Erny Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 (edited) Hi I took Mandela to the Vet's today for a blood work-up re-run; iron, lead level and faecal tests. (Was also supposed to be an acupuncture session for his spondylosis, but he doesn't relax easily so wasn't a good enough candidate for that treatment.) I also arranged for bloods to be drawn for thyroid testing via Dr Jean Dodds in the USA. For the latter, the blood needed to be spun down. What the Vet noticed and was a bit surprised about was how much fat was in the blood - noticeable after having been spun down. Anyone ever had the same with their dog? I should have the full body blood work-up results in the next few days (the thyroid will be about 5 days after that), and the Vet I saw said that if the fat in the blood was a problem, the blood results should show that up. So this is just a curiosity question as I hate waiting. Of course I will (wait, that is), but would welcome a chat about it in the meantime. Edited August 4, 2010 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remarkabull Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Yes! I used to work for a country vet and we often used my dogs for blood donation. One time I took my Dobermann in to donate and after it was spun the vet commented to me that his blood was very fatty. The worst that he had seen! My dog was not suffering from any illness at the time (that we knew of) and was a very fit and healthy dog of 6 years of age. Vet just put it down to one of those things? Hope your boy is ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 4, 2010 Author Share Posted August 4, 2010 Thanks Dobesrock. Good to hear that it isn't or doesn't necessarily indicate a problem . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 In people your blood is full of fat if you have really bad cholesterol, or if you have just had a fatty meal before having the bloods done, it makes the serum go all milky and icky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 4, 2010 Author Share Posted August 4, 2010 (edited) Hhhhmm .... It wouldn't have been about Mandela having a fatty meal just before the bloods as I didn't give him breakfast before we left. Maybe it is cholesterol. The only thing he will eat (since March) is cooked chicken (he will no longer eat raw meat). I feed him leg fillet, skinless because he does seem to not like fatty stuff. The cooking (I steam/boil it) takes out a lot of the fat as well. It's not just fat that puts him off though, as he will no longer eat roo mince or rabbit (BARF) either, nor beef or lamb. Interesting. Edited August 4, 2010 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mas1981 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 That is interesting as chicken is not that fatty?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchnauzerMax Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Some breeds (e.g. schnauzers) have naturally higher levels of fats in the blood. It can cause problems for analysing blood - some of my old boy's blood tests need to be sent away to the lab instead of using the vet's inhouse equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 5, 2010 Author Share Posted August 5, 2010 Well, the body blood work-up showed up nothing remarkable and faecal tests came up clear save for the presence of some red cells, so given the absence of any alarm from the Vet, I guess my boy's fatty blood is not such a big deal . Iron and Lead blood test results, as well as thyroid tests which I've sent to the USA, to come in yet - not that I am inferring they would have anything to do with his fat blood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 5, 2010 Author Share Posted August 5, 2010 Some breeds (e.g. schnauzers) have naturally higher levels of fats in the blood. I wonder why, and more particularly, I wonder what difference it makes for them compared to others who have less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniek Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Erny, I have just emailed the question to a greyhound person who is experienced in testing/spinning/reading blood results. Will let you know if she tells me anything interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 5, 2010 Author Share Posted August 5, 2010 Thank you, AnnieK. It's a curiosity thing. It would be interesting to know "why" . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Did your dog eat a meal before have the blood taken? This can often be a cause of hyperlipidemia and is the reaosn why in people (and also dogs) we often get a fasting blood sample. The fat can interfere with some of the tests such as biochemistry that may need to be performed. schnauzers and poodles are two breeds that seem to be predisposed to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 It could be completely insignificant and just transient, in that if you took blood an hour later, might not have been there. Not uncommon to see if they've had a bit of a fatty meal in the last 12 hours. Might not be a bad idea to have it rechecked at some stage to see if you get the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniek Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Well the first response she gave me was that it could be due to having eaten a fatty meal. So I explained that wasn't the case, and I also mentioned a few of his health problems. I got this in reply " if the cloudiness was all through the serum, that nearly always indicates that the dog has eaten. If there was a large ring of white cells sitting on top of the red cells, this might have something to do with his wbc/immune response to his allergies. Cholesterol readings in dogs are not usually considered, as they have a different response to it than we do." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Apparently you can see this with hypothyroidism so will be interesting to see the results you get from Jean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 6, 2010 Author Share Posted August 6, 2010 Apparently you can see this with hypothyroidism so will be interesting to see the results you get from Jean Thanks Stormie. I didn't know that. Makes me even more pleased I've arranged the thyroid test. In response to a couple of previous posts ..... my boy was fasted at least 12 hours before the blood test. This wasn't requested by the Vet but something I often do when I'm not sure where things will lead to at the Vet visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 6, 2010 Author Share Posted August 6, 2010 (edited) Well the first response she gave me was that it could be due to having eaten a fatty meal.So I explained that wasn't the case, and I also mentioned a few of his health problems. I got this in reply " if the cloudiness was all through the serum, that nearly always indicates that the dog has eaten. If there was a large ring of white cells sitting on top of the red cells, this might have something to do with his wbc/immune response to his allergies. Cholesterol readings in dogs are not usually considered, as they have a different response to it than we do." Oooh. I missed this post. Sorry Anniek. From what I could see, there was a large ring of white cells sitting on top of the red cells. But I thought that's what happened when bloods were spun down. It was the white stuff the Vet was drawing from and I assumed this was the "serum" . What is "wbc/..." There are times when I wish I knew/understood more than what I do. Mind you, there are other times when I wish I didn't know what I know. Ignorance is bliss, and all that. LOL Edited August 6, 2010 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 When the bloods are spun down the serum separates from the red cells, they should be half and half or there abouts, the fat in the blood makes the serum appear cloudy instead of clear wbc is white blood count Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Here is a picture of spun down blood, this serum (the yellow bit at the top) is the normal colour, sometimes its not as yellow, but basically this is normal, the red is the red cells, and the clear in the middle is just gel to keep it all separated When someone has a lot of fat in their blood that serum wont be see through, it looks as though its had milk added to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Yep - fatty blood looks more like a strawberry milkshake. When Orbit was sick with an upset tum with what we think was from a meal a bit too fatty, we took blood to run some tests and the blood we didn't use, once cooled, had a thick layer of white fat cooled on the surface - much like what you see on a baking dish after the meat etc you've cooked is cold...white lard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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