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My active dog's blood test results are abnormal. Should I worry?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 8 months old

Today I had blood test of him CBC, Liver Function test and Kidney Function Test so can you please check the reports that I am attaching as image and let me know is reports are okay and if not what problem or disease he has ? Also he is active and playing actively eating actively

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 21st, 2017

Most of the parameters that are reading outside the normal range on this lab work are not likely to be significant and I can list what is abnormal and tell you what that could mean: 1. Slightly elevated leukocytes (white blood cells): while this can be a sign of infection or inflammation a slight elevation is more commonly seen with mild stress and may not be significant 2. Mild elevation in PCV (packed cell volume or red blood cells): this can be seen with dehydration or in very rare cases bone marrow disease; it is also common for some dogs to run slightly high for no significant reason 3. Elevated MCHC (mean cell hemoglobin concentration) only significant if the red blood cell level is low 4. Elevated ALP (alkaline phosphatase, a liver enzyme): can increase with liver or gallbladder disease, increases in cortisol, or bone lesions, but more commonly will be non-specific finding 5. Mildly elevated total bilirubin: can increase with gallbladder disease or anemia, but more likely to be a non-specific finding and potentially due to changes with the blood sample itself 6. Low BUN (blood urea nitrogen): can decrease with severe liver failure but there are not changes consistent with liver failure on blood work so it is a non-specific change With all laboratory values there is a general range that is considered 'normal' but there is always a certain percentage of dogs that will be normal and still fall outside this range. I would of course defer to your veterinarian's interpretation of the lab work since they know Bruno's history and physical exam findings which might change the interpretation.

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    Answered By Tomasz Wnuk

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 8th, 2020

    Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Regarding the blood results: 1. Hematology (first picture) - mild elevation in neutrophils level. It is usually related to ongoing infection or stress. Elevated WBC (White Blood Cell) is a direct result of elevation in neutrophils. Elevated platelet count is most likely machine error. Insignificant finding. 2. Biochemistry (second picture): low albumin level is usually a sign of liver disease or ongoing inflammation / infection. Low AST is insignificant. Previously elevated ALP level indicated liver injury (now the parameter is back to normal) 3. T4 level - possibly it does not indicate underactive thyroid problem. Mildly decreased T4 level is often found in dogs with normal thyroid function but with concurent disease elsewhere.

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