# Annual Bloodwork?



## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

How many of you get annual bloodwork done on your dogs? 
Why or why not?


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

I have it done every 2 years, for the lyme titer and heartworm, we give heartworm meds year round, so instead of being tested every year, my vet is comfortable with every 2.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Hearworm test once a year and thats it. The regular blood panel is more useful to the vets pocketbook than anything else.


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

I did have the bloodwork panel done, before their first surgeries, but have refused it since then. If something comes up, I may rethink that, but my pocketbook can stay with me!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

See, that's what I thought too, about it being more for the vet's pocketbook rather than for your dog's health. Obviously if your dog is ill and needs bloodwork, that's another story. I know a vet clinic that tries to strongly recommend annual bloodwork for all dogs regardless of age and condition but they're the biggest chop shop piece of [expletive deleted] vet clinic I've ever seen. I try to warn every person I know to keep their animals far, far away from there. Grrr!

Anyway, I've never gotten bloodwork done on my dogs because I live in NV and as much as vets here would love it if heartworm was a problem in our area, it just isn't, so I don't have to worry about it. I think I'm definitely going to titer them from now on with their vaccinations and everything though.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

My girl gets a full blood panel done every 3-6 months due to her disease, my boy I don't plan on getting yearly bloodwork until there's a reason or until he's over 6 years old whichever comes first. I do get yearly heartworm testing done and my boy will go in once a year for his physical. My girl goes in every 3-6 months and gets her bloodwork so they see her, but she does not actually see the vet so she goes in once a year also for a physical and her heartworm test as well. My boy will get vaccinations every 3 years after his 1 year booster this Friday and my girl cannot be vaccinated due to her disease.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

None of the vets here will refill your heartworm meds unless you get them tested every year so I do the heartworm test once a year. We do have a lot of mosquitos here. This year they did the combination heartworm/erlichia test and my little old lady tested positive for erlichia which was a big surprise. Since she is 11 years old, they also did the complete blood work on her before they did a major dental on her this year. I only do the blood work if they are going under anesthesia for any reason.


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

Thankfully, I haven't had more surgeries, after spneutering. But I may ask for blood work done if they needed more. Baby has to go in this year,for her Rabies *must call Vet tomorrow* but Rex has another year. At least I don't have to pay all at once!!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I work at a vet clinic. I find it very irritating that people assume that every vet has a higher priority of their pocketbook than the care of their patients. I don't know about all vets, but my boss is one of the most selfless people I have met. Whenever she can, she does bloodwork, as well as other treatments, complimentary. 

She recommends doing annual bloodwork for early detection of some disorders. If picked up early, they are easier and less expensive to treat. I see it just as important as testing for heartworm. I would think that wanting to know if your dog has a thyroid problem or Cushing's disease is just as important as knowing if your dog has heartworm. Just because your dog appears to be completely healthy, doesn't mean that she/he is. We found a serious heart condition on a 3 year old dog just the other week, by doing an annual blood panel. I don't think that my boss is a greedy vet for recommending annual bloodwork. 

If someone cannot afford $65 a *year* to do a blood panel....wow, thats pathetic. The lab cost to us on that test is $50, not to mention she has to pay for supplies for drawing and collecting blood as well as the time her and I spend doing so. Maybe my boss does things differently than most others but I still get upset when vets are looked down on and made out to be bad people who are shrugged off like they don't know anything. 

I am a pre-vet student and there is more to veterinary medicine that most people wouldn't even dream about. It is highly irritating when people assume that they know more than vets do. Nutrition is the one subject that most vets are not strong with....and that is a whole other thread.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

I agree with you Danemama, however I would like to point out that I think $65 is REALLY low. It's between $115 and $200 in my area depending on where you go, that doesn't include the office visit fee, that doesn't include the vaccinations, that doesn't include the heartworm test, so if you do bloodwork, office visit, vaccinations, and heartworm that could then easily run people around $300 and some just cannot drop that at once. I agree that if you can't afford to properly care for them don't have them, but at the same time, many will see that annual bloodwork may not always be necessary either. But I really think $65 for a full blood panel is extremely low for most parts of the country.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

danemama08 said:


> I find it very irritating that people assume that every vet has a higher priority of their pocketbook than the care of their patients.


All vets are businesspeople. They have to be or they won't stay in business very long. The #1 priority of any good businessperson is to maximize profits.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I have been a vet tech for almost 30 years (retired from it now) and I realize vets have to make a living. Yet there are a lot of people who cannot pay past a certain amount for their pet when they come in to the office because they just have a limited budget they can spend and bloodwork is not an absolute necessity. When we were first married we had to put a cat to sleep because we had $100 to our name and no credit cards then. We had just enough money to do a feleuk test and the euthanasia. It didn't mean we cared any less about the cat, we were just poor.
I just paid $78.35 here for the bloodwork on my boy prior to having him neutered. I have actually found a vet that calls me at home personally when I have a sick animal and when one passed away recently she called me at home to see how I was doing the next day. So when the time came to neuter the pup instead of paying the $100 at the rescue group where I got him, I chose to pay the full price at her clinic complete with the laser scalpel and IV fluids. Sometimes it's worth the money to have a relationship with your veterinarian. I just paid a fortune this spring at the state vet school trying to save two dogs (that I"m still paying off) so the $78 bloodwork seems like a bargain now. Honestly though, if I didn't have a gold card, I would have been the person telling the vets to stop the treatment and don't do any extra bloodwork. I'll be paying for it for a year but they are worth it to me and our circumstances allow for it. Other people don't have that luxury. 
I can't fault anyone who just does the basics on the animal unless I know their circumstances. If the animal is happy, healthy, and obviously well loved, then that is what matters most. Poor people need animals too. 
If they drive up in a Ferrari and the dog wears a Coach collar, then I will complain about lack of bloodwork!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Our adult wellness package is $65 which includes a fecal, senior wellness package is $135 which includes a T4, UA and fecal. The senior superchem package is $170 which includes a T4, free T4, UA, and fecal. I don't know if these are good deals but they seem to be because the lab costs are pretty darn high!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> All vets are businesspeople. They have to be or they won't stay in business very long. The #1 priority of any good businessperson is to maximize profits.


No. They are not *all* that way. Do not assume that every one of them is. I intern at a non-profit hospital, and trust me, those doctors are not there to make money.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

chowder said:


> I have been a vet tech for almost 30 years (retired from it now) and I realize vets have to make a living. Yet there are a lot of people who cannot pay past a certain amount for their pet when they come in to the office because they just have a limited budget they can spend and bloodwork is not an absolute necessity. When we were first married we had to put a cat to sleep because we had $100 to our name and no credit cards then. We had just enough money to do a feleuk test and the euthanasia. It didn't mean we cared any less about the cat, we were just poor.
> I just paid $78.35 here for the bloodwork on my boy prior to having him neutered. I have actually found a vet that calls me at home personally when I have a sick animal and when one passed away recently she called me at home to see how I was doing the next day. So when the time came to neuter the pup instead of paying the $100 at the rescue group where I got him, I chose to pay the full price at her clinic complete with the laser scalpel and IV fluids. Sometimes it's worth the money to have a relationship with your veterinarian. I just paid a fortune this spring at the state vet school trying to save two dogs (that I"m still paying off) so the $78 bloodwork seems like a bargain now. Honestly though, if I didn't have a gold card, I would have been the person telling the vets to stop the treatment and don't do any extra bloodwork. I'll be paying for it for a year but they are worth it to me and our circumstances allow for it. Other people don't have that luxury.
> I can't fault anyone who just does the basics on the animal unless I know their circumstances. If the animal is happy, healthy, and obviously well loved, then that is what matters most. Poor people need animals too.
> If they drive up in a Ferrari and the dog wears a Coach collar, then I will complain about lack of bloodwork!


I am not saying in the slightest that poor people should not own an animal! Im a starving college student and I would have to say that all my extra money goes to my dogs and cats lol! And I can see spending a little extra once a year to have bloodwork done.

My mom is one that will not spend more than $100 on a cat, and she is not poor, its just the way she is lol! 

My point in this thread is that it seems to me that some do not truely understand why annual bloodwork is important, not necessarily a necessity. My boss, and probably a few other vets out there, really do care about the health of their patients. I see every day how much she cares, as well as me.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

chowder said:


> Sometimes it's worth the money to have a relationship with your veterinarian.


My vet doesn't know me or my animals very well. He only sees them once a year for a heartworm test. How could he possibly know us? He did neuter one of my dogs.



> Poor people need animals too.


That could be but pets don't need poor owners. It puts their life more at risk.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> My vet doesn't know me or my animals very well. He only sees them once a year for a heartworm test. How could he possibly know us? He did neuter one of my dogs.


This is probably because you do not give him a chance to know you or your animals. If you think that he is a greedy guy than maybe try finding a vet that you like?! There are good ones out there


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

danemama08 said:


> This is probably because you do not give him a chance to know you or your animals. If you think that he is a greedy guy than maybe try finding a vet that you like?! There are good ones out there


Or it could just be that his pets are healthy and he rarely has to take them to the vet (lucky him if that's the case wish it were me LoL). My first dog was like that he went in for his yearly physical and that was it...until one day he started having seizures and it was the beginning of the end, but for 6 years I didn't really know the vet either since we were only there once a year.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

My vet knows me because I went thru 2 days of trying to save a dog from bloat with her. Then having an 11 year old with severe dental disease, then getting a new puppy after the dog with bloat didn't survive. She also allows a full half hour appointment for each visit and talks to you about your pet and gets to know them so they won't be scared of her. I don't imagine we'll be seeing her again for a long time, now that Rocky is neutered and done with his visits, but it is nice knowing that he has a history there in an emergency. And her office visit price is the same as other vets in the area so it isn't more expensive for the half hour. 
I figure a puppy is better off happy and healthy in the home of a poor person then dead in the gas champer at our "Humane" society here. If they only truly need rabies vaccines , healthy food, and heartworm meds, then a poor family can give them what they need. If a major illness comes along, at least the animal had a good, happy life with a loving family for a short while. I'm assuming he lives inside and gets all the regular attention that we all give our pets. I'm not talking about a dog tied outside and left alone all day next to a trailer in a junk yard with a rusty bucket of water and an old bone!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

BoxerMommie said:


> Or it could just be that his pets are healthy and he rarely has to take them to the vet (lucky him if that's the case wish it were me LoL). My first dog was like that he went in for his yearly physical and that was it...until one day he started having seizures and it was the beginning of the end, but for 6 years I didn't really know the vet either since we were only there once a year.


IMO, I think the whole idea is to not let the vet get to know you or your animals lol, which is sad.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

danemama08 said:


> IMO, I think the whole idea is to not let the vet get to know you or your animals lol, which is sad.


I agree except I don't think it's sad for the vet not to know you. I think its great for the vet not to have a reason to know you. It's sad when he knows you by first name and knows your spouse and all your children as well as your pets. :smile: :smile: :smile:


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> I agree except I don't think it's sad for the vet not to know you. I think its great for the vet not to have a reason to know you. It's sad when he knows you by first name and knows your spouse and all your children as well as your pets. :smile: :smile: :smile:



This would be us. After going through a dog with brain cancer, a cat with liver disease and later liver failure, a dog with Valley Fever, hypothyroidism, and a degenerative knee condition, I would have to say that the reasoning behind my vet knowing me by name (and the staff), as well as my son, as well as my husband, as well as my other dog, in our case IS sad because it's due to the fact that we're always in there, MIMIMUM every 3-4 months but we have to call to get medication refills periodically in between there, etc and that's if nothing comes up between those times. Wish we could go back to the days when I had trouble remembering the vet's name rather than knowing the clinic's phone number as well as I know my own home phone number (and I wish that were a joke!).


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Its important for a vet to know history on their patients, in case of an emergency, even on a healthy animal. If your vet knows that your dog's temp always runs a bit on the high end or if your dog has a heart murmur or if your cat has issues being around other cats, etc, then they are better prepared in case of an emergency. So, IMO it is sad for a vet not to know your pets, even when they are perfectly healthy and only go in for an annual heartworm test! Its a bad sign if your vet cannot remember you from only one visit a year.

I sure hope that everyone's animals do not have to go to the vet all the time for health issues, I know I have had my share of health issues with pets :frown:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> I agree except I don't think it's sad for the vet not to know you. I think its great for the vet not to have a reason to know you. It's sad when he knows you by first name and knows your spouse and all your children as well as your pets. :smile: :smile: :smile:


There is nothing wrong with having a great relationship, heck friendship, with your vet :biggrin:


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I think what RFD is trying to say is that he's grateful his dogs are healthy enough that he hasn't had time to get to know his vet well since he doesn't spend every waking hour in the vet clinic with another health problem. I'm having a huge debate with myself lately about which vet I'd rather run with. I have one that is lower cost, extremely personable and caring, but he's getting old and may retire soon. The other clinic is more pricey, but they're very nice, they're one of the two or three vets in Reno who don't believe the raw food diet will murder my animals on site, but I've never taken my dogs there, I just shadowed the vets there for a few hours. The other vet in Reno who is okay with raw is a super expensive holistic only vet (not a fan of traditional methods of medicine) and the third one I'm just guessing is out there because I haven't actually heard of them, I'm just hoping.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

rannmiller said:


> I think what RFD is trying to say is that he's grateful his dogs are healthy enough that he hasn't had time to get to know his vet well since he doesn't spend every waking hour in the vet clinic with another health problem. I'm having a huge debate with myself lately about which vet I'd rather run with. I have one that is lower cost, extremely personable and caring, but he's getting old and may retire soon. The other clinic is more pricey, but they're very nice, they're one of the two or three vets in Reno who don't believe the raw food diet will murder my animals on site, but I've never taken my dogs there, I just shadowed the vets there for a few hours. The other vet in Reno who is okay with raw is a super expensive holistic only vet (not a fan of traditional methods of medicine) and the third one I'm just guessing is out there because I haven't actually heard of them, I'm just hoping.


I would personally pick the vet that you feel most comfortable and trusting with, especially one that will not hound you for your personal opinions of canine/feline diet! Usually going with your intuition is best :wink: But it sounds to me that you have a good start on what you have found already.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

There are always things to work out with a new vet. I've actually only been going to my new vet for 4 months. I went to my old vet for almost 20 years but he retired and turned his clinic over to some new young vets and I never got to see him anymore. I didn't like their way of doing things (routine yearly full vaccines including lepto, barely looking at my dogs for 5 minutes, etc) so I shopped around for a new vet. There are things I don't agree with at the new vet like the use of Frontline and routine worming but her and her partner are very open to my ideas. Her partner is studying acupuncture and holistic methods just to learn them and they are willing to listen to me so that is the most important thing in my book. Anything they have a question on they call whatever expert they need to and research it and then call me back later that week. I can't ask for more then that.


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

As I said earlier in this thread, my vet and I see each other every 2 years. They still know me by name, every six months I go and by heartworm meds. If there is a problem, I call and they fit me in. It all has to do with what and how you treat your dogs and or cats. My dog Baby was just found with a lyme tick that had swollen up under her collar. So, yes, I called and they did the blood work for that. It took 2 days to find out that she is healthy and happy, they also told me that she should be retested in 6 months. I am going to do it too,
If we hadn't found this, then she would not have had a blood work done until next year. I am not rich, (wish I was) but am willing to spend the money on my 8 year old girl to make sure she is comfortable.
We recently changed to raw, and I so far, think that it is cheaper than the expensive kibble I was buying, and that came from our feed and grain.


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