What supplements can help my 12-year-old mini dachshund with high ALP?

My best recommendation to supplement liver function is a supplement called Denamarin. It contains several of the known ingredients we historically used to support liver health all in one supplement. Very often, I observe my patients Liver enzymes decreasing dramatically on this supplement.

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. No, carbohydrates are not considered to play a role in ALP. However, I notice that Luna is 8 months old and ALP is often elevated in normal growing puppies (it is related to bone growth). In all likelihood, this elevation is nothing to worry about. Best wishes to you and Luna!

Poor guy. The treatment is ok; however, if we suspect any kind of liver involvement there are safer anti-seizure medications to consider here such as Zonisamide or Keppra. Although we would suspect the ALT to be elevated over the ALP in most liver problem dogs. You should certainly discuss these concerns with your vet. This may be why the liver supplement was prescribed, in case there is liver involvement. I would also consider getting an abdominal ultrasound done on him to evaluate his liver and adrenal glands. Both these organs can cause the elevated ALP, so we need to check if this is the underlying problem for sure or not. And ultimately seizures should be evaluted via MRI/CT scan; however, the cost of this limits most pet owners from having this done. Here is more information on seizures --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951440 I hope that Milo's seizures stabilize and that he does well moving forward. Take care.

Hello, thank you for your question about Daisy. There are numerous causes for elevated ALP in dogs, many of which you have ruled out by the testing described. Some dogs can experience a condition called vacuolar hepatopathy, a benign condition that we can sometimes not identify the reason for. Many of these dogs demonstrated no symptoms even with a significantly elevated ALP. There is no specific ALP level that will lead to symptoms in dogs, it is very patient dependent (some dogs are much more sensitive to mild changes). I would recommend having her liver values monitored every 4-6 months, or sooner if she develops any signs such as vomiting or inappetance. Additionally, I would consider adding Denamarin/Denosyl to her treatment regimen. Although this may not normalize her ALP it can help prevent further elevation of the value in the future. Hope this helps, good luck!

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.

ALP is released by the liver when there is damage to the liver cells. Causes can be simply age related, or the elevation can be from diseases like Cushings or Addison’s. It can also be elevated when there is a growth in the liver. I would recommend having your vet retest this value in 2 weeks as long as your dog is doing well otherwise. If it’s still high I’d do more diagnostics (cushings test, ultrasound). Hope that helps and best to you and Olive.