# Blood Work - What Age?



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Took Mollie to the vet yesterday for her yearly check up. He was very pleased with her condition, no problems whatsoever, so that was nice. 
I did ask him though, if he thought it was a good idea to start doing some bloodwork so we could catch any disease or problems before they start showing symptoms. 
He told me that he doesn't really think it is necessary to do that until the dog hits 7 (Mol is 4). She hasn't been showing any symptoms or problems at all, but I wondered what you guys thought, do you reckon 7 is a good age, or do you think it should be started earlier than that?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I would do it now to get a good healthy baseline. I do annual bloodwork after the age of 2 which is adulthood.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

when my dog goes in for his yearly check up they always do blood work
along with a urine and stool exam. they swab his mouth and ears. when my dog came home at 9 weeks old and i took him to the Vet the did the previous
mentioned.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

MollyWoppy said:


> He told me that he doesn't really think it is necessary to do that until the dog hits 7 (Mol is 4). She hasn't been showing any symptoms or problems at all, but I wondered what you guys thought, do you reckon 7 is a good age, or do you think it should be started earlier than that?


I agree with your vet. Depending on the breed, I don't know if I would start that soon.


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## Tekoah (Jan 24, 2011)

I would say that if YOU'RE the one paying for it, why not?

You never know what underlying conditions your dog could potentially have, and neither does your vet, so having a blood panel done would give you a clear idea if something doesn't seem right. Besides, one vets protocol could differ completely from another vets; my clinic does Geriatric panels on dogs no younger than 6, and would suggest running a pre-anesthetic panel on a 6 month old cat prior to a spay. 

Doing blood work for your own peace of mind is definitely worth it. I believe it's your call, not your vets, in this case :smile:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

my pug is three and a half. we had a senior panel drawn on him the other day.

i believe in blood work....for the present to see if something is going on now.....and for the future for comparison..


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## _Trish (Jan 31, 2011)

I think it's a good idea to have it done now. Sometimes there are underlying issues going on that won't present themselves into much later, when it may be too late to do something. Say your dog has elevated ALT levels, but is acting completely normal -- if you do a liver cleansing diet and put them on supplements like milk thistle and sam E, then you could very well nip the problem in the butt now, and take care of it before it becomes a serious issue.


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