Hello,
My yorkie is actually going through similar problems right now...He actually has a liver shunt, but the vet believes that it is intrahepatic because he wasn't able to find the actual shunt when he went in for the surgery. The symptoms and medications are very similar. My dog is on a special hepatic diet by Royal Canine, it's a veterinary prescription diet which he actually loves even though he's a picky eater. Protein is bad for him because it causes ammonia levels to increase, so with his hepatic diet, he actually gets his protein from vegetables and soy I believe. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to give him table scraps like chicken or anything like that. He's also on denosyl which is a liver supplement, and he's also on lactulose. I know how hard this must be for you b/c I'm going through the same thing.
My yorkie is only 1 yr. old but I feel like he's been with me forever. I love him like a son. He also has bladder stones I believe that are a symptom of the liver shunt, and this is basically when I found out he had the problem. He tried to urinate for a couple of hours just going from one pee pee pad to the next, but nothing came out, I took him to vet and they did urinary tests and bloodwork and a bile acid test, and his liver enzyme tests came back at over 300 which is extremely high. They're supposed to be below 25. The bladder stones are the only real symptoms that he has, thank God, because he still plays and jumps and runs like a super healthy dog. He's not depressed at all. If you have any other questions, let me know. I have a lot more info but it will take up too much space. |