for max a big bag of Hill K/D dry dog food is close to $20, but it takes him months to go through that. his lactulose is only ~$10/month.

The denosyl (liver supplement) is $90 a month, lactulose is about $10 a month, and the royal canin hepatic diet dry food is about $35 but it lasts three months

Well lets hope its treatable, No way can i afford $100 a month for this dog on top of the payments ill already be making for the surgery.

With a successful surgery he probably won't need the liver supplement, just the lactulose and hepatic diet if the surgery goes well...I'm sure your baby will get through this! We'll be praying for him! :)

When is he suppose to be having surgery? Good Luck and please continue to keep us posted.

The date will be decided today sometime. We are supposed to meet with the doctor.

update?
 

is there a new update on little ty yet?

I read the first 4-5 posts and I was just about to say to have them check if it is a shunt and if it can be repaired. There are shunts that can be repaired and your puppy can live a healthy life. I am going through this right now and my yorkie is 20 months old. I am totally attached to him. When they do the surgery they will look for a shunt. If no shunt is found ,they will get a biopsy of the liver. It might also be Microvascular Dysplasia (they will put him on a special diet) This will get his acid levels down. I will find out in about 2 weeks if my little guy has a shunt or Microvascular Dysplasia. The cost is expensive around $1,500-$2000.
Your furbaby is just adorable. Ask your vet if you can start him on a low protein dog food. Hills science diet has a can food that is very low Protein called Hills LD canned food. Please keep us updated on your little guy.
Also check if your state has Pet Lemon Laws. If they do ,it wont matter if it's not on your sales contract .With Pet Lemon Laws you have up to 1 yr after your purchase.

Genie

I just found out that my 3 1/2 year old yorkie has a liver shunt. Her liver is TINY. The doctor said that surgery may not solve her problem, that she was born with it and surgery may even make it worse, but all my research shows that surgery is the only way for her to live a long healthy life. She said that her life expectancy will be shorter, but didn't give me any details. Any experience with this? Is surgery the best option? Also, any diet tips? She won't eat the cans the doctor sent home with us. She's my baby!

Same situation... they were unable to find the shunt with an ultrasound, but they said they were sure that's her problem. Did you get him the surgery? How was it?

Ultrasounds can be inconclusive, especially if it's not being done by someone who specializes in ultrasounds...If they cannot find an actual shunt, your baby may have MVD, microvascular dysplasia. There's something called a Protein C Assay which can help determine if your baby has a repairable shunt or MVD which has to be maintained with special food, medications and supplements.
With special diet, lactulose, and supplements, your baby should be able to live a normal life depending on the severity. Also, since I posted on this thread, I have found denosyl MUCH cheaper than $90.
How did you find out that your baby has a liver shunt? Was she having seizures or something?
As far as foods go, you can feed her Hill's l/d or Royal Canin Hepatic LS 14...Also, if your baby is symptom free, you can feed her other vegetarian diets like Solid Gold Holistique Blendz(Petco), Natural Balance Vegetarian (Petco), or Avoderm Vegetarian (www.petfooddirect.com)...They are all vegetarian diets.
It's very important that you not give your baby ANY animal protein, as this is extremely hard on their livers. When they eat protein, it turns to ammonia...In a healthy body, the ammonia is filtered through the liver, but when there is a shunt, the ammonia is bypassing the liver, therefore not being filtered. Then it goes into your baby's system and the toxins reach the brain causing symptoms...
Vegetable protein and dairy protein are the safest. So if you want to give snacks, give natural snacks like apples(cut into small pieces and peeled), watermelon, cheerios, carrots, stuff like that.

As far as the lactulose is concerned...In my opinion, this is the most important thing you can do for your baby. Lactulose helps push the toxins out of the body and should therefore be given directly after meals. The amount of lactulose should depend on stool consistency. On lactulose, your baby's stool should be soft (difficult to pick up), not firm, and not diarrhea. Your vet should be able to help you determine how much to start out at, and then increase or decrease as needed.
Supplements...Denosyl(Sam-E) and Milk thistle help with liver function. They have antioxidants which help protect the liver from further damage. Also those two supplements help repair the already damaged parts of the liver. Denosyl should be given on an empty stomach, and the pill should not be crushed or broken because if it is, it loses its effectiveness and it's as good as not giving it at all.

With my baby, he did not have an operable shunt, they went in for exploratory surgery and were not able to find it...So they treat him as if he has MVD. He's doing really well. We cook a special homemade diet for him and give him lactulose and several supplements. I'm really happy to see him doing so well. He was diagnosed when he was around 9 months, I think, and he just had his 3rd birthday :)