[chevy & karen]

I am curious as to whether your vet does a routine blood pressure test or not.

I have never seen one done on any of my dog's until yesterday.

I had a wellness check done on him (blood work) and a urine test. He tested positive for Lyme disease and high protein level's in the urine.

After another urine test and a course of anti-biotic's his protein level is still to high.. The vet suspected the protein level may be coming from high BP so she checked it yesterday and sure enough he has high BP...

I'm thinking if this would have been part of the regular exam we could have saved alot of time, money, worry and $$$ as I am finding out that high blood pressure and kidney disease seem to go hand in hand....

Just curious if your vet perform's a routine blood pressure check..

[DoggieVogue]

I don't think my vet ever has, as far as I can remember...

[chevy & karen]

Originally Posted by DoggieVogue

I don't think my vet ever has, as far as I can remember...

Thank you for answering DoggieVogue... Since we can only go by your vet and mine I guess we won't know if other's do it or not but maybe it's something that should be checked during a check up.... I would have never guessed my pup had high BP...

[Lunareclipse]

The vet took my cat's BP when she broke her leg and had to get a pin put in it. I think BP might be for special cases. My animals never ger checked during regular visits.

[DoggieVogue]

Originally Posted by chevy & karen

Thank you for answering DoggieVogue...

no problem!

Originally Posted by chevy & karen

Since we can only go by your vet and mine I guess we won't know if other's do it or not but maybe it's something that should be checked during a check up.... I would have never guessed my pup had high BP...

I had never really thought about it before now, but I think that it is definately something that should be checked during a check up. Its quick and easy , and could prevent a lot of future trouble.

[chevy & karen]

Originally Posted by DoggieVogue

no problem!


I had never really thought about it before now, but I think that it is definately something that should be checked during a check up. Its quick and easy , and could prevent a lot of future trouble.

Amen DoggieVogue, I'm with you on this.... It sure would have saved me alot of everything if it would have been done first on chevy...

My vet had only checked bp when my one dog was getting older, they kept her also for a cardiogram, how high is the protein?

Take a look at these links for blood test

Canine Epilepsy-reading laboratory results

Urinalysis

Urinalysis

What antibiotic was your pet on?

Medication warnings - Pet Diabetes
The link above pertains to diabetic pets but you can read about the warning, if i can find my other link I will post it.

Hope this helps a bit

[chevy & karen]

Hi k9lady and thank's for the link's.. I remember her saying the protein level was +3.

The Anti-biotic for the Lyme disease was Doxycycline Hyclate 100mg. Two capsule's once a day for a month. He's done with that though.

Beside's his glaucoma med (Methazolamide) he is taking Benazepril for the high blood pressure. We go back in 7 week's for blood pressure and urine rechecks..

[wishbone]

If you don't bothered with the price of medicines and other fee's, and if you see there's an improvement on your dog then you should worry. But if you suspect something with the findings, better try another vet's advice.

Here our vet do those kind of test in special cases only.

Vet has never done that for either my two dogs, but they're quite young.

[AuntieDale]

I don't remember my vet ever checking bp...I'm going for Kramer's annual next week, so I'll make sure to notice, and ask 'why?' if she doesn't do it as part of his routine checkup...I'll let you know what happens!

We don't do BP checks as part of a regular physical, especially on young animals. We do recommend one on any pet, regardless of age, that is undergoing anesthesia. About three quarters of the owners decline. We also recommend an EKG and blood work on surgery patients, but again, the majority of owners decline.

The most common reason owners decline these tests is expense.

[Lara's mom]

Both of my girls get a blood test and a wellness test every year before they get their heartworm medication. The test on my border collie X covers more things because she is a senior. Lyme Disease doesn't seem to be a problem in Canada.

[AuntieDale]

Hi again - just back from the vet and I'm proud to say I remembered to ask about blood pressure, so here goes (I wish I'd brought a tape recorder with me!!).

First off, I didn't know, taking blood pressure on a dog is different from humans - you don't just put on the cuff & pump in air - you shave an area near the paw, then I think insert something - costs around $40.

Also learned that it's usually only done on dogs when there is a suspicion of a heart problem - and, taken alone, a high blood pressure reading means nothing - more tests would have to have been done anyway. The vet also said it's not common for a dog to have high bp, but they do test cats regularly (then she rambled on with many medical terms...sorry, I don't recall the big words!)

So after all that, does your dog have high blood pressure?

[AuntieDale]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

Both of my girls get a blood test and a wellness test every year before they get their heartworm medication. The test on my border collie X covers more things because she is a senior. Lyme Disease doesn't seem to be a problem in Canada.

Hi Lara's mom! I recalled this post of yours & noticed a map of Canada on the back of the vets door - it showed by colored dots all the locations in Canada where heartworm & lyme disease had been found, and I hate to say, Toronto (and Montreal) were both there. Just thought I'd mention it!

[chevy & karen]

Originally Posted by AuntieDale

Hi again - just back from the vet and I'm proud to say I remembered to ask about blood pressure, so here goes (I wish I'd brought a tape recorder with me!!).

First off, I didn't know, taking blood pressure on a dog is different from humans - you don't just put on the cuff & pump in air - you shave an area near the paw, then I think insert something - costs around $40.

Also learned that it's usually only done on dogs when there is a suspicion of a heart problem - and, taken alone, a high blood pressure reading means nothing - more tests would have to have been done anyway. The vet also said it's not common for a dog to have high bp, but they do test cats regularly (then she rambled on with many medical terms...sorry, I don't recall the big words!)

So after all that, does your dog have high blood pressure?

Well, I never let them take chevy in the back to do these test's on him, so I am there for every test and I was holding him while they took his BP.. They did'nt shave him anywhere and they did put a cuff on him around the middle to lower part of his front leg. The tech did it 5 time's, I know this because I asked her what was taking so long and she said we do it 5 time's and compare the reading's of all 5 and if I remember right she said we use the 2 reading's that are closest together.

Yes, he does have high blood pressure after upteenth urine and blood test's it was finally checked. The vet is saying the high blood pressure, protein in the urine and Lyme disease is all related.

Are you and Lara's mom both in Canada? I'm in the U.S. so maybe they just don't shave the arm here, or maybe it depend's on the vet. I don't know, it's the first time I have ever seen it done.

[Lara's mom]

I didn't know...Will have to check that out with the girl's Doctor.

I do not think that my vet has ever done a blood pressure check on my dog. Did they recommend it to you for a specific reason?

My vet always checks BP on dog and cats too.
Seems like a simple thing for them to do that might have helped you a lot.
M

There are two ways to do a blood pressure check on dogs and cats; internal and external. The internal is more accurate in some ways. But the stress of having the leg shaved and inserting the probe can cause a significant rise in BP, so while the actual reading is more accurate at the time, it may not accurately indicate if the pet has high BP or not, especially if the reading is borderline or only slightly elevated. There is a minimal risk of infection.

With the external monitor you normally don't shave the area, but you do need to take several readings, 3-5, sometimes more if the pet is moving around a lot. The cuff can be placed either on a leg or on the tail. It can still be stressful, and you can get an inaccurate reading for that reason. But there's no risk of infection.