Keep All Of Your Labwork Data
Year over Year Trends are an early clue
You’re not just paying for labwork… you’re collecting data.
And if you’re not keeping it organized and actually looking back at it, you’re missing half the value.
Most pet parents glance at labs once, hear “everything looks normal,” and move on.
But here’s the part no one explains well enough:
“In Range” doesn’t mean nothing is changing.
Labs tell a story… but only if you read the chapters together
One single lab report is a snapshot.
Two or three?
Now you’ve got a timeline. Maybe a trend.
And that timeline is where things get interesting.
Because what I look for (and what I teach my clients to look for) isn’t just “in range” vs “out of range.”
It’s:
Is this number creeping up each time?
Is something slowly dropping?
Did a value shift after a diet change?
Did something improve… then slide back?
That’s where your early warning signs live.
“Still normal” can still be a clue
Let’s say a value sits comfortably in the middle of the reference range.
Six months later… still “normal,” but now it’s hanging out at the high end.
Another 6 months… still “normal,” but now it’s flirting with the top.
That’s not nothing.
That’s a trend.
And trends often show up long before symptoms do.
Start keeping a simple running log
You don’t need anything fancy. Just consistent.
Every time you run labs, note:
What your dog is eating (brand, protein, fresh vs kibble, etc.)
Any new supplements (or ones you stopped)
Medications (even short-term ones)
Big life changes (moves, new pets, stress, travel)
Behavior shifts (anxiety, sleep changes, reactivity, clinginess, etc.)
Physical changes (energy, coat, appetite, digestion)
Because when something shifts on paper…
You want to be able to say:
“What changed around that time?”
This is how you connect the dots
Labs are not just numbers.
They’re reflections of:
Metabolism
Organ function
Stress load
Nutrient status
Inflammation patterns
But they don’t exist in a vacuum.
When you pair lab trends with lifestyle notes…
that’s when you start to see patterns most people miss.
This is where proactive care actually happens
Waiting for something to go “out of range” is reactive.
Watching trends?
That’s proactive.
That’s how you:
Catch imbalances early
Adjust nutrition before things escalate
Support organs before they’re struggling
Avoid the “it came out of nowhere” moment
Because most of the time… it didn’t.
The clues were there.
They just weren’t being tracked.
If you’ve got a stack of past lab reports sitting in a drawer…
Pull them out.
Lay them side by side.
You might be surprised at what you see.
And if you want help interpreting patterns or connecting the dots with nutrition, supplements, or lifestyle shifts…
Members have access to additional content including a post on what your labs mean.
