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Originally Posted by RONLYNN  I talked to the doctors and they said that people think that the parents should be tested and that it has something to do with that but they said that has never been proven. They said it is something that just happens and they have never been able to trace it back to anything, including the parents. He said that it is a myth that if the parents are tested and are clean that the puppies will not have it....he said a lot of people believe that but that is not the case. |
I'm so sorry to hear that she has a liver shunt, but I'm glad that it is extrahepatic and operable!! Have you joined the liver shunt and mvd group on yahoo groups yet? They have a wealth of information there.
It sounds like the vet was not very clear about this, so I'll try to explain what I know.
It is recommended that all breeders test their breeding pairs for liver shunt and have them bile acid tested so that in case they do have liver shunt or mvd, they are not bred, so that they don't pass this gene on to their offspring.
Let's suppose that the parents have liver shunt or mvd...If they have puppies, it is POSSIBLE that none of the dogs will be affected. The parents should not be bred if they do have liver shunt or mvd because it means they carry the gene for it and even if their pups don't have, the pups' pups will carry the gene and can pass it on too.
Let's suppose that the parents test negative for liver shunt/mvd...This does NOT mean that the puppies will not have liver shunt or mvd...Dogs can carry the gene for many generations without any of their pups, grandpups, etc. being affected...BUT I think all breeding dogs should be tested even if there's no 100% guarantee.
Mostly, extrahepatic liver shunts are congenital, meaning that the pups are born with this...Acquired shunts exist, but these are usually secondary to something. Sometimes dogs who have had liver shunt surgery could acquire another shunt as well.
Are they going to be using an ameroid constrictor? This is usually the method of choice because it closes slowly and is usually safer.
I'll be praying for your little baby!!!!