Incomplete dog blood test results: Is this normal vet practice?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The blood results show that Finn definitely has some problems with the liver. Some of the liver enzymes and bilirubin are mildly elevated, which is never normal. What is more, ALP and GGT results could not be determined. It means that there was a machine fault when measuring these parameters, or these values were too high for the machine to read. I would suggest to run bile acid stimulation test, ultrasound scan of the liver and repeat the blood test that was run at your vets on the 7/15/20. You may consider running ACTH stimulation test to check for Cushing's disease, but it is unlikely that Finn has this problem. Based on these results, it can be decided what to do next.

Most of the parameters that are reading outside the normal range on this lab work are not likely to be significant and I can list what is abnormal and tell you what that could mean: 1. Slightly elevated leukocytes (white blood cells): while this can be a sign of infection or inflammation a slight elevation is more commonly seen with mild stress and may not be significant 2. Mild elevation in PCV (packed cell volume or red blood cells): this can be seen with dehydration or in very rare cases bone marrow disease; it is also common for some dogs to run slightly high for no significant reason 3. Elevated MCHC (mean cell hemoglobin concentration) only significant if the red blood cell level is low 4. Elevated ALP (alkaline phosphatase, a liver enzyme): can increase with liver or gallbladder disease, increases in cortisol, or bone lesions, but more commonly will be non-specific finding 5. Mildly elevated total bilirubin: can increase with gallbladder disease or anemia, but more likely to be a non-specific finding and potentially due to changes with the blood sample itself 6. Low BUN (blood urea nitrogen): can decrease with severe liver failure but there are not changes consistent with liver failure on blood work so it is a non-specific change With all laboratory values there is a general range that is considered 'normal' but there is always a certain percentage of dogs that will be normal and still fall outside this range. I would of course defer to your veterinarian's interpretation of the lab work since they know Bruno's history and physical exam findings which might change the interpretation.

That doesn't sound right to me either. I'm wondering if you heard that reported back from the breeder as "the vet said," and you didn't hear that directly from the vet themselves. It truly isn't a lot of blood to draw to check the organ functions, and I would honestly be suspicious about that answer. I would recommend asking the breeder for the name of the vet so you can speak to them yourselves. If the breeder refuses to give you the vet's name or permission to speak to the vet, then you know there is something dodgy going on there and I would not buy this puppy from the breeder.

Blood results always have to be interpreted with the results of a hands-on exam and medical history in mind. Numbers alone cannot give a diagnosis. Your veterinarian should have explained those results to you as he also did a clinical exam and knows why you went to the vet with your dog. That said I can give you a general idea: The lab was looking for blod parasites, but did not find any. This can mean that your dog is blood parasite free or just that in the sample they had, there were no parasites visible. This is not proof that your dog is parasite free, it just means they did not find any. The PCV is high, that means your dog is likely somewhat dehydrated. He also has too many neutrophils and too few lymphocytes which is most often a sign of infection. Your veterinarian should explain to you what he suspects your dog is suffering from. The blood parameters alone are just a small part of diagnosis and in your dog's case not very specific.

Unfortunately, bloodwork will only tell us part of what is going on internally. Sometimes figuring out what is wrong can require additional testing such as urine samples, x-rays or ultrasounds. You didn't mention Luna's age, but have her listed as unspayed. Depending on when her last heat cycle was, you may want to discus with your veterinarian if she could have been bred or is having a uterine infection. Not eating or drinking is a serious medical problem, so I would strongly recommend contacting your veterinarian for their recommendation on the next diagnostic or treatment steps you can take with Luna to figure out what is going on and how to make her feel better. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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!

I can see the results, but I'm unable to see the reference ranges for each value which can vary based on the machine so it's a little difficult to say for certain what these changes could mean. It looks to me like the monocytes and lymphocytes (specific types of white blood cells) are a little low - this could be a stress response which is very normal for a dog having it's blood drawn in the hospital. Some dogs simply lie on the lower end of the reference range as well. I can't think of any disease where low lymphocytes and monocytes in the absence of other changes would be significant, and this would not raise a flag for possible cancer in my mind. Red cell distribution width (RDW) gives an idea of the average size of a red blood cell and mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCH) tells how much hemoglobin is present in each cell - these parameters are really only significant when there is also anemia or low hematocrit. If you have other concerns you should definitely follow up with your vet - it's always easiest for the doctor who has examined the animal and is familiar with the case to interpret lab results!