Blood Counts

KIDNEY TESTS - CREATININE and BUN

Greyhounds have a higher creatinine than other breeds, and can be inadvertently misdiagnosed with kidney failure when, in fact, their kidneys are quite healthy.

Depending on the lab's normal range, other breeds have a high of about 1.2 to 1.4 for their creatinine level, Greyhounds can normally run up to 2.1 (some say to 2.4) before it's considered to be possibly abnormal. If there is any doubt, run a second test on the urine called a specific gravity to help distinguish true kidney failure from a normal value.

A specific gravity in the 1.008 to 1.012 range combined with a truly elevated creatinine requires further testing. BUN's can also run a little above other breed's normal.

BLOOD COUNTS

TEST - GREYHOUND - OTHER BREEDS

Platelets 80,000 to 200,000 - 150,000 to 400,000

PCV 55-65% - 37-55%
RBC 7.4 to 9.0 million - 5.5 to 8.5 million
WBC 3000 to 6500 - 6000 to 17000
Total protein 4.5 to 6.0 - 5.4 to 7.8
Globulin 2.1 to 3.2 - 2.8 to 4.2

A few things worth noting:

A platelet count of 100,000 or slightly less may be normal, but if this Greyhound hasn't been tested for the various tick diseases, it would be a good time to do that.

While a PCV of 45% is fine for other breeds, and will be noted as normal on all lab reports, remember that a PCV of 50% or less in an adult greyhound is too low and suggests an anemic Greyhound. Again, if the Greyhound hasn't been checked for tick diseases, have it done.

WBC's can run even lower than 3000 on an otherwise normal Greyhound, but low-end counts also warrant a tick check.