General Workup/tests For 8 Year Old?

[PrairieProf]

Beth will turn 8 this month, and seems to be in fine health -- outside of some seemingly non-painful arthritis in her remaining main toe on the foot where a toe was amputated and a tendency toward a range of so-far-benign skin bumps and little cysts, she shows no signs of ill-health or serious aging. Good eating and stable weight, good energy, no hind-end issues, hasn't needed a dental since the one before her adoption at age 2.5. My vet also sees her often and thinks she looks great. But it seems like I know an awful lot of hounds (in my greyhound circle, not just online) who have died around this age. And yesterday a friend's hound, a few months younger than Beth (and sharing similar bloodlines), had to go to the Bridge for a large tumor on his spleen that ruptured -- he wasn't even sick until yesterday and seemed perfectly healthy.

 

All this has me thinking, besides general bloodwork, are there any tests that one might reasonably do on a healthy dog that might spot any problems early? I do know that xrays on all four legs looking for hidden osteo is totally nuts. But I was reading around and it seems like ultrasound would reveal an enlarged spleen early enough when a dog might be saved. Is there anything like that I should think of doing (or doing if I could afford it)? It is just so awful thinking that a seemingly healthy dog could be gone in a flash from something you might have treated if you'd known about it early enough.

 

 

[tbhounds]

You could start with chest and abdomen radiographs. It's a good idea to have baseline images done.

[Batmom]

I don't do screening radiographs but I try to do the following every year or 18 months:

 

- Comprehensive bloodwork (CBC complete blood count with hand-count on the platelets; chemistry panel)

- Fecal

- Urinalysis

- Thorough physical exam -- check range of motion, eyes, ears, in mouth, listen and feel all over

 

If there are any chronic conditions, I might do some of those things more often.

 

That said, sometimes all the care and checking in the world doesn't buy you squat.

[KF_in_Georgia]

My Jacey went from healthy at a well-dog visit on a Tuesday to dying by that Friday. Her platelet count dropped from 200,000 on Tuesday to about 18,000 on Friday morning. And spleen and everything else were fine when they ultrasounded her at the hospital. They never found a cause for her problem.

 

And a friend, whose dog had his spleen removed a couple of years ago, came home about 10:30 at night to an apparently healthy boy. But when he came back in later after a trip outside, he was stumbling, his gums were white, and he died in my friend's arms just after midnight, before she could get him to the ER. He was 5 years old. Apparently, whatever caused the hemorrhaging that cost him his spleen a couple of years ago reared up without warning and took her lovely boy.

 

My guys get the same thing Batmom's dogs get. They get it every year, and I usually schedule any surgery (a spay for Silver, or a dental for whoever needs it) to take place a week or so after all the lab work so the regular lab work can serve as pre-surgical lab work.

 

So--I'd say keep up with the routine office visits and routine lab work. Beyond that, know when your dog is "off"--know what her gums look like when everything is well, know how she moves when she's not feeling well. I've lost two girls who were 8 years old--and in both cases, they saw their vet for well-dog visits just days before their deaths. (I got to the point where any dog who had a well-dog visits was virtually swaddled in cotton for days afterward so we could break that pattern.)

[tbhounds]

I don't do screening radiographs but I try to do the following every year or 18 months:

 

- Comprehensive bloodwork (CBC complete blood count with hand-count on the platelets; chemistry panel)

- Fecal

- Urinalysis

- Thorough physical exam -- check range of motion, eyes, ears, in mouth, listen and feel all over

 

If there are any chronic conditions, I might do some of those things more often.

 

That said, sometimes all the care and checking in the world doesn't buy you squat.

Can't begin to tell you how many incidental findings we stumble upon--usually splenic masses during routine rads. I do agree though that things can change quickly--even after extensive work ups things can go south pretty quickly.

[Batmom]

Although I don't do the screening x-rays, I DO tend to x-ray and/or ultrasound if there is any question about things. For example, if there is a urinary problem or kidney numbers are up, we ultrasound the kidney/urinary system. If there's digestive distress that doesn't resolve quickly, or tender abdomen, we do an abdominal x-ray. At my vet, you usually don't have to schedule those things -- they can be done on the spot when needed and are not too costly to contemplate.