My 4 year old 3 lb female spayed Yorkie collapsed this week after being in great health. We went for a long walk, nothing unusual about it. A few minutes after we got home she went totally limp except for a small jerk every few seconds. I rushed her to the vet. She was put on oxygen, IV fluids, and a warming pad. Her heart rate was 40, they couldn't get a temperature, and she was barely breathing. A few hours later after blood tests they sent her home with Hills cans of liver care food. Her ALT was 249 (normal is 1-120) AST was 414 (normal is 0-60) bilirubing was .4 (normal is 0-.5). The killer was the bile acids 248 (normal is 0-10)! A year ago her bile acids were 6. So now she is on the liver plan food and goes back for blood tests Feb3. I am terribly upset as those numbers seem like a death sentence. Any advice about diet or other measure would be appreciated. The vet ruled out possible surgery due to her small size. I am not sure the Hills liver care is so great. She eats it OK but protein is only 4.5% and mostly from soybean meal and egg "product". She is very active and young so I want her on the best food possible. We may do an ultrasound after we get the next blood test results. I also wonder if there is any possible cause for such a huge spike in the bile acids in an adult dog other than a liver shunt. Thank you
It would be very careless of us to provide medical advice, including diet. We could say give the dog X and the dog could end up dying because of it (or despite it). If you are unsure if your vet's advice is right, get a second opinion from another vet.
Can't offer any advice, but sending huge hugs for you and positive vibes for your little one to stabilise xx
I am not doubting the vet. Just wondering if anything else could cause a huge spike like that and also any homemade liver recipes.
I wonder if a different vet might be able to do surgery, if the reason your vet said it can’t be done is her small size. There are surgeons who work on very small premature human babies, but they are specialized. I’m hoping for a positive outcome for you and your dog!!
I am very sorry to hear about your little dog and do hope that she will recover quickly. A high spike in liver values can be due to chronic liver disease, which usually takes time to show, and is normally caused by an underlying health condition/s, many of which would have shown no prior symptoms. Acute liver failure comes on suddenly, as you have described it with your little dog. It is usually caused by ingesting something toxic. Is there any chance that your little one had access to anything while you were out?
Nothing toxic she is with me 24-7 and only had iams small breed dry food and a small treat or 2 a day. The vet said since almost all shunts that develop after 1st year or so are multiple shunts. Here is about what she said from a pdf I downloaded. She has no other liver symptoms and no high blood pressure. Here is a link to the pdf which seems to be a very good basic description of liver shunts. https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=utk_smalpubs Multiple acquired shunts occur as a result of end stage liver disease (cirrhosis) and portal hypertension. These are not congenital and they are not surgically correctable.
The think that made me wonder if she had ingested anything toxic was because you said she collapsed after having been for a long walk with you, and I thought maybe she could have possibly picked up something and eaten it while she was having a sniff around. I do hope not.
Can only say that I am so sorry to hear about your little dog's disease. I hope you can get a clear diagnosis, and her readings fall on the recommended diet. Best wishes.
