# Liver shunt



## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

Hi everyone. 

We just got back from the e-vets with Prada after a pretty scary scenario. At first I thought it was hypolycemia and gave her nutrical. That did nothing so we rushed her in after speaking to my vet. 

By the time she was seen and had her blood drawn for tests she had perked up so the bet suggested bringing her home where she would be much more comfortable as there was not much they could do for her until her bloodwork comes back tomorrow. 

If it is confirmed, should I contact her breeder (who already dislikes me over the name fiasco!)? Is a liver shunt hereditary? Can I get any compensation if so? will I have to switch her diet from dehydrated raw to a low protein kibble?Will her life span be cut short because of this?

Sorry for all the questions, this is a huge shock to me. 


Thank you,
Kaitlyn & Prada


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## MisStingerRN (May 16, 2010)

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this! What are her symptoms? What did they tell you to make you think it was a liver shunt?

*If* it is indeed a liver shunt, surgery might be an option. And yes, you would def. want to get her off such a high protein diet. 

I wish I was more help to you, but I'm sure someone will come a long to answer all your questions. 

Hopefully the tests will come back ok though. How is she now? 

Hugs


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## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

She was a doll when we got home. She was back to her old self and started humping ChiChi again (her first heat!) poor guy just looks at us and tries to run!

When I got out of the shower earlier in the evening she was laying next to chi on the couch. I noticed right away her head swaying, with her mouth all but slighly opened. She had a very nervous look in her eye and I admit I panicked right away. 

I tried to stand her up and she would just stumble off, tail tucked between her legs - which is not at all like my warrior princess! She would just flop back down and look really lethargic and spaced out, still swaying her head. She would not respond to any positive praise. 

She managed to lick the nutrical on her ownand after about 10 mins on the phone with our regular vets they told us to tale her into the emergency clinic

the doctor there said although it was a possibilty, she was too old to be hypoglycemic. She asked me if she had diarhea or had been vomitting but that was a no. She immediately suggested a liver shunt and we opted for blood test. 

Her results will be in tomorrow afternoon the latest.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Sorry to hear that you may be dealing with a liver shunt. If so, then you will want to feed a low protein diet.

I'm not sure what the protein level is in dehydrated raw. However, Just wanted to add that the prey-model diet eaten by raw-fed dogs isn't as high in protein as people would assume. 

One has to consider that raw meats/organs and such are made up of a LOT of moisture, then protein, then fat. Take for instance, a chicken leg. It has about 18g of protein, 70g of water, and 12g fat that makes up a 101g serving (other 1g made up of other little stuff). That's 70% moisture, 18% protein, and 12g of fat.

So actually feeding a fresh raw meat diet is pretty low in protein. Some kibbles have protein levels of 40%! 

I know that drying the food has an effect on protein levels.

Keep us posted! Did the vet draw a fasting lab for bile acid? That's the gold standard test for liver disease. I hope it's negative. But if not, we will find resources to help you.


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## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

I just checked her ziwipeak and it said the protein was 31%. Is that too high? I would really hate to have to switch her to a kibble again. Especially since I would have to feed them all seperately so she couldn't sneak any of the good stuff!

The e-vets contacted my regular vet with the results and the head vet called me personally to tell me the results. She had a regular wellness blood test and the random bile acids test which came back at a 6, which he said was hood and normal. Other then that her protein was a little low, but he was concerned about it. 

She has not been interested in eating or drinking today so far, although she is better than last night. She has also vomitted twice. He said that was odd and that he would like her to come back in for testing as something was obviously going on. 

Now I'm worried it could be something worse, but who knows at this point.


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## MisStingerRN (May 16, 2010)

Were thinking of you and Prada today...hugs xx


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## hazeyj (Nov 12, 2008)

Hi there, My chi has liver shunt, she has inoperable internal liver shunts. If your furbaby has liver shunt (and she sounds like she has) then you should not give raw diet or any red meat, chicken, egg yolks, cheese (anything that is high in protein) and immediately get her onto a low protein diet, royal canin if the best for liver babies as its well tolerated. 

She needs to be on lactulose after each meal to stop the hepatic encephalopathy which she sounds like she is having at the moment. I urge you to join http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Liver_Shunt_And_MVD_Support/ and learn more about this disease.

Please read the Hepatic encephalopathy bit first. If my chi displays any Hepatic encephalopathy symptoms i giver her a ml of lactulose every hour until she has the runs. This is because the lactulose pulls the toxins out of the bowel and stops then getting into the brain which cause the Hepatic encephalopathy. Drooling, stumbling, head pressing against doors etc, far away look.

My first vet actually diagnosed my chi with liver shunt but didnt have a clue what to do next or diet change etc. If i hadnt have found the yahoo group and then a new vet my little girl wouldnt be here now. 

Hope everything turns out ok.


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## hazeyj (Nov 12, 2008)

Forgot to say your vet needs to run bile acid tests.


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## Chandoll (May 31, 2010)

I don't have any advice but I didn't just want to read and run either!!! My heart goes out to you it must b awful not knowing what's wrong with your baby!!! Hope you don't have to wait to long to get to the bottom of if and I hope u get your baby back to herself soon!!!


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## Chiboymom (Jul 8, 2009)

Hope you have some answers soon. We will be thinking of you.


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## MakNLFi (Jun 8, 2010)

I am so sorry that Prada is sick.  I pray everything works out and she will be okay.
God Bless!


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## hazeyj (Nov 12, 2008)

Also forgot to add its royal canin hepatic diet, not normal kibble, also keep away from high fats as well as high protein.


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## Fizzy Chihuahuas (Mar 8, 2010)

I had a dog with a liver shunt too , he was fed on ' Royal canin hepatic ' too ...
Anything else sent him into 'liver shunt classic behaviour ' ( Spinning round on the spot / odd behaviour etc  )


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## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the kind words and thankyou SO much HazeyJ for all the great info. 


We did do a bile acid test along with checking her blood for all the regular stuff they look for. They said her glucose levels were tip top shape so it was not hypoglycemia and her bile test came back at a 6 which he said was perfectly normal, so they also ruled out a liver shunt. 

We brought her in again the next day but they said more tests right now weren't necessary. They have NO idea what it could have been and honestly neither do I. They are leaving it up to either the heat or the possibility she could have eaten something outside.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Any updates?

I'm so sorry about little Prada being ill. Let us know if there are any new developments.

It might just be she ate something weird. We have a bunch of stoner kids in our condo complex and they were all outside eating brownies directly out of the pan (hmmmm), and the next day I caught Laurel w/ a big chunk of brownie in her mouth near that spot that she gulped down before I could get it away.

Let me just say she acted high as a kite, dizzy, vomited some, etc. The chocolate didn't help, I'm sure. Pretty sure those were "special" brownies. It took 2-3 days for her to be normal again and stop stumbling. (We took her to the vet who ran a bunch of tests then scratched his head).

Just goes to show there is sooo much crap floating around on the ground and let's "hope" that is all that is wrong w/ Prada ... she ate something funky


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## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

We have a lot of people like that here at our condo too. The dogs are always sniffing around and trying to munch on stuff outside, even though it's their designated doggy area. 

When my vet referred us to the e-clinic he said it sounded neurological and all I could think about was her having brain damage!!
I am relieved it's looking to be an unfortunate mishap, but keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't happen again!


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## Fizzy Chihuahuas (Mar 8, 2010)

So pleased to hear she doesn't have a liver shunt ... ((hugs))


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Guess said:


> We have a lot of people like that here at our condo too. The dogs are always sniffing around and trying to munch on stuff outside, even though it's their designated doggy area.
> 
> When my vet referred us to the e-clinic he said it sounded neurological and all I could think about was her having brain damage!!
> I am relieved it's looking to be an unfortunate mishap, but keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't happen again!


Doesn't it just kill you? Its like, we do everything we can to protect them, and then goodness only knows what they get into. It's just one more reason why my smaller 3 are potty pad trained until we live out in the country somewhere! 

I hope you figure out whatever it is if it wasn't just an unfortunate mishap, but hopefully thats all it was.


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