[kara]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

Miko was a pretty active yorkie and he weighed 8.5-9 lbs before we found out about his intrahepatic liver shunt and he still is, so he wasn't small in stature or anything like that. The reason I mention this is because I know small and not active are two possible signs and a lot of the yorkies that have liver shunts have these, but Miko was neither of the two. You might not even notice any symptoms at all. Great info, by the way, kara!

Thanks! You are so right the intrahepatic shunts are different then the extrahepatic shunts and some of the signs can be different or not there at all until later in life. So they can be misdiagnosed or not present until later in the dog's life. That's why I think that breeders should test their breeding pairs before breeding and not breed the ones who have liver shunts as well as test the puppies before they put them up for sale so they can prevent this genetic defect from continuing on. It's a $50-$85 dollar test for priceless peice of mind. I wouldn't ever want anyone to go through what we have been through and are still dealing with.