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Originally Posted by extazzz  I called the Vet yesterday and she was out so I spoke with the "other" vet on call. I asked him about the acid bile test and he looked at Hootie's chart and told me that his protein level was just slightly low and that they wanted to keep him on this (Amoxicillin) for a week then to bring him back unless he exhibited unusual symptoms. Part of the vet's instructions was to "Force Feed" him at least 2 times a day if he wouldn't eat on his own. They even provided the large syringe to feed him with. I was also to keep a diary and bring it with me on my return trip. I was to "look" for symptoms such as, him banging his head into objects (walls, etc), inability to walk straight or to be walking in circles, glazed eyes, extreme weakness, whining, basically anything that looks like a neurologic problems especially within an hour after eating. I am VERY happy to report that SO FAR, he is doing great. I have had to force feed him 2 x's yesterday then gave him his Amoxicillin and he has literally been bouncing off the walls. No sign of any of the things I was to be looking for. He has been VERY playful, running through the house and growling and barking.  This morning he woke up and jumped in my face, licking me all over (yes...he sleeps with me...LOL). He went into the kitchen and actually ate on his own then I gave him his Amoxicillin which he actually seems to kinda like.
Oh yes, yesterday the Vet said that after the "week" was over and I brought him back in next week, that if things were still NOT right with him , that they would do an acid bile test but that they ONLY do them if there is an indication of a problem. They test the obvious possibilities FIRST, gradually doing more testing as it is needed. He said he may NOT need an acid bile test if the Amoxicillin works. That he could just have an infection and to wait and see before I get myself all worked up. I'm not fooling myself into thinking that Amoxicillin will "cure" averything but if it works, hey, I won't complain!!! 
Right now he is the cute little growling furball be is supposed to be. No ill side effects (so far).
Thanks for all the prayers, answers and opinions and I will certainly keep you posted!!
Ms. Charlie
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HOOTIE  |
I'm glad your little guy is feeling better!
Just an FYI......According the Dr. Center, all Yorkies should get a bile acids test once they reach 20 weeks whether they have symptoms of a shunt or not. Unfortunately, liver shunts are more common in Yorkies than all other breeds and routine screening is very important.
A bile acids test is a very simple and inexpensive test. If it is done as a puppy, it will give your vet a baseline to refer to later on should he start showing symptoms of liver disease. It can save him from much more expensive and invasive tests like biopsies later on.
At present we recommend that all puppies undergo paired bile acid tests before they are adopted into homes (15 weeks or so). Why? Because you do not want a veterinarian to surprisingly find high bile acids when a dog is presented for illness. This results in aggressive testing that may include an expensive abdominal ultrasound and even a liver biopsy in a dog with MVD- consider for example a dog presented for vomiting after eating garbage. A high bile acid test would implicate the liver as being severely affected, and the clinician would be obligated to inform the client that the liver should be investigated. If they already knew the dog had high bile acids as a pup, consistent with MVD, then the medical investigations would be judiciously focused on the vomiting. PSVA and MVD Research Summary