This is consistent with my source which was dealing with kidney and liver readings. My question, though, is that if a dog has not fasted before a complete blood panel, and the vet doesn't ask if the dog has been fasted or not, how can you accurately interpret results having to do with the kidney and liver?
Anne is having trouble posting (gets an error message, as do I sporadically) and has asked me to post this reply:
"From my knowledge, and I am not a Vet nor do I have any qualifications in this area apart form living experience, when a dog hasn't fasted before a test the serum becomes fatty. If the fat droplets is in significant enough quantities they can interfere with some testing equipment.
Testing results largely depends on the labarotory and their equipment.
Therefore, if a serum sample is submitted with thick white serum, it usually indicates that the dog has eaten within a short time of the test sample being collected and this is considered when running the tests and when qualifying the results.
My knowledge is reasonably limited, but as I said earlier, your best bet is your Vet. Speak with them at length and ask as many questions as you need to, to understand the procedures being done to your dog. If your Vet is not great with handling a lot of questions, find another Vet.
My concern, as with my earlier comments, is that people reading information on the net usually take it at face value and as gospel and this can usually mean the dogs can become 'at risk'. I always advocate talking to a professional, such as your Vet, before taking anything from the net as being true.
My apologies if I seem to over react.... I do that sometimes." 