Oh and I forgot to mention... When my vet called the U of Tenn about my dog, they said to put her on Hill's L/D., and that with that single change alone they have seen the most improvement in dogs that were showing symptoms.... mine had just come through a bout of Hepatic Encephalopathy. She was on the meds, but I was feeding her a regular diet cut with easily digested proteins, and vegetables. On the L/D, she's actually gained 2.5 pounds, she doesn't have the skinny, half starved look of a shunt dog anymore. And by the way she acts... one would never guess she has liver shunt.
And just for the sake of comparison: If you buy all the meds and special food for 1 year, including $500.00 for Office visits and bloodwork to monitor the health of the dog... for a 12 pound dog the yearly total is $1857.16. Plus time involved giving meds and preping special food. I also have to watch my dogs eat... they all want the L/D.
So, surgery looks like a really good deal, at $2000.00 all inclusive. Usually 4-6 months after the surgery, they can be transitioned back onto a regular diet.
