My Schnauzer has high ALP. Is it related to her head fibroma?

I suggest your vet take a fine needle aspirate (FNA) biopsy of the tumor to find out what kind of a tumor this is. He would be taking a little bit of tissue from the tumor painlessly with a fine needle which helps determine what kind of a tumor this is. As for the elevated Alkaline Phosphatase level: this could be a sign of liver disease/gall bladder disease or bone cancer in your dog. However, if your dog had bone cancer, it would likely have some bone pain somewhere. 51% of dogs over 8 years have a high ALP. Because there are so many causes of a high ALP, many of which are benign (harmless) processes, determining the cause of an individual dog's high ALP is difficult. Your vet may want to refer you to a veterinary internal specialist. Joint pain can also be caused by arthritis, and the lethargy could be caused by pain or disease

Further testing including abdominal ultrasound are appropriate at this point. If this testing was or will be done, the results of a fine needle aspirate of the liver will help direct the course of treatment. If you have further questions, please feel free to request a consult with an expert where more questions can be asked and diagnostic data can be provided.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. The ALP is quite high but this also depends on their reference ranges there. The symptoms you are describing could be consistent with a condition called hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's disease) which is when there is excessive steroid production in the body due to a pituitary tumor or adrenal gland mass. There is treatment for the disease but it needs to be confirmed first. If you want to know for sure, testing such as an ACTH or low dose dexamethasone test should be performed. You can try using melatonin and flaxseed lignans to treat cushings disease naturally. I have had some cases respond to this treatment but not 100%. Also, I see that cre is 18. If this is creatinine, this is very high. Again, this depends on the machines reference range, calibration and unit of measure. Creatinine elevates typically with renal disease, which could also explain the increased thirst. If you attach a picture and repost to the forum here, it may help us better guide you. I hope this helps! You can visit a website called lignansforlife.net and order the holistic medications that I spoke of earlier. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I'm sorry to hear about Chi Chi's recent issues. Vomiting and an anal gland abscess/rupture may cause some changes on the blood panel, but not typically ALP. When you have a significantly elevated ALP and normal ALT it is highly suggestive of Cushing's disease. Cushing's can be diagnosed with a few different tests, these tests involve taking blood, injecting a substance then taking blood again to see the body's ability to respond. I think it would be wise to have her checked. If she dies have Cushing's thankfully it is treatable with medication but this will be for life.

She is a puppy. An elevated ALP is normal in puppies. ALP can go up because of liver problems, but also increases during bone growth. I see this elevation in about 80% of puppy bloodwork. I do not treat this as it it is not a problem and the value becomes normal when they stop growing. If there are other liver values elevated, then I am concerned, but ALP alone is not generally a problem. Per IDEXX, one of the largest veterinary pathology services in the United States, ALP values in puppies can be elevated 4 times normal (which is about where Luna is.) Denamarin, Vitamin B, and a low-carb diet will not hurt Luna, but they probably won’t change the ALP either. Best wishes to you and Luna.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Unfortunately ALP is such a vague value and does not tell us much in the way of specific diseases that it is not a very useful value. In older dogs with a high ALP, this may be a normal finding not related to any disease. Cushing's disease can cause an elevated ALP along with many other causes. If the ALP continues to rise or does not resolve, I would consider testing for Cushing's disease and have an abdominal ultrasound performed. Bronchitis and a tooth infection generally would not cause an increase in this value in my experience. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

It is possible this could be a skin tumor called a histiocytoma which we can see in younger dogs. You can read about them here http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1676. Other possibilities include other tumors such as mast cell tumor, inflammatory nodule due to a ringworm infection (fungal disease), a granuloma due to a foreign body, and more. An exam by your vet is needed to help determine the cause. This may involve a needle aspirate of the swelling to collect cells to aid in identification.