Why is my dog's creatinine high but BUN normal? Should I be concerned?

Question

My 10 year old Lhasa Apso has high creatinine level 6.1 but totally normal BUN. What can cause that and should I be concerned? Pet's info: Dog | Lhasa Apso | Female | spayed | 13.5 lbs

Daniel Fonza, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. BUN and Creatinine typically have an intimate relationship on blood work, meaning that when one is elevated, the other is typically elevated as well. There are relatively few conditions that would have an elevated Creatinine without the BUN being elevated. These are typically due to muscle breakdown which would release more creatinine in the blood. Exercise could produce such an increase. Pathologic muscle breakdown would produce sharp levels but such conditions would likely be accompanied by symptoms such as weakness and lethargy in particular. The value of 6.1 is high, which could indicate any of the above or this could potentially be a lab error. I would consider having the blood retested to check and make sure this value is correct. It may be wise to have it sent to a laboratory as well to ensure the values are correct. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Why is my dog's creatinine high but BUN normal? Should I be concerned?

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