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Originally Posted by Carsons Mommy  Carson will be 2 yrs old next month and Bailey will be 6 months next month. |
I always recommend doing a full blood panel and a Bile Acid test on a puppy before you have it spayed/neutered (usually by 6 months of age). The BAT is just a blood draw, just like they'll do for the blood panel. They take a sample, feed your pet, and take another sample two hours later. It's not any more painful than just having your blood drawn.
Lacy and Rylie are almost 4 and have never been BATed...didn't know to do it when they were young. They've shown no symptoms either and I think at their age there is no point now. There would have been some kind of symptom or secondary problem arise if they had liver shunt. However, I personally will be having any puppy I buy in the future BATed before it is spayed. I really feel like every yorkie puppy ought to be tested because often symtoms may not arise until they are closer to adulthood or there may be no symptoms at all until the dog develops a secondary problem such as bladder stones.
There was a thread by a YT member not too long ago where she talked about having such a healthy yorkie at one year of age...never an issue with him, but he suddenly started developing bladder stones and his vet suggested BATing him. Turned out after all diagnostics that he did have liver shunt! So it is possible to have it without showing symptoms, and it will cause the dog problems later in life.
Dr. Center recommends BATing as a puppy as well to rule out liver shunt so if the dog develops liver issues as it ages, you'll know it is MVD and not an external shunt.
If it were ME, I'd just have a blood panel done on the two year old at his next checkup (I do a blood panel once a year on my pets). And do a blood panel and a BAT on the 6 month old before you neuter. Another reason to do a BAT before their first surgery, is that dogs with liver shunt don't metabolize the anaesthesia as well as normal dogs so they can have problems coming out of it as well as a normal dog would.