When you first arrive at the veterinarian’s office, she will begin by collecting a history from you. Tell her everything your dog could have possibly come into contact with or ingested within the past 24 hours so as to give her a clue as to what is poisoning your dog. She will also perform a physical exam to check your dog’s vitals and note any abnormalities. This will also allow her a thorough look over your dog to evaluate all of his symptoms.
The veterinarian will want to perform blood work to give her needed information on how your dog’s internal organs are functioning. A complete blood count (CBC) and chemistry panel are usually the first tests to be run to give her a general diagnostic view of all the organs. Since kidney failure is a major concern with portulaca poisoning, she may want to run more detailed diagnostic tests that evaluate the kidneys. She may also want to collect a urine sample for a urinalysis to check other levels of kidney function such as filtering ability and efficiency.
In addition to these tests, the veterinarian may want to take a radiograph of your dog’s abdomen to check for any abnormality of an internal organ, especially the kidneys and remaining urinary system. If the radiograph is not helpful, she may want to do an ultrasound to have a different view of them.