urinalysis

  • Dog Urinalysis

    Especially as dogs get older, I’ve always been in the camp that says, “Why not run routine tests, just to see?” Asking for a dog urinalysis is a good example. Why not check? Way better to catch anything early. Yet, with veterinary costs rising and other financial challenges for many people, including me, I (unfortunately) now take a harder look at my budget than I did earlier. I dug around in my dog files to remind myself how much a canine urinalysis test costs now versus then. Spoiler alert, the cost has nearly doubled. Honestly, it’s tempting to scale back, and I still might, but let’s look at some of the things we might miss if we skip doing urinalysis on a dog, of any age.

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    Dog Urine Sample Mistake

    I spent about a day last week worrying and wondering how our eldest dog, Clover, may have ended up testing as suddenly diabetic. Turns out, I made a dog urine sample mistake that threw off the results, a lot. Thankfully, a repeat test — done just hours later via cystocentesis (getting a dog urine sample with a needle) — came back perfect. Whew! What a relief. So, learn from me, pals. Do NOT make this mistake. What you put the urine sample in matters … a lot.