When getting a dog spayed do you recommend getting the blood work done as well as the Iv?
Okay, preanesthetic lab work does 2 things: 1) Gives the vet a good idea of how things will go under anesthesia- including if your pet has a clotting issue, an internal infection that there are no signs of, and that the liver/ kidneys are functioning okay. 2) Gives a baseline for future reference. This does not seem like much, but it can help later on if lab work is done annually- easier to detect trends and what is normal for your pet. For instance- one of my Danes always runs high on her triglycerides- abnormal based on “normal range” but normal for her based on previous results. In regards of IV catheter- YES! This is a safety factor. Unfortunately, anesthetic complications do occur. If the vet has direct access to the heart, it makes chances of surviving the emergency that much better. By having a catheter in place, the vet can give injections and get them to the heart where they are needed. If an emergency happens and a catheter is not in place- really difficult to place one on a
