Keeping Track of Your Senior Dog’s Health
To keep on top of your dog’s health at any age it is important that they have regular annual checkups by your veterinarian, but as your dog gets to be a senior, many vets recommend bi-annual visits in order to catch and possibly treat any health concerns.
Chihuahuas are considered to be seniors beginning at age 10-12. As you know, I have a senior who is now 15 and will be 16 in March 2019. Chihuahuas can live as long as 16-18.
Screening Tests Recommended For Senior Dogs
Detecting disease at an early stage is in most cases the key to a successful treatment, so your veterinarian may recommend these screening tests for your senior dog.
- Complete Blood Count (CBC)
- Blood Chemistry
- Thyroxine Screen (TR)
- Thoracic X-rays
- Urinalysis
Why a CBC Is Important for Your Senior Dog’s Health
A CBC is a blood analysis that can tell your vet many things. It won’t give him a definitive diagnosis of any certain disease, but it can be an indicator of an underlying disease or infection.
For instance, a change in the white blood cells may indicate an infection (perhaps dental disease?) or inflammation such as an allergy, or even certain cancers.
Why Blood Chemistry Test is Important for Your Senior Dog’s Health?
A blood chemistry test evaluates how a body’s organs are functioning. For instance, most often it is run to measure liver enzymes, kidney function, blood proteins, and blood sugar. It may sometimes include pancreatic function, electrolytes, and gallbladder function.
What is a Thyroxine or T4 Screen?
Why is this important for your senior dog’s health? Your dog’s thyroid gland secretes several hormones that are at least partly responsible for regulating several body functions, including metabolism, energy level, and even skin health. It is, however a screening test and if it shows any abnormal results would require further testing.
Why a Urinalysis?
A urinalysis is just that, an analysis of your dog’s pee. A urinalysis can indicate a number of different health problems. It may indicate a change in protein content, PH, crystals, cells, and a multitude of other things.
It can give early signs of diabetes, kidney disease, bladder stones, even bladder or prostate cancer, in some cases even before any of those things show up in a blood test.
Why a Thoracic X-Ray?
Thoracic is a fancy way of saying a chest X-Ray. A chest x-ray can help your veterinarian to evaluate your dog’s lungs, heart, portions of the spine, trachea, esophagus, and sometimes even the first part of the abdomen.
A Chest x-ray can be done on an awake dog, but if your dog is very nervous, your vet may give him a mild sedative to make the process safer and more comfortable for your dog as well as get better pictures.
All of these tests are fairly simple painless but can tell your veterinarian so much about your senior dog’s overall health. It is worth the extra cost to make sure that your senior dog is not harboring an early stage of disease that could be treated if caught early enough.
You know your dog best and you know what normal behavior for your dog is and what is not. Never dismiss a change in behavior as “just old age”; it very well could be an early sign of an easily treatable disease.
For more information about your senior dog’s health don’t miss these important articles:
10 Ways Your Dog’s Food May Lead To Cancer