High ALT Liver Test -

[staceypal]

I need advice.

I have a year and a half yellow lab.   Last year, when we had his bloodwork done, we noticed that his liver ALT levels were high.  (close to 500)   The vet at that time put him on clayamox for a few weeks and re-tested.  His levels only decreased slighty.   Out of concern, we had a ultrasound done.  Ultrasound results came back absoutley normal.   The vet pretty much said, lets play the "wait and see game"  

Since then, we have switched vets.   We recently had bloodwork done and again my dog's ALT liver levels are still high. (Everything else is normal in his bloodwork!)  My dog acts fine. He's very active, not lethargic at all, eats & drinks well, hasn't been throwing up, no jaundice or anything like that.   The vet now recommended to do a liver bx .   She says, the wait and see game could only lead to more serious things.  If we wait, years to come, if something came up, it may be too late to correct the probelm.  

I've done some research.   Most liver diseases the dog shows signs and symptoms.   I would think
if things were really serious with my dog, he'd be pretty sick. What do you think?

I am doing a liver bx in a few weeks.  

Any ideas on what this may be?  

[Sophiesmom12]

I too went thru the dehydrated chicken strips from China . My dog had bleeding colitis and had anti biotic therapy for two days, she is doing well, but now has an elevated enzyme in liver, we are looking at possible cause heart worm pill now? It's scary when you don,t know what is causing it?

[bellasmom1234]

She is doing much better now. Thank you for asking. It is confusing because there is SO much information out there. I went into survival mode when I was told we didn't have much time left and researched like CRAZY!
Her specialist formulated a couple of recipies for homemade food. They are simple in ingrediants. I would be happy to share what I have with you. One site that gave me some hope was http://www.scamperingpaws.com/liver-disease-dogs/. I found it to be realistic and close to what I was going through. It may help you as well. What kind of dog do you have? How old?

[ltstup]

How is your dog?  Mine is going thru something similar and I have been researching different foods to feed him homemade.  It's all so confusing.  He has to be on low fat and low protein.  Hope your dog is doing much better.

[maverick2014]

DONT feed Milos. It's the worst thing you could give him. Look it up on the internet. It's all made in China with no food requirements so you don't know what they are using. I use Nudges Jerkey Cuts. Made in America.by Tyson. Please do an internet check on any food you give your dog. Food you may think is fine actually is toxic.

[bellasmom1234]

I have a 3 year old Australian Shepard who is deaf due to a double merle breeding. I brought her into the vet several times with concerns that she just didn't seem right. Occasional diarrhea, inappetance, frequent drinking and increased urination were all on my list but they were never consistent symptoms as they would come and go. On top of this I had been working with her and a vulva issue for months that included multiple vet visits, creams, etc. They finally said she had urinary incontinence and put her on a steroid. Nothing helped. Finally I took her back in and insisted on blood work. All was normal aside from an ALT of 235. The vet proceeded and gave her 3 vaccines as part of an annual checkup. Lepto, Lyme and Rabies. I was told to retest in 3 weeks to see if the levels would lower. I didn't make it to 3 weeks. Two weeks later she threw up bile and would tremble after the smallest amount of food which I really had to coax her to even eat. I brought her into the vet and just two weeks later ALP of 202, TBIL of 11 and ALT of 1392. I rushed her from my regular vet to a DMV medical center with 24 hour care where she was on IV for 72 hours and an ultrasound was performed. Despite the time on IV her blood levels never dropped. The ultrasound showed no signs of a shunt or tumor but they did advise her liver was very small and abnormal in shape. The specialist said that he felt we were dealing with a chronic liver disease which would result in failure, but the only way to know for sure was a biopsy. When I asked if the biopsy would determine the cause to cure her, he said no. He felt strongly she was born with a defect and managed up till this point. Pre blood work even demonstrated that her clotting factors were down so the biopsy was a risk in itself. I made the decision to bring my baby home as I did not see the point of her spending any more time there. He advised me with her levels and no improvement, I probably had 2 days and he sent me home with a small supply of a nausea meds and a probiotic. At this point I took to the internet and researched and reached out. It's been 6 weeks now that she is home. Maintaining her takes all of my time outside of my employment as I cook for her, feed her many small meals, time her supplements etc. It is of course worth it. I have brought her back twice since initially brining her home for further exams on her vulva. They took a culture and prescribed Baytril to treat a susceptible infection.  Each time I have brought her in since they run urine and blood work. Last week her urine gravity was almost normal as was all her blood work aside from an ALT of 234. Next week I am taking her in for a biopsy of the skin on her vulva and a bile acid test to determine the function of the liver. I am still not comfortable with a liver biopsy at this time. Was it the steroids that caused this, the vaccines, the infection of the vulva, her genetics? The point is I don't know if I will ever really know and that seems to be the frustration with the liver. All I can hope is that my little girl can stay stable and I hope the drop in enzymes is in fact a sign of recovery and not a cover up from the remedies I was been practicing. I currently give her denosyl, a liver cleanse, vitamin K and most importantly I am cooking for her myself. All natural and balanced. Is what I am doing helping, is the baytril playing a big role? Again, I don't know. All I know right now is she still wags her tail when I get home. After I wake her up of course, since she didn't hear me come home... ;)

I guess I am posting this to share my experience, learn from others and offer any advice on what I have done so far if it will help anyone else. Hope to see some action soon. Thank you in advance!

[Jill2365]

DO Not give any chicken jerky or strips!!!!
Most of it is made from tainted chicken from China..especially Milo's kitchen treats!!!!!
They will go
Into renal failure and die.