Help!! Yorkie acting weird

[anniesmom68]

Originally Posted by 2cute4me

My first yorkie Daisy had the same symptoms. She was only a few months old. She ran around the floorboards around the edge of the room and she couldn't see. I took her to the emergency vet clinic and they told me they thought she had a liver shunt. They called it temporary dementia (spelling?). They kept her overnight and "flushed her out". They recommended that we take her to a local specialist where they confirmed a liver shunt. We were able to regulate her with special food and she was fine without surgery. The vet said that many yorkies have liver shunts but not severe enough to show symptoms and some will develop symptoms at a few years old. I'm happy to say that it can be successfully treated. Good luck with your furbaby!

Thank you for sharing your information..
When you took your Yorkie to the specialist what test did they do to determine a Liver Shunt?
Thanks! Thanks!
Gina

[anniesmom68]

We were feeding him Royal Canine (picky eaters) but, we found that the proteins are high so we switched..

[2cute4me]

Originally Posted by anniesmom68

Thank you for sharing your information..
When you took your Yorkie to the specialist what test did they do to determine a Liver Shunt?
Thanks! Thanks!
Gina

I'm not sure what test they did. There was so much info that was beyond me that I just trusted that they would guide me to what was best. They wanted to regulate it with food and go to surgery as a last resort. They did lots of tests, some that took weeks to get the results back. It was a difficult time for us, but we knew that there were lots of ways to treat this, and we were fortunate to be able to handle it easily. We had the opinions of three different vets, so we were happy that they all came to a consensus.

[chloeandj]

I am so sorry you are going through this with your little baby! ((HUGS))

[LaviniaHyacynth]

I have a yorkie with liver shunt and can say from experience that a fasting bile acid test is absolutely the first step in diagnosing a liver issue....it will show the levels in more detail than a liver enzyme test .If it is inconclusive then you must decide what to do next. The symptoms you describe sound like classic neurological symptoms caused when the liver fails to flush out ammonia and it builds up and causes this seizure like behavior. If the bile acids are normal then see a neurologist to find out why your dog is having neurological symptoms....timing is important...the longer you wait the more complex the situation can become....My 3 year old yorkie has a severely underdeveloped liver caused by an insufficient blood flow to the liver....you need to find a vet that knows something about this...it doesn't sound like your vet is pointing you in the right direction. If your dog has liver problems he may need longterm meds as well as a diet. Vivi takes lactolose 3xday and flagyl 2xday....both of these are standard treatment for liver problems like LS and MVD. I hope you find the answers that you are looking for.