Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

What Causes Elevated Liver Levels in Dogs?

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I've heard Jones Lamb Lungs are wonderful for elevated liver levels. Perhaps you should give me some.

I’ve heard Jones Windees are wonderful for elevated liver levels. Well, don’t keep me waiting!

In Friday’s post I showed a partial comment left by Retro Rover.  After I scheduled that post there were a couple more that really resonated and I thought it would be good to address those as well.

First up, Retro Rover’s comment: ” Pings levels have fluctuated quite a bit over her liver disease journey of two years. Also I would ask the vet about what will be gained from the biopsy. In Pings case we elected not to do it as they said it would only possibly reveal the big C and there was basically nothing to be done about that. Of course I’m sure the situation could be very different with Delilah and there might be much to gain. I was also told that the procedure was somewhat risky.”

One of Red’s dogs has been having liver issues.  In fact, Red and I have had a couple of e-mail conversations and she’s been very helpful.  She has Ping on Denamarin which she buys online.   Delilah has been on the Denamarin for a month.  BUT since it hasn’t helped, our vet is switching the medication to Hepagen-C , this has Milk Thistle like the Denamarin does but it also has B6, B12 and Curcumin which is one of the properties in Turmeric.  While reading up on canine liver issues I found one of the suggested supplements was Turmeric.

Thursday afternoon the vet called with the results of the Acid Bile test.

What is a Bile Acid test?

My understanding of a Bile Acid test is such.  The dog is fasted and blood is drawn, the dog is then fed a (fatty) meal and two hours later the blood is drawn again.  This tells the Vet how well the liver is functioning and doing it’s job.

According to our Vet Delilah’s levels were ‘slightly’ elevated and she recommends a liver biopsy.  I asked her, what is the purpose of the biopsy. Here’s what she told me.

She feels Delilah’s liver issue (for lack of a better word) is one of three things, 1) Chronic Hepatitis 2) Reactive Hepatitis 3) the liver is storing copper.

Each of these illnesses is treated in a different way.  Without knowing what is causing the elevated liver levels, we cannot treat the underlying issue and make Delilah feel better.

What about risk in performing a liver biopsy?

There is a risk with any procedure, but they take precautions.  They will check her vitamin K levels and will be checking her blood to make sure it clots.  From what I understand the biggest risk is bleeding.  Trust me, this did not reassure me in the slightest.

I asked could these just be normal levels for Delilah.  She is after all an extraordinary dog. 🙂

The vet said her levels have always been normal before, so no.

Seeing as Delilah’s liver levels are only slightly elevated, my vet feels we have time before needing to perform the biopsy.  Which turns out well as funds are a bit tight right now and I’m really on the fence about this test.

I also had a comment from Hailey and Zaphod who said, “Our first dog had immune mediated hepatitis that caused psoriasis of the liver. It was a difficult journey for him and us. I hope your lovely girl does not have anything as serious. POTP.

I’m so sorry to hear about this.  I cannot imagine how heartbreaking and difficult that was for you.  I’m hoping since we caught this early we will have a good shot at getting to the bottom of whatever it is and making sure Delilah gets the best treatment possible.

Sherrie Petrie said “Jodi – Ask your Vet about putting Delilah on Milk Thistle it helps support and clear toxins from the liver. I had a Sheltie who had liver difficulties and this helped decrease her numbers. You never know anything could help. ”

Thank you Sherrie, the Denamarin we had Delilah on is a combination of Milk Thistle and SAMe.  Our vet leans towards the holistic which is one of the reasons I love her so.

Rachele Baker DVM said, “If you ever feel that you would like more information about her liver issues or that you would like a second opinion, you might consider taking her to a board certified veterinary internal medicine specialist in your area. You could ask your veterinarian for a referral or just check online and/or talk with friends to find a specialist in your area that has a good reputation. It is usually possible to take your pet to a specialist without a referral from your veterinarian and it is usually not that expensive for an examination and consultation with a specialist.”

Thank you Dr. Baker I am going to ask my vet about seeing a specialist.  

Interestingly enough, as I was researching some of the potential reasons causing elevated liver levels, I discovered they can be caused by dental disease.  While Delilah does not currently have any dental disease, she does need a tooth extracted and because of this she is beginning to get some tartar build up.

While the person I spoke to at my vet’s office said Delilah’s tooth should not have any bearing on her liver levels, I prefer to have them checked again after her cleaning and extraction.

I thank you all so much for sharing your knowledge and experiences with me.  I hope this has helped in explaining a little bit about what Delilah is going through.  I will of course keep you informed of any changes in Delilah’s health or changes in our decisions regarding treatment.

These Dogs You Guys

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As you know, last week I laid out my plan to help get Sampson recover from his ACL surgery.  It involves limiting his walks both in terms of distance and speed, adding Glucosamine to his diet, and getting him some acupuncture treatments.  Currently Sampson goes to the Physical Therapist once a week, where he gets cold laser therapy.  Last week the therapist asked how he was doing and I told her I thought he was doing better.

I gage this in a couple of ways.

1) He’s climbing on the couch at least once or twice a day.

I love my couch, I think it's grand, if I could I'd hold it's hand.

I love my couch, I think it’s grand, if I could I’d hold it’s hand.

2) He seems to be walking better, in fact I have to slow him down quite frequently, as he’s pulling ahead of me on our walks.

3) He’s not licking his paws as much as he was.

When he saw my vet on June 23rd, she took a look at his paws and said, “He’s hurting.”  Check out the photos.

This photo was taken June 26th. While it's hard to see I've pointed out the areas with the lick Granulomas.

This photo was taken June 26th. While it’s hard to see I’ve pointed out the areas with the lick Granulomas.

 

This photo was taken July 10th. Exactly two weeks later.

This photo was taken July 10th. Exactly two weeks later.

As you can see, he’s not licking at his paws as much and the Granulomas are healing up.

4) He wants to run and jump.

5) Did I mention he wants to jump?  Yeah, Saturday I drove up to the park, pulled out the ramp and opened the hatch.  As I’m opening the door I’m saying, “Wait.”  Except he didn’t.  He jumped out.  

JUMPED.  Out of the freaking car.

Asshole.

These dogs will be the death of me.  If they don’t physically kill me by tripping me, or knocking me down, they’ll give me a heart attack with their antics.

Do-Don’t, Will-Won’t

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I’ve been getting some conflicting opinions on how to deal with Sampson’s recovery from ACL surgery.  The problem is the complication of the Iliospsoas Muscle strain/tear.  

DO:

When our vet saw him a couple of weeks ago she told me to help heal the strain/tear I should be stretching Sampson’s leg out.

DON’T:

When I saw the physical therapist last week, she told me you do not stretch a muscle that is strained.

DO:

The physical therapist was using the underwater treadmill with Sampson once a week and didn’t have a problem with Sampson walking for 1/2 an hour twice a day.

DON’T:

My vet said his walks could be between 15 to 20 minutes, but at a very slow pace.

DO:

When I met with the surgeon last week, I was telling him how much Sampson loved his wood walks and how I was afraid to take him up there because I was afraid he would slip in the dried leaves.  The surgeon said, don’t worry about the leaves, take him up there, let him have his wood walks.

DON’T:

I told him my concern with the wood walks was the off-leash dogs and how excited Sampson is when he sees a person or dog.  The surgeon said, don’t let him get excited and bounce around like a ping pong ball.

MY WAY

I started thinking about the time that Hubby tore a muscle in his back.  And how incapacitated he was for almost a full week while that muscle began healing.  For the first couple of days he couldn’t move at all, then gradually he began limited movement by using a walker.

I thought about what made sense to me in terms of dealing with a muscle strain, I talked it over with Hubby and we decided a course of action.

WILL:

I will continue to walk Sampson, but the walks will be very, very slow and limited in time.  I will strive to keep his walks to between 15 to 20 minutes twice a day.

WON’T:

I won’t have Sampson use the underwater treadmill.  I spoke to the physical therapist and we swapped the treadmill out for cold laser therapy.  Once the package is up, which is the end of this month, I can continue taking Sampson to our own vet to continue the cold laser.

WILL:

Once a week I will take Sampson up to his beloved woods for a walk.

That WILL be lovely Mama. The field is nice, but I LOVE my woods.

That WILL be lovely Mama. The field is nice, but I LOVE my woods.

WON’T:

I will try to choose a path in the woods where I can see people/dogs approaching and do my best to not let him get too excited.

WILL:

As soon as I can schedule it, I will set Sampson up with some more acupuncture treatments.

I will also work on getting my DIY cavaletti’s made so in a couple of weeks we can begin building his muscle up again.

I’m not sure this is the right course of action, but to me it makes sense.

I’d be interested to hear what you all think, especially if you’ve had a pet with these issues or work in the veterinary field.

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