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Vol. 22, No. 3March 2000
Refereed Peer Review
FOCAL POINTKEY FACTS
#
Reference ranges for certainhematologic and serumbiochemical values in retiredgreyhounds differ from those ofthe general canine population.
Hematologic andSerum BiochemicalReference Values inRetired Greyhounds
 Auburn University 
 Janet E. Steiss, DVM, PhD William G. Brewer, Jr., DVMElizabeth Welles, DVM, PhD James C. Wright, DVM, PhD
ABSTRACT:
Research has indicated that results of blood tests for retired greyhounds may falloutside the established normal ranges for the general canine population and that specific pa-rameters for retired greyhounds may need to be established. Based on the study discussed inthis article, the authors determined that hemoglobin, creatinine, sodium, total carbon dioxide,and anion gap tend to be elevated whereas globulin tends to be decreased in healthy retiredgreyhounds. Practitioners need to be aware of these breed-specific differences in order tomake accurate diagnoses in greyhounds.
T
he demographics of the greyhound population in the United States ischanging: It is estimated that more than 55,000 greyhounds live in pri-vate homes compared with approximately 75,000 on racetracks.
a
In1996, there were 18,000 new private adoptions.Specific reference ranges for hematologic and serum biochemical values for re-tired greyhounds need to be established. Veterinarians working with racing grey-hounds consider that this breed tends to have relatively higher values for eryth-rocytes, bicarbonate, and urea and relatively lower values for leukocytes,globulin, calcium, and cholesterol.
1
Most previously reported values have beenmeasured in small groups of racing greyhounds
2,3
or immature or breeding grey-hounds,
3
or the authors did not state how long the dogs had been retired fromthe racetrack before blood samples were obtained.
4,5
In the study presented here,blood samples were evaluated from 50 retired greyhounds housed for a mean of 10 weeks before blood samples were collected.
CE
V
I
The number of greyhoundsin private homes (55,000+) isapproaching the number ofracing greyhounds in the UnitedStates (approximately 75,000).
I
More than 50% of 50 retiredgreyhounds had values outsidethe standard reference range forhemoglobin, creatinine, globulin,sodium, total carbon dioxide,and anion gap.
I
Platelet and leukocyte countstended to be at the low end ofthe reference range, whereashematocrit and total bilirubintended to be at the high end.
I
Practitioners need clinicalpathology reference ranges forthis breed because greyhoundvalues cannot be strictlycompared to standard caninereference ranges.
a
Personal communication: Guccione G, National Greyhound Association, Abilene, KS,1997.
 
The study findings can be compared with previousreports for greyhounds.
2–5
In contrast to one study 
2
in which the dogs were racing, their diet contained largeamounts of meat, and females received intermittenttestosterone injections, the dogs in the study presentedhere were not medicated and were fed a commercialdiet more comparable to what a pet would receive(guaranteed analysis of 25% crude protein and 10%crude fat). Although the dogs in this study were notclient-owned animals, the kennel facilities, diet, and ex-ercise level could be considered to approximate a house-hold environment.Because the turnover of erythrocytes is generally ac-cepted to be approximately 120 days in dogs, it is un-likely that any testosterone injections administered atthe racetrack influenced the results of this study. Infact, the life span of erythrocytes in greyhounds hasbeen reported to be shorter than that in mongrel dogs(mean, 53.6 and 104.3 days, respectively).
6
Femaledogs in this study were housed for a mean of 14 weeks(median, 10 weeks), which exceeds the reported eryth-rocyte life span.
STUDYMaterials and Methods
Dogs 
Over a 2-year period, 50 mature greyhounds retiredfrom racing were obtained from the Auburn University Department of Laboratory Animal Health. Femaledogs were kenneled for a median of 10 weeks (range, 8to 25 weeks) and male dogs for a median of 5 weeks(range, 4 to 24 weeks) before blood samples were col-lected. Dogs were housed in an indoor–outdoor labora-tory kennel facility, fed a commercial dog food oncedaily, and had continuous access to filled water bowls.Dogs were negative for heartworm disease and exter-nal parasites. Dogs positive for internal parasites weredewormed with fenbendazole (1 ml/4.4 lb orally oncedaily for 3 days). Routine vaccinations were adminis-tered. Based on ear tattoos, dogs ranged from 1 to 3years of age. The dogs had no clinically significant find-ings on physical, neurologic, and orthopedic examina-tions and were serologically negative for
Ehrlichia canis 
and
Ehrlichia platys 
.
Blood Samples 
The average time between receiving the dogs anddrawing blood samples was 10 weeks (median, 8 weeks). In addition, 10 of the study dogs were available90 days later; blood tests were repeated to confirm ini-tial findings. While the dogs were in their kennels,blood samples were collected via jugular venipunctureand placed into tubes containing no additives for serumbiochemistry and EDTA tubes for complete bloodcount analysis. Tubes of blood were packed in ice andimmediately submitted to the Auburn University Clini-cal Pathology Laboratory.
Blood Analyses 
Complete blood counts were performed on an auto-mated impedance–type instrument and included deter-mination of erythrocyte count; hematocrit; hemoglobinconcentration; total leukocyte count; platelet count;and calculation of mean corpuscular volume, mean cor-puscular hemoglobin, erythrocyte distribution width,and mean platelet volume. Manual 100-cell differentialcounts were performed.Serum chemistry analytes were measured using acomputer-assisted automated chemistry instrument.Spectrophotometric analysis included determination of (1) serum alanine transaminase, serum alkaline phos-phatase, and creatine kinase activities and (2) creati-nine, glucose, blood urea nitrogen, calcium, inorganicphosphate, total bilirubin, and albumin concentrations.Globulin concentration was also calculated. Concentra-tions of sodium, chloride, potassium, and total carbondioxide were determined using ion-specific electrodemethodology. Anion gap was calculated according tothe formula: (sodium + potassium) – (chloride + totalcarbon dioxide).
Statistics 
Data were entered on a spreadsheet for calculation of the mean and standard deviation values.
Results
Hematologic data are presented in Table I and serumbiochemical data in Table II. The mean values forhemoglobin, creatinine, globulin, sodium, total carbondioxide, and anion gap were outside the canine refer-ence ranges for the Auburn University Clinical Patholo-gy Laboratory. Other tendencies noted were that meanplatelet and leukocyte counts were toward the low endof the reference ranges and hematocrit and total biliru-bin were toward the high end.The percentage of greyhounds for which values felloutside the Auburn University reference range are pre-sented in Figures 1 and 2. More than 50% of dogs hadvalues outside the reference range for hemoglobin, crea-tinine, globulin, sodium, total carbon dioxide, and an-ion gap. Lower percentages of greyhounds had valuesabove or below the reference range for several otherhematologic or serum biochemistry values. Less than5% of the 50 greyhounds in this study had any individ-ual values outside the calculated greyhound referenceranges reported in Tables I and II.
Small Animal/Exotics
Compendium 
March 2000
ERYTHROCYTE LIFE SPAN
I
SERUM CHEMISTRY ANALYTES
I
ANION GAP
 
Data for the 10 dogs for which blood work was re-peated 90 days later are presented in Tables III and IV.Hematologic and serum biochemical values of thesedogs reflect the initial tendencies found.
Discussion
Compared with the standard canine reference rangesfor the Auburn University Clinical Pathology Laborato-ry, hemoglobin, creatinine, sodium, total carbon diox-
Compendium 
March 2000Small Animal/Exotics
TABLE IHematologic Values in Retired Greyhounds (
n 
= 50)
Mean Greyhound 
a 
 AUCVM 
a 
Laboratory Parameter(standard deviation)Reference RangeReference Range 
Erythrocytes (
×
10
6
/ml)Hemoglobin (g/dl)Hematocrit (%)Mean corpuscular volume (fl)Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (pg)Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (%)Erythrocyte distribution widthPlatelet count (
×
10
3
/ml)Mean platelet volume (fl)Leukocytes (/ml)Segmented neutrophils (/ml)Band neutrophils (/ml)Lymphocytes (/ml)Monocytes (/ml)Eosinophils (/ml)7.69 (0.85)18.2
b 
(1.7)52.8 (5.7)68.8 (2.3)23.6 (1.0)34.4 (0.8)15.1 (1.0)178 (57)8.6 (0.9)8200 (3200)5494 (902)0 (0)1722 (738)328 (246)574 (492)5.99–9.3914.8–21.641.4–64.264–7321.6–25.632.8–36.013.1–17.164–2926.8–10.41800–14,6003690–7298—246–31980–8200–15585.50–8.5012.0–18.037.0–55.060–7719.5–24.532.0–36.011.1–17.1160–4166.8–9.86000–17,0003000–11,4000–3001000–4000150–1350100–750
a 
Calculated as two standard deviations from the mean.
b 
Mean value outside the standard reference range.
 AUCVM 
= Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.
TABLE IISerum Biochemical Values in Retired Greyhounds (
n 
= 50)
Mean Greyhound 
a 
 AUCVM 
a 
Laboratory Parameter(standard deviation)Reference RangeReference Range 
 Alanine transferase (IU/L)Serum alkaline phosphatase (IU/L)Creatine kinase (IU/L)Creatinine (mg/dl)Glucose (mg/dl)Blood urea nitrogen (mg/dl)Calcium (mg/dl)Inorganic phosphate (mg/dl)Total protein (g/dl) Albumin (g/dl)Globulin (g/dl)Total bilirubin (mg/dl)Sodium (mmol/L)Potassium (mmol/L)Chloride (mmol/L)Total carbon dioxide (mmol/L) Anion gap55 (23)39 (18)168 (75)1.2
b 
(0.2)89 (16)16 (3)10 (0.7)3.9 (0.6)6.0 (0.6)3.3 (0.3)2.8
b 
(0.7)0.3 (0.2)153
b 
(2)4.6 (0.5)116 (3)26.6
b 
(6.2)15.2
b 
(6.0)9–1013–7518–3180.8–1.657–12110–228.6–11.42.7–5.14.8–7.22.7–3.91.4–4.20.0–0.7149–1573.6–5.6110–12214.2–39.03.2–27.217–6619–5092–3570.0–1.080–10010–259.5–11.83.3–5.85.1–7.32.6–3.53.8–5.00.1–0.3142–1503.9–5.3110–12116.5–22.37.3–15.1
a 
Calculated as two standard deviations from the mean.
b 
Mean value outside the standard reference range.
 AUCVM 
= Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.
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