Greyhounds - idiosyncrasies with blood test results

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I'm hoping that our resident vets might be willing to comment as this is something I am genuinely interested in (please feel free to PM if you prefer!) and internet research seems variable!

I had a full set of blood tests on Flick yesterday following her stroke, I had actually already booked her an appointment later in the day to discuss her increased heart rate (100 bpm) respiratory rate (42 breaths per minute) and increased drinking. She has also been displaying minor incontinence on a couple of occasions, where when she is desperate to go there is minor leakage. As she is 12 years old I suspected kidney failure, she has always been very physically fit and healthy other than being diagnosed with a grade 1-2 heart murmur when her teeth were done in February

The blood tests all came back normal according to my vet! I genuinely don't understand this given her other symptoms, and I have read a lot of generalised articles online whch suggest that greyhounds have slightly different blood test results to other breeds - so I was wondering what the truth of the matter is?

I've googled again tonight and have found some American research which suggests that greyhounds can be "different" to other breeds, particularly with respect to PCV level. Does anyone have any eperience or thoughts? Very obviously Flick's stroke was something that I wasn't expecting in any way and I realise that will have had a physical impact on her, but she is still drinking a lot and her respiration/heart rates are higher than normal. I could ask for a second opinion for Flick, but I've also had at least two previous greyhounds where I was consistently told their blood results were normal but the dog simply faded away in front of me until I reached the point where I had to PTS for quality of life - I understand that elderly dogs are not nearly as efficient at processing nutrients from food, but I feel there has to have been something more to it than that.

Apologies for the geeky and detailed post, I'm not quite sure where to start with asking the questions I am interested about
 
The answer is that there are small differences between breeds - and that there are so many other things that dont show up unless you do specific tests- i.e. those bloods are fine but there may be another problem elsewhere and 'a blood test' doesn't mean it will catch everything. e.g leaking urine may be urine infection -wont show up on bloods necessarily. A good medical vet may be your next step
 
planete said:
You have probably come across this during your research but just in case you have not: Greyhound blood values.
Click to expand...

As yet I hadn’t done, thank you!

Of course I am very well aware that vets spend many years studying and qualifying, and I am a ‘pet’ owner going on gut instinct! So I may be totally wrong and there might be some simple explanation, but it doesn’t seem to add up to me.

I will of course have this conversation with my vet (I was in too much of a flap tonight, although I did have an interesting conversation about vestibular syndrome and he confirmed again that this is not what Flick has) but I’m a bit of a nerd and I find this really interesting in my amateur way 😊
 
Blood results as in a standard haematology and biochemistry are a diagnostic test..with a lot of limitations as well as advantages.

We can get a rough ideas of illness' from bloods even then interpretation can be tricky (depending on the enzyme involved as some are released by damage in more then one area)and as there are usually a few possible causes for most changes.

They are often used for a screening test to check specific issues...kidneys, liver issues. levels of anaemia and regeneration..inflammation and infection wtc...rather then pinpointing the exact cause of illness.

Its entirely possible to have a sick dog with normal bloods...because the area thats causing the illness may not be one of those tested for in the standard panel or may be due to a different issue...like a cancer malabsorption etc... then if the issues persist othet tests are usually ran...urinalysis digestive panels hormone assays ultrasound etc

The greyhounds fun differences on bloods are usually accounted for and considered by the labs when the samples submitted to them(history breed age etc is all on the form)...and most of the time dont really change the interpretation of the panel.
 
Also worth noting quite a few of the ‘easily/routinely’ tested for biochemistry values show damage and not much about the function. And they’re all linked and not a clear cut ‘these are liver these are kidney’. If you’re worried about her pu still then at your vaccines bring it up and maybe take a urine sample and measure how much she drinks/24hr. Sadly there is no ‘cancer’ blood test either!
Had a lecture on ‘true’ strokes today but too tired to think about it now!
 
Thank you Aru and Rara that’s really interesting, I appreciate you replying. I did speak to a vet at my practice (unfortunately the vet who first saw Flick after her stroke was away at a training event) and he suggested a urine sample so I’ll try that next - it’s always such fun trying to get one 😄
 
"Full bloods" are generally routine biochemistry and haematology tests, and will check specific things as Aru has stated (liver damage, kidney damage, infection, anaemia etc) If anything shows up, or the bloods are normal but the vet is suspicious of something based on clinical signs of the dog, then further bloods tests may be required. There are many, many different types of blood tests, testing for specific things. Not all illnesses will show up on blood tests either, so further diagnostics such as ultrasound, exploratory laparotomy, MRI etc will be required.

Greyhounds typically have a higher PCV than most breeds of dog, making them ideal blood donors.
 
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