Is a simple blood test enough to check my dog's copper levels?

Liver failure is diagnosed by evaluating the bile acids and bilirubin in the blood. Often, the bilirubin is analyzed in the same panel as the ALT, so your vet should have a good idea of this. The liver has good potential to heal, but it depends on the amount of damage done and how far along the copper storage disease is. With treatment, the copper metabolism can be corrected, but will not reverse some of the damage done already. If Minnow has had a biopsy, then your veterinarian should have some good information regarding the state of her liver at this time, so it's best to ask him or her. I'm really sorry to hear about this. It must be very difficult to deal with this right now, but please know that you seem to be doing everything right and with the correct treatment, you can help her keep from getting any worse. I hope this information helps and Minnow gets better soon.

Hello there! Thank you for choosing Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Treatment typically consists of using copper chelators (medication that binds the copper and allows the body to eliminate it without adversely affecting the body), low copper diets and supportive to care to address any clinical signs of hepatic disease the patient may or may not be experiencing. This is definitely a condition that needs to be monitored regularly by a veterinarian, especially if the patient is experiencing clinical signs associated with hepatic disease. I hope this information is helpful and that Maisie has a speedy recovery.

Liver and kidney values (ALT, Alk Phos, GGT, BUN, Creatinine) are on Chemistry panels which can be ordered separately from Complete Blood Counts that measure neutrophil counts (elevated with infection), hematocrit (a measure of hydration status), platelet levels (an indicator of clotting function). I recommend asking your vet for pricing for just the Chem panel vs pricing for a CBC/Chem panel if desired. Good luck!

This kind of lumps/growths need to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, infections, benign or more sinister type of tumors. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

I'm very sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, liver disease is very complex. We notice elevation of the liver enzymes on the blood testing but that does not tell us why the liver is sick - only that it is sick. Multiple tests need to be done and even then, sometimes we can't figure it out. This happens in human medicine too. There are just some cases that are difficult. A liver ultrasound to look at the liver and gall bladder along with a biopsy should be done to look at the liver tissue. That would probably give you the most definitive answer if that has not already been done. ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/liver-disease---testing )

Cushing's or Hyperadrenocorticism is a fairly common endocrine disease in dogs. It can be caused by a bit of overactive tissue in the brain (in the pituitary gland, which is the master ruler of hormone secretion in the body) or a mass in an adrenal gland (sits by the kidneys, secretes hormones as directed by the pituitary gland). Basically what happens is an excess of a hormone in the body, usually a steroid called cortisol, if it is traditional Cushing's. This then causes some symptoms in the pet, blood work changes, and sometimes other changes like high blood pressure. I suspect based on the value that you report that this was a liver enzyme elevation call ALP. This very commonly occurs in pets that have Cushings, but is not specific for Cushing's and elevation can be caused by other disease processes. This value does not correlate with severity of disease as many dogs have a high value. It sounds like your vet is on the right track by recommending an ultrasound to look at the adrenal glands and also the rest of the abdominal organs to rule out other disease processes. Ultimately Cushing's Disease has to be diagnosed by some sort of endocrine testing which your vet may recommend as well. Treatment if then based on what type of Cushing's disease is present. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. When you get Rocky I would have your own primary vet repeat the bloodwork to get an updated baseline, and because the units measured and normal range can differ from one lab machine to another. If decreased liver function is suspected, you should plan to run a fasted bile acids (liver function blood test). The next diagnostic step would then likely be an ultrasound with a liver biopsy, if your vet thinks that’s necessary. Of course, I would defer to the vet who’s actually examining the dog, as there may be clues in the exam to justify going a different direction with diagnostics. But this is what I’d be anticipating. Hope this helps.