Rework means stepping back, gathering the right information, ensuring we’re not guessing at what’s wrong, and making a game plan for your pet’s GI RESET. Too many changes, whether dietary, medications, or supplements, without first clarifying what’s truly driving the problem – can create more problems. This trial-and-error approach can end up wasting time and money, potentially make things even worse and delay the correct treatment. Getting clarity about what has already been done and what still needs to be explored is the foundation of moving forward with purpose.
Many problems brewing beneath the surface don't produce symptoms until disease is full-blown and, heaven forbid, potentially fatal. Waiting for symptoms to appear is a reactive approach. For example: it’s not ideal to wait until a dog is coughing to ask for a heartworm test, or until a cat is drinking tons of water and urinating constantly before asking for a kidney function test. The paradigm shift toward being proactive focuses on identifying lifestyle obstacles before disease occurs.
Proactive Pet Care Saves Lives
If we're capable of identifying diseases early and stopping them from occurring, why wouldn't we? Taking a proactive approach gives us the opportunity to address minor biochemical changes early on and prevent them from becoming major health issues.
We can prevent organ failure if we know the body is leaning in that direction. We can prevent irreversible degeneration that robs pets of good health and long lives. But we must know it's occurring to address it, and we won't know if we don't check.
I've heard countless times from clients that, "My dog was fine until he suddenly got congestive heart failure," or "My cat was fine until I took her to the vet yesterday and she was diagnosed with kidney failure." The truth is those conditions didn't develop overnight. They occurred slowly, over time.
The dog with congestive heart failure and the kitty with kidney failure have been brewing those conditions for quite a while. But because the pet parents and veterinarian weren't regularly monitoring the health of those pets, serious organ degeneration occurred right under their noses. Even if your vet isn't proactive, you can be. Ask him or her to measure your pet's vital organ function with the appropriate diagnostic tests. You're entitled to a copy of the results, which you can review and keep track of from one year to the next, taking note of any changes that occur. You are your pet's advocate. Don't ever be afraid to speak up on behalf of your animal companion.
Keep in mind that most abnormal test results were once normal. It's how quickly we catch the change from normal to abnormal that can mean the difference between fixing a problem early or potentially losing a pet to a disease tht could have been identified early on.
"I wish I would have known," is something no proactive vet ever wants to say or hear. Put another way, "I wish I would have known," means, "I wish I would have checked. "The good news is, you can check and that's what I'm encouraging you to do. This is especially true for senior pets and pets with chronic health challenges.
Knowing your pet’s medical history from the very beginning is quite helpful. If you’ve had your canine companion since puppyhood, I recommend gathering all medical records and lab results that you have: bloodwork, fecal tests, imaging, medication and supplement histories, laying them out in chronological order. If you’ve rescued your dog, and his puppyhood is somewhat of a mystery, no worries. Create a timeline that notes when symptoms first began, which treatments were tried, and how your pet responded. This gives you and your veterinarian a clearer picture of patterns and helps prevent unnecessary repetition of tests or medications.
Whenever illness presents itself, note this in the journal, tracking your pet’s daily symptoms, diet and supplement changes, and responses to treatments. Healing is rarely linear; there will be ups and downs, and some interventions will work better than others. Keeping good notes gives you a roadmap of where you’ve been, what helped, and what should come next. Understanding what diagnostics are available is equally important. Common and highly useful tools include:
- Bloodwork to assess organ function and rule out systemic disease,
- Fecal panels that check for parasites or bacterial overgrowth, and nutrient absorption like folate and cobalamin levels.
- More advanced diagnostics such as pancreatic function tests, food sensitivity panels, and microbiome sequencing can provide even deeper insights when initial workups don’t give answers.
When chosen wisely and interpreted in context, these diagnostics streamline healing by focusing efforts where they’re most needed. Instead of chasing symptoms with guesswork, you and your veterinarian can make targeted, informed decisions. The result is a plan that not only addresses your pet’s current discomfort but also works to resolve the root causes.
The most effective plan will always be crafted in partnership with your veterinarian, but this section will introduce you to the range of diagnostic tools that can uncover the true drivers of illness and provide clear direction for your pet’s care team. And if you don’t have a primary veterinarian familiar with creating a gut health or recovery protocol, you can partner with a functional medicine or integrative vet that does. Telehealth consults are also available, you can find providers at civtedu.org/directory.
Valuable Diagnostics Tools
A Complete Blood Count (CBC) and serum biochemistry profile provide a snapshot of your pet’s internal health. These panels can reveal anemia, infections, and how well the liver, kidneys, and pancreas are functioning. CBC is the most common blood test performed on pets and people. A CBC gives information on hydration status, anemia, infection, the blood's clotting ability and the ability of your pet's immune system to respond.
A serum chemistry panel evaluates a pet’s overall health and internal organ function by measuring a variety of substances in the blood. It helps veterinarians assess how well organs such as the liver and kidneys are working and can detect early signs of disease before symptoms appear.
Key kidney values include blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine, which indicate how efficiently the kidneys are filtering waste, and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), a highly sensitive marker that can reveal early kidney dysfunction before traditional values change.
Liver health is assessed through enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), which rise in response to liver cell injury or bile duct obstruction, and total bilirubin, which measures how effectively the liver processes and excretes bile pigments; elevations can signal liver disease, hemolysis, or bile flow impairment.
Other parameters, including glucose, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, calcium, phosphorus, and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride), help evaluate metabolic balance, hydration, and nutritional status.
The PLI test is a sensitive blood test used to detect pancreatitis in dogs and cats by measuring pancreas-specific lipase levels.
Adding a thyroid panel can also be important, since thyroid disease can masquerade as gut or skin problems and is easy to overlook.1
A urinalysis adds another layer of insight, showing how well the kidneys are filtering, whether crystals or infections are present, and offering early clues to endocrine or metabolic disease. It can help assess the overall health of your pet's urinary tract, including the kidneys and bladder, and to check for other health indicators, such as glucose regulation and liver function. The test is also used to evaluate substances in the urine that might indicate an underlying disease process.
Combined with a basic fecal test for intestinal parasites (like roundworms and hookworms), these provide the foundation of any diagnostic evaluation. When gastrointestinal signs persist, a fecal diarrhea panel goes further than a routine fecal float. Traditional fecal tests completed at your vet only detect certain worms, while diarrhea panels can uncover hidden bacterial or protozoal infections such as Clostridium overgrowth or Giardia infection in dogs. Identifying specific pathogens often means the difference between ongoing frustration and rapid resolution with targeted treatment. If parasites and potentially pathogenic bacterial overgrowth are ruled out but GI symptoms continue, a GI absorption assay (maldigestion profile) can be helpful.
Texas A&M GI Lab panel (GI absorption assay or maldigestion profile) is a widely used blood test that helps evaluate chronic gastrointestinal problems in dogs and cats by measuring several key markers of digestive function, including:
- Folate (vitamin B9) levels reflect absorption in the upper small intestine; low folate may indicate small intestinal disease, while high folate can suggest small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
- Cobalamin (vitamin B12) is absorbed in the lower small intestine (ileum) and requires a healthy pancreas for uptake; low levels are common in pets with malabsorption, inflammatory bowel disease, or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
- TLI (trypsin-like immunoreactivity) measures digestive enzyme activity and is the gold standard for diagnosing exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, a condition where the pancreas cannot produce enough enzymes to digest food.
- PLI (pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity) specifically detects pancreatic lipase released during inflammation and is the most sensitive blood test for diagnosing pancreatitis. Together, these markers provide a functional picture of how well the intestine and pancreas are working, and they often guide veterinarians toward the root cause of chronic diarrhea, weight loss, or poor nutrient absorption.
The Advanced GI Panel from VDI labs is a multiplex blood test for dogs and cats that helps distinguish among multiple gastrointestinal disorders in a single draw. It measures over a dozen biomarkers—such as pancreatic lipase (cPL or fPL), B12, folate, albumin, protein levels, and inflammation markers—and integrates them with a proprietary algorithm (the Neoplasia Index®) to suggest whether the animal’s symptoms are more likely due to IBD, GI lymphoma, protein-losing enteropathy, pancreatitis, or malabsorption issues. Because it combines many commonly run labs—and uses an AI-guided interpretation that considers age, signalment, and clinical context— it can save time, reduce redundant testing, and offer more precise direction for your veterinarian in the diagnostic journey. VDI labs also offers vitamin D testing.
Innovative Pet Lab’s “Comprehensive Gut Check for Dogs” test is an at-home stool test kit designed to give a broad view of your dog’s gut health by measuring six key biomarkers tied to digestion, immune response, inflammation, and intestinal barrier function. The biomarkers include calprotectin (for gut inflammation), secretory IgA (a mucosal immune marker), zonulin (a regulator of intestinal permeability or “leaky gut”), anti-gliadin IgA (indicating sensitivity to a component of gluten), pancreatic elastase (to assess digestive enzyme output), and beta-glucuronidase (an enzyme produced by gut bacteria associated with microbial balance and detox pathways).
NutriScan from Hemopet.org is an at-home saliva-based diagnostic test for dogs (and cats) that screens for up to 24 common foods (and many derivative ingredients) to detect food sensitivities or intolerances. It measures anti-IgA and anti-IgM antibodies in saliva directed against food antigens, reflecting delayed or chronic reactions occurring on the gut’s mucosal surface—not the immediate allergic (IgE) reactions typical of food allergies. Because it’s non-invasive (just a salivary sample collected at home or at the vet) and the results are returned in approximately two weeks, many pet owners use it to guide the elimination or rotation of diets more precisely.
OmegaQuant’s Omega-3 Index for Pets is a blood test that measures the levels of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA in a dog’s blood, expressed as a percentage of total fatty acids. It works much like the human version of the test and helps determine whether a pet’s diet is supplying enough of these essential fats. Adequate omega-3 levels are associated with benefits for heart, skin, joints, immune health, and cognition. In dogs, the target “optimal” range is around 3%, with additional health benefits sometimes seen at higher levels. Because dietary changes and supplementation take several months to influence blood values, the test is often repeated after 3–4 months and then annually or biannually. It is performed by a veterinarian via a simple blood draw, and results help guide precise adjustments in diet or supplementation.
The DoggyBiome Gut Health Test from AnimalBiome is an at-home stool test that uses DNA sequencing to map the types and proportions of bacteria in your dog’s gut, comparing them to a healthy reference population. It identifies both beneficial and pathogenic bacteria, revealing imbalances or overgrowths that may underlie chronic digestive or skin issues. The test results come in about two weeks, and the report offers personalized diet, supplement, or lifestyle recommendations, plus a consultation to discuss the findings.
Where to Start Digging
Diagnostics aren’t just about identifying what’s “wrong”—they’re windows into how your pet’s body is functioning at every level. Each thoughtfully chosen test offers valuable insight, helping us understand not only symptoms, but the deeper story of what’s happening inside. The more we know, the more accurately we can create personalized, functional healing plans that truly move your pet toward better health.
Every abnormal finding is a clue and it provides an opportunity to uncover a root imbalance you didn’t know existed. When we piece these findings together, we begin to see the intricate puzzle of physiology; how cells, tissues, and organs communicate and adapt in response to mental, emotional, and environmental influences.
Working closely with your veterinarian allows you to prioritize which tests are essential now, and which can wait. There are countless types of diagnostics available, each offering different kinds of insight, but starting with the most practical and revealing ones helps you make informed, strategic choices.
Some people don’t have a vet that is invested in their animal’s long-term healing journey, in which case it’s up to you to educate yourself. Understanding the details of each test listed above will empower you to collect the most impactful data, which can serve as the basis for forming an effective, natural protocol for healing.
Ultimately, diagnostics serve as educational tools, powerful guides that help you and your veterinary team connect the dots, Rework what’s needed to address true causes of illness rather than masking symptoms with pharmaceuticals that don’t offer long term solutions. With this approach, you can move forward with clarity, confidence, and a far greater likelihood of lasting success, because every recommendation is based on your animal’s unique biology and needs.
Why Diagnostics Matter
Diagnostics aren't just about finding what's wrong, they reveal your pet's body is functioning at every level.
Every result provides valuable insights that helps uncover root causes and guides smarter, more targeted healing plans.
Partening with your veterinarian ensures you choose the most meaningful tests for your animal's current needs, history, and symptoms.
When diagnostics are used as educational tools, not just problem finders, they empower you and your veterinary team to connect the dots, design lasting, functional solutions that support whole-body wellness.
Sources and References:
- 1 Peterson, M. E. (2013). Diagnosis of canine hypothyroidism: an update. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 43(2), 211–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvsm.2012.11.001
