Your pet’s normal wellness testing results are a cause for celebration, or at least a sigh of relief. But their normal results can also lead to your questioning:

  • Did my pet really need that test?
  • Can I skip testing next year?
  • What is the benefit of testing a seemingly healthy pet?

The Animal Hospital of Stoney Creek team understands that you may have difficulty appreciating how today’s uneventful results can impact and influence your pet’s long-term health. Therefore, we’ve created the following guide to help you understand that in terms of your pet’s wellness screening tests, negative is a positive, nothing is everything, and no news is not merely good, it’s priceless.

Terminology: What are wellness screening tests for pets?

Wellness screening tests include a battery of health assessments that may vary depending on your pet’s species, health, and life stage, but generally include:

  • Heartworm disease testing for dogs
  • Tick-borne disease testing (e.g., Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis) for dogs
  • Intestinal parasite screening (i.e., fecal floatation or test)
  • Complete blood count (CBC) and general chemistry profile 

Normal test results confirm your pet is healthy

Pets are savvy about hiding serious health problems and pain. This protective instinct not only prevents them from appearing weak or sick, which would make them easy targets for larger predators but also makes recognizing that your pet is unwell more challenging.

Wellness screening tests, including routine blood work, are the only way to ensure your pet is completely healthy, inside and out. Such knowledge is not only reassuring, but also indicates that your pet’s current care plan—including their diet, parasite prevention, and preventive care—is effective. 

Normal test results establish your pet’s baseline

While some wellness tests, such as heartworm screenings and fecal parasite tests, have either a positive or negative result, blood work values are measured on a spectrum that includes a normal range for each species. Some pets will have normal results that are squarely in the middle of the recommended range, but other pets’ results may be on the high or low end of the normal parameters. As long as those minor variations are stable and don’t increase or decrease each year, they will likely be considered normal for these pets and part of their baseline.

Your pet’s baseline is a snapshot of their internal function captured during a healthy period. When your pet is sick, their personalized, detailed health report enhances your veterinarian’s diagnostic abilities.

Normal test results help your veterinarian identify subtle trends and changes

Each year, your veterinarian compares your pet’s current wellness screening test results with the previous year’s reports. This may seem like comparing normal with normal, but your veterinarian considers your pet’s baseline, current health conditions, pet stress or anxiety, and their medications that could alter their blood work results. These considerations, along with a chronology of your pet’s year-to-year results, allow your veterinarian to spot small changes or deviations that could signal a hidden illness or developing problem. This early disease detection and diagnosis often leads to improved pet outcomes and is more cost-effective, because veterinarians can use less-invasive or time-intensive treatments. 

Normal test results help ensure your pet receives optimal veterinary care

At the Animal Hospital of Stoney Creek, we provide comprehensive veterinary care for all pets, including elective (i.e., non-emergent) procedures that improve pet health, such as dental cleanings under anesthesia, tumor removals, and spaying or neutering. Normal wellness screening tests—including kidney and liver function—clear your pet for important surgical procedures by ensuring they are fit for anesthesia and not carrying harmful parasites that may be transmitted to other pets during their brief hospital stay.

Anesthetic procedures can be equally stressful for pet owners. While these procedures are never risk-free, normal blood work and screening test results can provide powerful peace of mind for pet owners and the veterinary team. 

When should my pet start receiving wellness screening tests?

Some tests, such as intestinal parasite screenings, begin at your pet’s initial visit, especially puppies, kittens, and adopted or rescued pets who may have uncertain health histories or were housed in a shelter with other pets. Dogs typically have their first heartworm and tick-borne disease test between 6 and 12 months of age, and every 12 months thereafter. Blood work is generally recommended annually for pets aged 1 to 7 years and twice-yearly for senior pets 7 years and older. Check out our previous blog post for a detailed look at senior pet wellness testing. Occasionally, pets may need more frequent blood work to monitor an elevated or decreased value. 

When your pet’s wellness screening tests are normal from year to year, you can easily take their “boring” results for granted or presume they hold little value—but results don’t need to be dramatic to impact your pet’s health. Give your four-legged friend a paw up on life by scheduling their annual exam and wellness testing at the Animal Hospital of Stoney Creek. Contact our team to book an appointment.