My 11 week old puppy has a liver shunt :(

[Robin Lodal]

Originally Posted by dwerten

omg robin i had no idea you were dealing with all this I feel so bad for you

First off you were a great GE buddy hope that made you smile

second what a great breeder to have done this and take responsibility

- please make sure your male and female are bile acid tested as well as the other puppies to find out if any issues before it becomes this severe

ok you are in the best hands for sure with dr tobias she is awesome

lactulose is to get her to poop out the toxins in her body since the liver is not functioning right she needs help releasing those toxins

antibiotic is to keep infection down

is it denamarin the other thing as that is sam-e and milk thistle which cleanses the liver - you can also add juiced zucchini as that naturally cleanses the liver as well and put that on her food

hill's LD is a good diet and the wet food she may eat more than dry - if she will not cook in oven and you can treat her with that

you need to join this group NOWWWWWW they will help you day and night- just go to yahoogroups.com and search liver shunt and this will pop up

Liver_Shunt_And_MVD_Support@yahoogroups.com

sounds like you are in good hands and she is going to be ok

I will never understand someone getting a puppy and when things go bad just putting them down as dogs cost money if they get sick so why do people not think of this before getting a dog oh well at least you did the right thing and it is genetics so your others do need ot be tested and the one that has it I would have fixed so it does not happen again down the line and any puppies they had i would call the owners as it can creep up 3 years later and then they can have acquired shunts and multiple which cannot be operated on - if they find one when small they can fix and they can live a normal life so important to catch when young and have all yorkie and maltese bile acid tested

Aww, you did make me smile with the GE comment.

As for the denamarin, I am not 100% sure. The doctor will be calling me this afternoon/evening and I will ask her specifics... anyone have any specific questions that I should add to my list? I will find out the exact meds so that I can read more about them.

As for her food, she is only eating a mixture of the canned Hill's LD mixed with a bit of baby food by a syringe. They had hoped that she would be at least eating some on her own but they feel as though if its something that I can do (syringe feed and work with her), we can possibly get her off of the syringe soon. I was concerned about her possibly just being on the soft food for a whole month (b/c what if she doesn't even touch the dry?) and the student that I talk to said that she didn't think it would be a problem but to ask the doctor to make sure.

I just joined the group. I can't wait to just be able to read, read, read. There is no such thing as too much information.

As for the acid bile tests on the mommy and daddy, I will be talking to the doctor about that later today. I am sure that is something I could probably get done here in KY (its not TOP priority right now - Ginger is). The whole genetics thing, I am not so sure because I keep reading conflicting information. I know that Dr. Tobias has a new study. She recently took 2 dogs with liver shunts, repaired them, bred them and they had 2 healthy, shunt free puppies! That's wonderful. They are now working on creating a whole colony of dogs and doing this several times to get a better idea on how genetics will play a role in this. I do not want to stress out the other parents (of the littermates) until I speak to the doctor today. I will ask her if its something she feels the rest of the litter should be tested for, just in case.

I agree with you, I don't understand why someone would be wanting to put down a puppy so quickly as well. I let my parents know that they can be expensive and there are several health risks! Granted, I would never pay 5k for a puppy, dog, whatever but once I have that dog in my care, its MY responsibility to do the best I can to preserve its life and honestly, its MORE than that. Its companionship, THAT pup cannot be replaced. Its consciousness. If I put the pup down w/o giving it a chance, I would always wonder "what if...." *sigh* But yes, I agree with you!

Originally Posted by dwerten

here are some things to feed if she will not eat -- cottage cheese, egg whites, cod - get it from sam's club in freezer section bake it and chop up in a baggie, watermelon

i am going to post this link to liver shunt group so they can be waiting for you

is the antibiotic amoxicillin?

Thanks for the tips! I have a BUNCH of hand written notes that I have from tidbits I have gotten off of YT and the internet....definitely will be adding all of this to it!

I will find out what the antibiotic is later today and let you know.

Thank you for posting this link! I just joined and am waiting for approval. Wow, I am so overwhelmed by all of this knowledge and generosity. You are all so wonderful!

Originally Posted by TLC

You are and have done everything that I with all my experience and knowledge of LS would be doing.

I'd like to offer you some more info.

Children's Vanilla Pedisure is ok to give in small amounts via syringe if she is not eating.

Watermelon is good to give in small pieces, you can drizzle the lactulose ontop.

A few apple bits (no skin) and romaine lettuce are good treats.

I prefer: Hepatosupport and Vetri DMG from HomeVet© Natural Pet Care
These are easier to give then denamarin (which I believe has to be given whole and on an empty stomach).

Baking the L/D may be a nice treat for her

You can coat the RC kibble with a very little, tiny bit of low sodium goat cheese or Friendship Brand No Sodium added 1% cottage cheese.

Such great info. I have already written down a lot of this. I do not know really anything about the denamarin at this point. I am not 100% sure this is what she will be taking... but I will get all of that info later and post it here. If she is on the denamarin, I will menttion the Hepatosupport and Vetri DMG to the doctor and get her opinion. Thanks.

So are you all saying to bake the canned food? How long would I bake it and how much at a time? How long would it keep? So these are the treats, I could use for pottying, etc? At this point, she is still on syringe but this could be VERY tempting for her. I am game for anything at this point!


And to everyone, thank you so much for your prayers and support! This entire situation has been so overwhelming and I have had to literally put my life on a hold the past few days (and it looks like for at least the next 4 weeks!). Which is fine and I am kind of glad I didn't get that teaching job this year (a blessing in disguise?). You all are so wonderful and I just feel like she is getting the best care possible at UT and you all are so informative, I just don't want to be the one to screw anything up! Thank you so much and I will keep you all updated as I am informed.

[Robin Lodal]

Originally Posted by TOY

I am going to post the following here and in the other thread and in a PM because I've never done this before and I'm a tiny bit leery of it getting to you. (You know how I am about technology! It's a great thing but I don't understand how this works and I want to be sure it gets to you.) I hope there's some way for you to get this so you can use it however you need to. I needed a quick 101 on Paypal but couldn't find it. If this money ends up in some cyber blackhole, I know I'll be sorry I didn't just mail a check!

I sent you a monetary gift through PayPal. Use it however you need it and know I sent it with prayers and hope that Ginger will recover.

If anyone else should need her PayPal info, just PM me. I know in an emergency like this, even a small amount can help.

Oh Debbie, I finally stopped crying. Your generosity is just so selflessness. I wish I could reach through this screen and hug you! I called DH up and told him and he was like "Wow, that is going to help SO much..." and he sends a HUGE thank you! The bills have and will add up quickly and its something we are aware of but at this point, we see no options but to continue treatment. From the first time I saw improvement, euthanizing was not even an option. Its just something we will work through and I am very aware that this is my Christmas, birthday, etc But what a wonderful Christmas and birthday and everything else I would ever get a gift, gift!

[TLC]

Experiment with baking the L/D and you can use it as her meals and/or treats, what ever it takes to get her to like to eat it.

The RC kibble can be soaked in water for about 3 hours, she may like it that way too, and she'll get more water intake. Or you can mush or blend it with some water too. Again, what ever method you need to do to get her to eat and actually like to eat it

[Yorkiedaze]

You have gone a great many more miles for this baby than a lot of folks would, and I can't hellp but think your are one of Gods angels here on earth. Prayers and more prayers are going out to your baby, and to you and your husband. Big warm hugs to all.

[mimimomo]

Robin...I'm so sorry you're going through this. You & your family & little Ginger will be in my thoughts & prayers.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by TLC

Experiment with baking the L/D and you can use it as her meals and/or treats, what ever it takes to get her to like to eat it.

The RC kibble can be soaked in water for about 3 hours, she may like it that way too, and she'll get more water intake. Or you can mush or blend it with some water too. Again, what ever method you need to do to get her to eat and actually like to eat it

I Do water in kibble throw in micro for 20 seconds and it become soft in a matter of 10 minutes after sitting after micro

[Robin Lodal]

Ok - doctor update.

At 10:30am they decided to try taking her off of her dextrose again (last night they tried this and her glucose bottomed out so they put her back on it). It has been consistent all day, staying above 100 w/o it.

She is still not eating on her own and having to be syringe fed. They are going to try a few different brands of foods to see if she will favor one over the other. What they are doing now for her food is taking canned soft food, water, and a bit of baby food and blending it together. One thing she said is that she will need 1/2 can a day spread out (I am assuming I will get the full recipe tomorrow). I am not sure where all I can get the food, so I am debating just buying a whole case while I am down there.

She does get up every now and then to use her potty pad (what a smartie!) and is very responsive to the students and staff.

They did notice a little bit of fresh blood in her stool but they think its from giving her enemas to flush out the toxins.

The medicines she will be on are: Lactulose, Neomycin, and Denamarin. I asked about the alternative to Denamarin and she had never heard of it, so she said that she would look it up tonight. They are going to begin all of these meds tonight.

I asked her a few other questions and from those I learned: I need to weigh her everyday to at least make sure she is maintaining. Do not expect much weight gain. I can check glucose with a human machine and to use her ears for that. She should be healthy enough for her 2nd booster shot next week. She should not be left alone for long amounts of time (especially no longer than 2 hours which is feeding time).

Depending on how she does w/o the Dextrose tonight will determine tomorrow and coming home. We are hoping her glucose is consistent. I will get a phone call in the morning for an update. If she is good to go, I can pick her up between 5-7 and I will keep her at my in laws (about an hour and a half away) for the night and then travel the rest of the way home the day after.

I am very nervous about bringing her home but very excited at the same time. I will keep you all updated with pictures, videos, etc.

[bebeyorkie]

I'm so sorry your going through all this pain

My prayers are with you and your family - Thank You for fighting for Ginger!!! I was in tears with the videos

[Payslee_ddy]

Dear robin,
I am so very sorry to hear about ginger, it breaks our hearts just reading what shes going through, it must be so rough for you and nick. I was just thinking about it and shes the one chelsey and i originally wanted. We are nervous for payslee grace were praying that she is going to be okay. Were praying for ginger to make a full recovery

[AmyChristine]

I am sending up prayers for you and your family. This is all so hard to go through and there is so much info to take in.

The Hepato support and Vetri DMG can be ordered online if you decide to go that route instead of the denamarin i think that TLC gave a link in prev post. This is what I use too and it is really easy to give.

I also had a really hard time getting Copper to eat at first, I did find that if I sprinkled just a tiny bit parmesean cheese on top of the LD that it helped perk his appetite. I still try and have him eat frequent small meals, this makes a big difference in how he feels thoughout the day.

I am so sorry that she is sick with LS. Praying that she does well tonight so that tomarrow you can bring her home.

[Lisa and Pic]

Oh Robin, sending tons of prayers for Ginger, you, and your husband. What great care you are taking of Ginger. Bless you. Your care of Ginger brings tears...

[Mysweetbabies]

Your are an angel from God. Ginger and your family are in my prayers.

[itzzbarb]

Robin, Thank you for all of the updates on your little Ginger, and thank you for all you are doing for her. I will keep all of you in my prayers.

[Darwin]

I am just reading your sad story. My family of five dawgiiiess and I send you many prayers and well wishes for your puppy. Keep up your determination and strength in these difficult times! Best of Luck.

[dwerten]

praying for continued healing for your baby

are you on the group and getting emails?