Diagnostics
Workup guides for lab testing, imaging decisions, staging, screening, and result interpretation across common small-animal problems.
Pet owners trying to understand the next test, and veterinary teams framing a diagnostic pathway.
Show what each test can and cannot answer, and when referral or urgent care changes the plan.
52 articles in this category · showing 41–50.
Roundworms in Dogs: Testing, Treatment, Zoonotic Risk, and Why Puppies Are Always Infected
Over 30% of puppies under six months shed roundworm eggs. Covers the Toxocara lifecycle, CAPC testing recommendations, FDA-approved treatments, and the…
Hookworms in Dogs: Fecal Testing, Treatment, Drug Resistance, and the 2026 Update
Hookworms in dogs are harder to treat than they used to be. A guide to diagnosis, the emerging multi-drug resistance crisis, CAPC-recommended protocols, and…
Canine Atopic Dermatitis Workup: From Flea Rule-Out to Allergy Testing
Atopic dermatitis in dogs is a diagnosis of exclusion. Here is the step-by-step workup — flea combing, cytology, elimination diet trials, and allergy testing —…
Dog Allergy Testing: Serum IgE vs Intradermal Testing and When Results Mislead
Allergy testing identifies environmental allergens for immunotherapy — it does not diagnose atopic dermatitis. How serum IgE and intradermal testing compare…
Dog Ear Cytology: Why Yeast, Cocci, Rods, and Mites Change the Entire Treatment Plan
Ear cytology is the single most important diagnostic step before treating a dog's ear infection. Here is what the microscope reveals — and why treating without…
When to Refer a Cancer Patient: FNA, Biopsy, Staging, and the Decisions That Cannot Wait
A primary-care workflow for deciding when to aspirate, when to biopsy, when to stage, and when to refer a dog or cat with a suspected tumor — based on the 2026…
SDMA vs Creatinine in Cats: Early CKD Detection, Muscle Mass, and False Reassurance
How SDMA and creatinine compare for detecting feline chronic kidney disease, why muscle mass makes creatinine unreliable in thin seniors, and what to do when…