Liver Shunts

[Gemmie]

Hi Guys,

im after some advice/experience with dealing with a dog with a liver shunt.

My 3yo JRT x Dachshund has just been diagnosed with a liver shunt.

she is a very very active bright dog, so even the vets were amazed when we discovered this!

How did we discover this only now? well, poor Gemmie has hurt her back (very active and a great jumper, and probably the dachshund in her hasnt helped) so off to the vets, she is still fine at thie stage, active and bright, just slow at running and having trouble jumping. so vet felt around and said she had a bruised back, so came home with a course of anitbiotics, which help within 2 days.

Then came the liver shunt symptoms, depressed, lethargic, vomiting etc. so back to vets. Vets took a blood test straight away, showed elevated liver enzymes, 5 times more than her previous blood test in 2011. so vet done an ultra sound, this discovered a small liver. So vet took a bile acid test, her results were off the scale, fasting was 311 and 2 hours after was 216.

At this stage her course of action is to, have her on a special diet, hills perscription l/d, and low proteins and medication everyday. Which is fine and she was improving greatly! back to normal Gemmie!

but now she has stopped eating, she has maybe only eaten a handful (large) in 4 days, still drinking water though. but is still active, playing with her toys, and chasing birds in the sky!!!

what are peoples experiences with a liver shunt dog?

[Tassie]

PM JulesP - she will have lots of useful info.

ETA - and try a search - there shold be some threads - probably in Health

Edited March 21, 2013 by Tassie

[jans]

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My Bella passed away a month ago having lived for about 8 or 9 years with a shunt. She had the surgery about 7 years ago but it was only partially successful so she had to stay on the l/d. If I had to do it again, I'd try surgery every time, and it is now a lot more common than it was back then. I've heard very good things about Dr Sam Snelling in Kensington (Advanced vet care) for liver shunt surgery. I wish you all the best for which ever way you go.

[jans]

The other thing I meant to add, was if you decide to stay with the l/d. I used to always make sure I had at least six months supply of the food in my pantry. A couple of times over the years, Hills would "run out" of the food in Australia, and it would take forever to get back into the country. Jans

[JulesP]

My first thought is that whilst your dog obviously has something going on with its liver you can not diagnose a shunt from blood work. You need to do a ultrasound, CT, surgery etc

It is interesting that her bile test was higher after eating as usually it is the other way round. Btw my dog who has multiple shunts had a much lower bile result.

So maybe a second opinion is needed firstly and from a specialist.

What medication is she on?

Are you feeding her anything apart from the L/D?

[Missymoo]

Please contact Dr Linda Abraham at Werribee University Vet Hospital. She is the number one vet in Victoria with Liver shunts and even has done studies on it. Yes you need to have a syntygraphy to diagnose the type of shunt. (about $400ish)

[Gemmie]

Thanks for all your replies, much appreciated.

I am going through the process to get an ultrasound to diagnose the type of shunt, if it is one, my vet is great and has experience in dealing with shunts and with great results.

she said that there findings are pointing to shunt symptoms, but i do know that more investigation is needed.

She will not eat the LD (can) yet, and dry food is on back order!!

i have been trying to get her to eat anything at this stage, as she will not eat much at all.

if anyone has any tips on dealing with a dog like this any info would be greatly appreciated.

Other than that, she is doing fine, running and playing with her toys etc. she just will not eat much! before we knew that she had these symptoms she was eating a full can a day, now she will not eat a small handful a day.

does anyone have an estimate on the surgery cost? and best place in victoria?

ETA: not that a cost is a factor, i would do anything for her! i am just curious

Thanks :)

Edited March 24, 2013 by Gemmie

[JulesP]

You are looking at around $5000 for the surgery. I went to Melbourne Veterinary Specialist http://www.melbvet.com.au/html/s01_home/home.asp?id=home. My dog wasn't able to have the surgery as she has multiple shunts.

Do not feed her any normal food. No treats. No biscuits. Just the L/D. This is very important. You need to rest her liver. The only other protein source you can try is egg whites with some veggies. The other thing you can give her to keep her going is Pediasure. This is a child's version on Ensure and is for sick children. You can buy it from Chemist Warehouses, it is near the infant food.

Is she on antibiotics? Other medicine?

[Gemmie]

ok thanks for that info, ill look into that, they are the closest to me so far!

She has not been eating normal food, she has been eating a few veggies, but not much.

there was a recipe on the net somewhere that was just veggies and fish (white flesh) is this okay to give to her?

She does like fish, not that i have given any to her since the symptoms

i also read somewhere that someone gave there dog with a shunt, oats? would this be okay? or porridge? she used to love porridge

its very hard trying to feed her at the moment, she just doesnt want to touch food

i will get some of the pediasure, that sounds good, how much should i give her? she only weighs 4.5kgs (very small dog, always has been)

she was on a course of anti-biotics, but that has finished now, and she is on ursofolk (spelling?) at the moment.

im sorry for all these questions i know you have probably answered all these before, but your help is very appreciated.

[JulesP]

Oats should be ok. I wouldn't feed the fish, use egg whites instead. She would probably only need 1 egg white as she is little.

Size is often an indication that the dog has a liver problem. People think my border collie is a pup still. Hard to tell with your dog though as she is a cross, so hard to say if she is smaller then she should be.

I normally just mix a scoop of the Pediasure up with a bit of water and feed that. It tastes like vanilla. All my animals have thought it is pretty good. Helped my girl a lot when she was totally refusing to eat.

She needs to stay on the antibiotics.

[Gemmie]

Thanks for the info

funny you say that, people always ask how old she is and when i say 3yo they are amazed, they think she is still a puppy!

she is very tiny, tiny head, tail, frame, just a tiny dog!

we have had jack russells all our life (pure breds) and the only thing JR about her is her colouring (tan and white!) When shes asleep curled up in a ball she could fit in my hands!

i have to go to vets tonight so i will ask about the antibiotics and get her back on them

Thanks for your help.