Is there any experience here with Liver Shunt? Is it genetic?

Pup is over a year old, but has always circled, stared into space, gone into "freeze-mode" where she seems unable to move, and cried for no obvious reason. The vets agree that she is a little strange, but so far nobody has come up with anything.

CBC normal, but new vet has come up with this idea and the symptoms seem to fit. Bile Acid test will be done.

We had a liver shunt puppy come into rescue in the late 90s. He was gorgeous, from show lines, but a little odd. He showed neurologic symptoms after eating high protein meals. Eukanuba Puppy was really bad for him, as was the high protein level and the methionine in it. Coco Puppy showed signs at only about 10 weeks of age. He would stare into space and have a bad drunken gait, ataxia. Sometimes he seemed almost blind after eating.

He was helped by Hill's L/D, which was new then. Like many large breed dogs with liver shunts, his shunts were inside the liver, multiple, and complicated. We opted not to operate, as Penn said he had a 50/50 chance of a successful operation and recovery. I think I had Dinner Rounds and Milkbones, of all things, as a commercial diet to supplement the homemade diet at my very busy household while we were waiting for the Hills L/D to come in to the vet's. Some liver detox supplements were used, and I picked fresh dandelion greens to add to his food in warm weather. There were various meds used to control his symptoms, too, and keep him healthier. We also used Frontline rather than other flea and tick preventatives which would have been processed by the liver. He lived a good couple years with a veterinary school instructor after he left my house. At the time, the jury was out on whether his congenital condition was genetic or not. In small breeds, it seems to be so in some breeds and lines.

Good luck with her. Let us know what they find.

Note in Coco Puppy's story that we at first had some concerns about his environment and things he was able to eat in his previous home, as liver damage could have resulted in similar signs. Also, a lot of use of flagyl can result in neuro signs.
http://www.labmed.org/ss_c
oco.html

Thank you Charlotte K. Coco's case is interesting - and sad.

I do think that medical technology has come a bit further these days, and that the surgery is do-able and (supposedly) has a higher success rate than it used to have. We will just have to see how things go. BTW if anyone is interested, there is an excellent email list at Yahoo for dogs with liver shunts.

Fortunately, we haven't had to use Flagyl, and we try to be as chemical-free as possible, especially for this little one with her neurological problems.

Thanks again for the info.

In people these would be similar signs to hepatic encephalopathy - what about treating the pup with Lactulose to help get rid of the high ammonia levels. Need to feed a low protein diet as long as is showing signs or for life if not going to do surgery.

Thank you.

I have been told to ask the vet for a scrip for Lactulose if the bile acids test confirms liver disease. I am also feeding her a low-protein diet right now (just in case).