Dog health question

[Scott in NCal]

Got a message from the vet. The blood test for Loni, my 7 year old, racoon killing, child protecting, wild boar fighting, house patrolling Airedale Terrier lap dog indicates she has elevated liver enzymes. She is not a alcohol drinker. I am calling the vet tomorrow. Any ideas about what may be going on woth her

 

[chief38]

Too much fat in her diet??

 

[rwsmith]

I do hope....

I do hope that it is something simple like changing diet. We had to start one of our doggies on a 'Old Doggie Food'.

 

[Wise_A]

It could be pancreatitis, or a precondition which can lead to pancreatitis. But to be frank, that's a worst-case scenario, and even then, the dog can live happily for many years if you do your part.

Just wait to see what he says.

You may want to ask him about diet options. This is going to sound brutal, but it's for the best.

Knock out the people food to start with. All of the people food. Potato chips, french fries, everything. They don't miss it, and you can sub in lowfat dog treats. If you've got kids, this can be tough. You might end up monitoring the kids more than the dog.

For the dog's actual food, some of the prescription diet canned food is...it's so bloody awful we felt bad just giving it to ours. He didn't seem to mind it, but the stuff was disgusting, and it wasn't cheap.

We wound up cooking for 'im. A boneless, skinless chicken breast, boiled with a cup of rice, is about as lowfat as you can get, and they love it. It takes about 30 minutes to cook, and then maybe 10 minutes to chop up. Mix it with a greater portion of prescription dry food.

Make enough to last a week, and it doesn't take too much time. It's not even particularly expensive either, especially if you watch the supermarket circulars and pick up a package or two of the chicken when it's on sale.

 

[Salty RI]

Make sure anything you feed her has little or no sodium.

 

[Krell1]

My guess would be a diet problem. Hopefully, just changing food will take care of the problem. We have a dog that has had pancreatitis and had to change her diet. This worked for us and she's 13 years old now and still acts like a puppy. Good luck!

 

[walkinghorse]

As you are already taking the dog to your vet, that is the first step.
See what they are testing for and why. Do some net research to have a better idea of what could be happening, better understanding of test results, and better underrstanding of what the symptoms are. Allows you to ask better questions. Some of the more sophisticated tests require sending off for results. Often there is long time lag, and some distant labs are better than others.
I have lost 2 rescues in the past 4 years dealing with a small country vet that depends on outside labs for most results. Both dogs ended up, my call, with a emergency vet practice that can do most anything, but you pay for the sophistication! One dog a 7 yo cocker, ended up in surgery to try to find enough liver to keep him functioning, but to no avail.
The other a 5yo shih tzu was diagnosed with Addison's disease, but the test results after a 3 week delay showed Cushing's disease. Same type disease but one low in results the other high! Delays through the small vet aggregated me. He went into a severe decline so back to the emergency vet at night. They tested his salt and potassium levels and they were off the scale, one low and one high, putting his heart at risk!
He passed away that night due to heart failure.
Our present shih tzu we got as a puppy, now 5months old, and we drive to the emergency vet, and he is seen through their regular vet practice for everything! Regular vet practice costs care similar to the country vet. There is always somebody(s) available, with a complete team, immediate tests for almost everything, ICU type monitoring if necessary, very good communication, complete explanations, etc. Several of the vets there are 2-3 years out of vet school, so along with the experienced vets, nice balance of latest and more common treatments and diagnoses are there! You also get a complete summary of potential costs to approve before anything, and afterwards if something changed!
Best of luck with your 4 legged family member !

 

[Scott in NCal]

I have an update. Talked to the vet.For anyone interested the numbers were AOP 326, normal is > 160, ALT 787, normal is > 121 and AST is 96 normal is > 55. The vet said that this is not imeadeatly dangerous but it needs to be checked out. Tomorrow Loni is going in for an ultrasound, the next logical step. You all can imaging my disapointment when I found out that Obama Care does not cover this proceedure. Thank you all for your ideas, I discussed them with the vet. She told me that I am the one that eats to much fat, and we will talk about the need to change the dogs diet and after we get some results. I have 2 Airedales, I am taking the other one in to have her liver function also checked. As we live in semi rural northern California the dogs spend a lot of time running around in vineyard chasing feral pigs, skunks, racoons, wild turkeys , coyotes ect. I wonder if she has been eating grapes ? We also have one of those open 24 hour emergency vet clinics over in Concord. They are excellent, if it can be done they can do it, they are always avaliable, and, you will pay for it. Hope that the local clinic can handel it. However, it is just money.

 

[Qc Pistolero]

I ain't no vet so I can't suggest a cure but I hope for a simple cure for your loved pet.I know what you're going through.I wish the best and fullest recover to your family member.
Qc

 

[Grip_Maker's_Wife]

Was your dog ever sick and vomiting in the past few months? Is it possible she ate a mushroom? Mushroom poisoning is fairly common, unfortunately. Tylenol can also cause liver damage. Grapes cause kidney damage.

I hope she is OK and that it is not serious like Cushing's disease. Let us know what the vet says when you get more info. We're all rooting for her well being. Our pets are members of our family.