liver shunts?

[baby mia]

My 4 month old boxer has been sick since the day we bought her. She was pooping 12 times a day and it was runny and discolored. The breeder told me this was normal for a puppy. Well the vet told me otherwise and put her on meds. But one day she went into shock. Head twitching, shallow breaths, no cordination! The emergency clinic said she might have liver shunts. She was put on special food and meds and is doing a lot better. But does anyone know anything or have experience with this disease?? I need all the help i can get

 

[DannyB]

I'm so sorry your baby isn't well and I hope this isn't actually her problem. In a nutshell, a dog with a hepatic (liver) portosystemic shunt has blood vessels that run straight from the intestines to the vena cava instead of going through the liver as they should. The liver is the major detoxifying organ in the body and removes many substances (like ammonia) from the blood before it returns to the main circulatory system. This doesn't happen in dogs with shunts so the toxins build up in their system leading to signs like stunted growth, vague GI signs (vomiting, diarrhea), lethargy, weakness, seizures... These dogs are often prone to hypoglycemic episodes which may be what you saw with your dog. A presumptive diagnosis can be made using bloodwork but confirmation will require ultrasound and/or some specialized x-ray techniques (dye studies). Some dogs can be managed with diet and medication but most will require surgery to tie off the shunt and force blood to go through the liver. Your local vet can probably get you through the presumptive diagnosis stage but you'll need a specialty clinic to get the advanced testing and surgery done.

 

[Lola's mum]

My friends Westie had this when he was a pup and had an operation to correct this at a specialist surgery.
He is 3 yrs old now and just fine Their insurance also paid out.