Chow may not need any further testing
Our mixed breed chow is 10 years old. Not always the least aggressive dog at the vet, I took him in recently for unusual behavior. He had shown a few weeks’ course of panting and acting a bit tired but while I initially thought it was due to old age, I took him in to be on the safe side. On physical exam, my vet said that everything looked normal but that we should do some bloodwork. There was no oral examination done because, as usual, he was muzzled.
I got a call the next day saying that everything was normal except for an increase in his potassium level. I don’t feed my dog bananas so I know that’s not the cause. The vet said that we should consider running some followup tests, so I ask is this really necessary?
What risks am I putting my dog at if I do nothing especially since now he is acting completely normal and has been for two weeks? What could have caused this in the first place?
An increased potassium level is referred to as hyperkalemia. There are numerous possible causes and some might well warrant further testing to make sure everything is OK with your dog. These include dietary supplements, chronic kidney disease or injury to the kidneys, urinary tract stones or obstructions, cancer, medications, diabetes and something called Addison’s Disease, which I wrote about in this column a few months ago.
True hyperkalemia can lead to vomiting and diarrhea, weakness and collapse, and have cardiac ramifications. It can be quite serious and should not be taken lightly. Interestingly, everything else on the bloodwork was normal. That’s good. There is also a condition known as pseudohyperkalemia wherein one sees a leakage of potassium out of cells after the blood is drawn and this is most notably seen in Asian dog breeds. Since your dog is a chow type dog that may be what is going on. I suspect that since you note things have been normal since and because your veterinarian has not been more insistent on follow-up testing. Give them a call and see what they say.
Further testing may or may not be necessary at this time, but keep an eye out for any possible clinical signs that I wrote about. A simple follow-up blood test might show the same or nothing at all. Hopefully, all will be fine.