SheltieGuy
Forums Enthusiast
YOu know what you are exactly right... if i am soo worried about high protein...then why do it. Thank You for telling me what I should have thinking all along...
High Protein/Low Protein HELP
- Thread starter SheltieGuy
- Start date
YOu know what you are exactly right... if i am soo worried about high protein...then why do it. Thank You for telling me what I should have thinking all along...
Lacey'sMamma
Forums Enthusiast
Im interested in doing blood work. What exactly do they do and what do i ask for. What can be shown by doing blood work? I know they always ask for it but i thought it was pointless because lace is healthy but if it can prevent health issues, i wanna know about it. Anyone care to explain?
danisgoat
Moderator
You would ask for a CBC (complete blood count).
Lacey'sMamma
Forums Enthusiast
Ok, and when I get the results back I ask for what specifically?
SheltieChe
Forums Sage
CBC and CMG/ complete metabolic profile are routine blood draw which allow you to evaluate if your pup has any problems in general. For kidney function you would be looking at Creatinine, BUN and electrolytes/ sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium/. Urine analysis will give you additional info.
Problem with kidneys- this is sneaky organ that will compensate great deal, sometimes you can have only 30 % of one working kidney left and numbers still would be good. Kidneys are silent killers, as they do not have nerves inside them, so by themselves kidneys do not hurt. You can have tons of stones in the kidney but until one stone starts moving you might not know it...
Problem with kidneys- this is sneaky organ that will compensate great deal, sometimes you can have only 30 % of one working kidney left and numbers still would be good. Kidneys are silent killers, as they do not have nerves inside them, so by themselves kidneys do not hurt. You can have tons of stones in the kidney but until one stone starts moving you might not know it...
Lacey'sMamma
Forums Enthusiast
Ok thank you. Ill have to write that down if i do get the test done. She is only about 9 months old and i have her on a high protein food (34% ) and i am wanting to switch her onto a 27% food. By doing this test will it essentially tell me i should or shouldnt change her food if she does well on a high protein diet? Or should i just switch her to lower and not worrie about the test? She has perfect poops on the high protein, but if the high protein is hard on her individul kidneys will the test tell me that?
Hope that made sense, it is kinda confusing for me ahah
Hope that made sense, it is kinda confusing for me ahah
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
The whole issue of high vs. low protein would make your eyes sping.
I can only speak from my own experience, and even then its not conclusive evidence that a high protein diet is bad for the dog.
I had my boys on high protein: First Orijen, then Horizon Legacy.
Bacca was having other issues, including being diagnosed with hypo-thyroid.
For liver, the tests you want to focus on are ALT/ALS and bile acid.
In the course of various blood tests, we found Bacca's ALT scores had soared from 289 to 641 (in 1.5 months) (normal range is 5 - 95) and his Byle Acids were also high. Took him off high protein (now 24%) and had him retested 4 months later. His ALT was down to 203, and his bile acids had also lowered.
His is due for more bloodwork, to see if the combination of reduced protein along with a supplement (Hepato-Support) has stabilized his liver function adequately and if his counts have reduced further. If so, then it is less likely that the problem was a liver shunt, however still not to be ruled out. But at least it would indicate that it could be managed.
The alternative diagnosis is the elevated levels were due to the high protein diet. Or maybe that a high protein diet is not favourable for dogs with the risk of liver and/or kidney problems.
Unfortunately, when I was researching high vs. low protein - for every article I could find in favour, I could find as many against. So if you are inclined one way or the other, you'll find lots of justification for your position.
I know this is not much help. I guess I would sum my experience up with "with everything, moderation"!
I can only speak from my own experience, and even then its not conclusive evidence that a high protein diet is bad for the dog.
I had my boys on high protein: First Orijen, then Horizon Legacy.
Bacca was having other issues, including being diagnosed with hypo-thyroid.
For liver, the tests you want to focus on are ALT/ALS and bile acid.
In the course of various blood tests, we found Bacca's ALT scores had soared from 289 to 641 (in 1.5 months) (normal range is 5 - 95) and his Byle Acids were also high. Took him off high protein (now 24%) and had him retested 4 months later. His ALT was down to 203, and his bile acids had also lowered.
His is due for more bloodwork, to see if the combination of reduced protein along with a supplement (Hepato-Support) has stabilized his liver function adequately and if his counts have reduced further. If so, then it is less likely that the problem was a liver shunt, however still not to be ruled out. But at least it would indicate that it could be managed.
The alternative diagnosis is the elevated levels were due to the high protein diet. Or maybe that a high protein diet is not favourable for dogs with the risk of liver and/or kidney problems.
Unfortunately, when I was researching high vs. low protein - for every article I could find in favour, I could find as many against. So if you are inclined one way or the other, you'll find lots of justification for your position.
I know this is not much help. I guess I would sum my experience up with "with everything, moderation"!
SheltieGuy
Forums Enthusiast
High Protein foods wont (well usually wont) harm your pup in a day or week or even months... it can be a process of years and if you dont get blood work done at least yearly you wont know that anything is wrong until it is too late to fix. This happened to me. I took my 14 year old in for a regular check-up and she vomited a few times and the vet came out and told me she had 2 weeks to live. The vet recommended putting her to sleep on the spot.
I had to learn the hard way about blood work. I never knew and my vet never told me the need for blood work as a preventative.
I had to learn the hard way about blood work. I never knew and my vet never told me the need for blood work as a preventative.
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
I've never had a vet suggest it to me either. It's only because of Bacca's original problem that it resulted in periodic tests and that's when we found the liver problem as well.
I'm sure most vets would not recommend as a matter of course. It is expensive, and it does require complete fasting 12 hours before. Not for most dog owners, and would be perceived as a money grab, I think.
That being said, if your dog is showing systemic problems that don't go away after a few days, or keep recurring (as in Bacca's case), then bloodwork is the way to go.