The first step is a bile acid test.
A blood test is done after fasting for 12 hours (fasting for that long is no longer considered necessary but most vets still follow this protocol), the dog is fed and another blood draw is done 2 hours later.
The dog should be 6 months or more if possible and no meds (including heartworm, flea and vaccines) should be given for about a week or 2 before because they can skew the results. A high protein diet can also make the numbers go up.
Normal is about 10 or less pre meal and 15 or less post meal depending on the lab.
If the dog is having symptoms, the test should be done even if the dog is not yet 6 months.
__________________ Crystal  , Ellie May (RIP)  , Rylee Finnegan  , and Gracie Boo🐶 |