Blood work prior to spaying??

[Daniela Horth]

I just finished booking an appointment for Lucy to be spayed. The vet says there is a blood test that is optional about a week prior to ensure that Lucy won't have any rare reactions to the drugs that will be used. The cost is $100 on top of the $400 cost of the procedure. I can't help but smell a bit of a cash grab. Does anyone have any thoughts/experience with this??

[SK & Hudson]

We have Hudson on the Optimum Wellness Plan at PetSmart Banfield hospitals. Depending on your area, the price per month of the plan fluctuates ($35 suburbs vs. $80 in NYC). Anyways, the wellness plan in the first puppy year includes the cost of spaying among other things (vaccines, free check ups, specific blood/still tests, dewormer, etc). The approximately $400 I spent the first year was worth every penny because I could do a walk in or schedule spots and the base cost of the appointment was free/included (as opposed to just stepping foot into a vets office for $80). Now that Hudson is an adult, her plan now allows for a free teeth cleaning (typically a $500 bill otherwise). I highly recommend that you do the blood work prior to the first procedure, and I also highly recommend that you find a PetSmart Banfield near you.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

That is very common practice. In fact they also did it before Yogi, who is now 3, had his teeth cleaned because they also do it under anesthetic.
It is to make sure they can handle anesthesia.
I know it seemed a little fishy to me at the time, but it is normal. ( I paid it)

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Very common and important. This initial test will follow your puppy through his years. Invaluable info, should anything ever come up..
Many Vets offer pet plans...as a puppy and into adult hood. We have continued Enzo's, as once I sat down and did the numbers, it was well worth the cost. As a puppy, the cost was $400. Unlimited Vet visits, ALL vaccinations, all blood work, 2 fecal tests, heartworm testing, nail trims, and her spay. We've continued it on for her, a tad lower cost, ( since no spay), but covers all the rest. Note: this is different from Pet Ins., which we also have.

[Daniela Horth]

Thanks all!! I will plan to do the blood work prior to spaying. Sounds like everyone thinks it's a good idea.

[Tracey & Spike]

For sure it is!! It's so important. They put the dogs right under. You need to make sure everything is 100% ok. Can't risk anything happening to our doodles. It's so important our vet didn't even give us the choice. They won't do it without it. To be honest spikes blood work came back with one weird reading and the vet Immediatly cancelled the neuter for a month until a recheck was done. It turned out to be a false positive but I'm so glad my vet is that careful.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

I personally would do it. It's not really to check for "rare reactions to drugs"- it's to make sure that the liver and kidneys are working properly so that they can handle the anesthesia drugs.

It was through that blood test prior to spaying that we found out that Winnie had elevated liver enzymes when she was a puppy. We were fortunate in that they naturally went down over time, but if we had not had the test done, we would have never known there was a problem.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

It's a good precautionary thing to do. If you are low on funds and your dog is healthy, it may be optional. Just like most things in life. Knowing more is better and safer but obviously it will cost more.

I opted to do it for Georgia, but she had special issues going into the procedure and the vet recommended it. Everything was fine, but the peace of mind for me was well worth the money.