liver shunts

[paul collins]

Hi Ronnie woke today and very sleepy and walking with limp not himself and off food.Took to emergency vet full check,said could be liver shunt have to have full blood test and xray Tuesday(after bank hols)

Has anyone else suffered with this?we only had him 1 week should we contact breeder?

All started when we changed his diet to Orijen puppy from pedigree puppy last Monday?vet said high protein could be causing toxins?He now on boiled chicken and rice.We have the KC 4weeks free insurance that the breeder gave us,anyone know if this will cover him if he needs surgery?

[Dianne cook]

Fran, could you give me a little insite to malabsorbtion? I've always been interested to know more. Thank you... Dianne

[Angela Clarke]

Good luck for today Paul, hope you get some answers very soon, and that the news is better than you think at the moment. Thinking of you both

[Howard Glansfield]

When will you get the results Paul? I hope Ronnie is doing well.

[silvia]

HI Paul, sorry I coudnt comment since I dont know much about liver shunts, but we are thinking about you.. i hope the tests showed something less serious and you find out a cause soon..

as for the training: patience, patience, patience and method... I woudnt expect a puppy to be clean before quite a few time , but eventually they get there ;) (as, as other said, `incidents` after play sessions or for other random reasons may occur up to a few months of age..)

the first time we went in a hotel room with Oberon he was 4-5 months old, and we were sooo paranoic about the possibility that he could wee the hotel carpet that we set an alarm every couple of hours and each time we carried him downstairs and out from the back door .. probably not necessary, but I am glad we did since he was peeing at every wake-up;)

cheers

[paul collins]

Our Vet was very pleased with Ronnie and after giving him a full check,told us to put him back on the orijen and to see what happens.......no need to do any blood tests unless he goes again.

[Susan Stone]

Phew, Paul, what a huge relief! So pleased your pup is not seriously ill.

[Angela Clarke]

Wonderful news Paul, sooooooo pleased for you all, I was very worried as you hadn`t been on here. Enjoy your pup as you should do and hope that it was just the sudden change of food  <:0))))))))))))

Thank you for letting us Know,

[Howard Glansfield]

I am pleased that Ronnie seems ok but I don't understand how a vet can diagnose a serious condition like a liver shunt and then put him back on the food that seemed to cause the problem without even a blood test.Maybe it is just me but that doesn't seem logical.

[Chantal McIlveen-Wright]

same concern here

[Jean Lippett]

Don't forget to change diet slowly, Paul - I start with 4 parts old food, 1 part new; the next day, 3 parts old, 2 parts new, then 2 and 3 the third day 1 old, 4 new the fourth and all new the fifth day, not just a sudden switch.

[Martin Rowles]

Does Ronnie endlessly walk around in circles goin in an anti clockwise direction?  This is a major indicator for a liver shunt.  Also If it is a liver shunt always try the operation to close as long as the AHT say so as it is worth a try.  When the vets say low protein.... they mean mega low so ideal foods are low protein cottage cheese etc..  stay clear of processed dog foods except the ones which specify mega low protein.  They are very expensive !!!  You could also try Nature Diet Senior which is low protein and comes in a little plastic tray / tub.  I think Purina do an off the shelf hypoallergenic food in a black bag???? which basically doesn't have any cantagions in it.  Renal food can alos be looked into as it is also very low protein. If it is a liver shunt then do not do the usual acclimatisation process as you would for a new food, just whip him straight off and on to the medicated / low protein / renal food straight away as basically whatever you feed him poisons him.   However, first things first do the tests and the x-ray and get the AHT to analyze, they really are very very good.