My dog has liver issues, isn't eating, and can't stand. What now?

Poor Baby! I would make sure you have him on a liver supplement and make sure you have consulted with your vet about medications that he needs to be on for his liver issues. I am okay with him eating chicken because eating something is better than nothing at all. I would consider adding in a multi-vitamin to help supplement the other nutrients he isn't getting. If his appetite is continuing to decrease, I would talk to your vet about rechecking his bloodwork to see if he needs any fluids or change in his medications and also getting him on an appetite stimulant. I hope this helps and he starts to feel better soon!

please provide more information on the liver condition - tests performed and most recent diagnosis so we can try and help further? Although dogs can withstand 7-10days of fasting as long as they are drinking, any longer can this can cause serious internal damage and worsening of other underlying conditions. I recommend you seek referral to a specialist internist and hospitalisation for supportive feeding and nutrition as well as further investigations and treatment if she is not responding to initial medications

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Hepatitis (infection and inflammation of liver) is a very serious condition and is very hard to treat. If there is an internal medicine specialist in the area I would recommend having Nala seen by them. Otherwise I would be talking with your vet about testing for infectious diseases. However, it looks like they have treated her with broad spectrum antibiotics as well as IV fluids. I would recommend continuing treatment. She may need a feeding tube placed to try to keep her protein up during this illness. Unfortunately, with how severe this is, she may or may not pull through it, but the best chance of her making it through is to be aggressive with her treatment. I would suggest continuing to monitor her liver and white cell count, and to have imaging done and possible samples of her liver to try to determine the cause of the infection. Otherwise I would be talking to your vet about the parasites and infections present in your area and get covered with certain antibiotics. The white cells have increased however not that much, and the liver enzymes are actually improving if I can read the dates right from your picture. This is very hopeful. I would continue with antibiotics (IV if you cannot get them in orally), as well as IV fluids and I would think about syringe feeding or placing a feeding tube. Best of luck with Nala, I hope she makes a good recovery.

Hello, sorry to hear about your dog. Its likely that his liver disease needs to be further evaluated to rule out the need for antibiotics or steroids and ensure that his liver disease is not secondary to inflammation in another organ such as his pancreas. I would recommend speaking with your veterinarian about obtaining further information with an abdominal ultrasound and recheck bloodwork. It may be necessary for your dog to obtain more aggressive medical management with hospitalization. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Based on your post of Lucy's bloodwork she has both elevated liver and kidney values which could mean she has another underlying condition altogether that is affecting both her organs such as leptospirosis, Cushings disease (hyperadrenocorticism), or any number of tick diseases. Therefore she needs additional testing to determine what the primary disease process is. She needs to most likely be hospitalized, placed on fluids to flush her system and pain medication if indicated. while the vet runs the necessary tests to determine the underlying problem here so that we know how to best treat her. Like I said before these lab values cannot be differentiated unless additional testing is done. I would likely first start with finding the specific gravity of her urine to rule out kidney failure first. Just because elevated kidney enzymes are present it does not always automatically mean that the pet is in kidney failure. Also it is very unlikely that both the kidneys and liver enzymes will be elevated without having another underlying disease process causing this. I hope that your pet Lucy is able to make a full and speedy recovery. Take care and best of luck.

This is a very valid question and it is important to consider his overall wellbeing and comfort above and beyond prolonging the length of his life. If he is mobile, greeting family members as he normally would and eating enough (a specialised liver diet and supplements can help to reduce some of the symptoms of poor liver function by reducing the amount of toxins the liver needs to excrete. As long as his appetite is sufficient to prevent significant weight loss then it is likely he is feeling ok in himself. The following link can be very helpful for all family members to sit down together and discuss and can help in the medium term decision making https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/default/files/import/assets/pdf/hospital/companionAnimals/HonoringtheBond/HowDoIKnowWhen.pdf

Poor Flash. UV light is used in thin skinned babies to help breakdown bilirubin but this is not likely to be effective in dogs due to the difference in the skin type and also different mechanism of disease; likewise a blood transfusion would rarely be recommended to affect the course of disease but may add additional pressure on the liver (your vet may decide to proceed with such if protein levels drop or clotting factors become reduced). The liver has a good capacity to repair and regenerate and fluids and denmarin are very helpful in supporting perfusion and promoting recovery. Other targeted medications may be required depending on blood results (protein, bilirubin etc)