Have your vet do a bile acid test, the fasting one. If the readings are very high it is a good chance that there is a Liver-shunt. I have a Liver-shunt survivor, so I have been through it. The Bile Acid test does not tell for sure if it is a shunt, but if the readings are over 100 the chances are good that it may be a shunt. If they are high it definately means there is some problem concerning the liver. A shunt can be corrected, and there is help for it that you can apply for if that is the problem. My shunt survivor is now 6 years old, and doing fine. We discovered she had a shunt when she was a year old. If I had done the bile acid test when I just got her, it would have showed there was a problem then. That thest can be done on puppies as young as 8 weeks. I now check every dog I get, and every puppy I produce through my breedings. I do not breed very often, only when I decide that I want a new show prospect, but I still check every puppy. |