV for my little one when we had her spay surgery. It cost extra and may have made me seem overprotective, but I don't regret the peace of mind in taking extra precautions. YMMV

An IV should always be used as it is a quick way to administer drugs in addition to hydration.

[107barney]

I'm confused. Did the dog have blood tests before the vet said you should do a bile acids test?