My puppy has elevated ALP, bilirubin, and SGOT levels. Is this normal?

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.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Luna. This value is a liver enzyme. It can be elevated due to liver disease or a skeletal muscle problem. Liver disease in young puppies can be congenital disorder such as a portosystemic shunt or secondary to an infection. When I have a result such as this, I will recheck blood work in a week. If the value is still elevated, then I will run a separate blood test known as a bile acids panel. This is a liver function test. The elevation could due to something as simple as her shaking during the blood draw (skeletal muscle), but you want to ensure she is not experiencing any disease. I hope this information helps!

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!

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. ALT is an enzyme that is released when liver cells are damaged. The normal values are usually less than 100. Unfortunately, the presence of the enzyme does not indicate the cause or reversibility of the damage, nor does it tell us if this is recent, but temporary damage, or on-going problems with the liver. Toxins, including plants, medications, such as steroids, viruses, & endocrine diseases can all cause increases in ALT. If Kobee is not having any problems, then I would recommend retesting in 6 weeks. If Kobee is sick, there are many more diagnostic tests that can be conducted to try & get to the cause of the problem. Often, we actually never find this out, & dogs do very, very well with moderately elevated values. We actually do not even get concerned until the values are at least 3xs normal, or there are other parameters that are abnormal. If Kobee is well, then all I might recommend is discussing with your vet about putting him on a neutroceutical called Denamarin. It can help with oxidative changes in the liver. I hope he does well. Take care.

Since every lab analyzer has a different range that is considered normal, we would need to see the actual values along with the reference ranges. It is usually listed like this: ALP 254 (215-354). Alternatively, you can take a picture of the labwork and attach it to your new question.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. First of all, each lab company/machine has its own “normal” ranges so I cannot exactly interpret this. But I will say, compared to the reference ranges I am used to, these are all pretty mild elevations. Unfortunately livers elevations can be mildly or moderately elevated for about a dozen reasons including: gastrointestinal upset, trauma to the liver area, toxin, infection, inflammation, cancer and more. I usually do not put much significance on them or draw any conclusions from them unless I see them trending upward with time or at a very high level. An antibiotic and liver supplement are a great place to start for these non specific signs and mild elevations in my opinion. If that it not improving things, consider an abdominal ultrasound or X-rays. Best wishes to you and Gizmo.

This may be due to a congenital disorder (liver shunt) but ideally the ALT should be interpreted considering the reference ranges given by the lab. More tests should be ideally discussed (test of liver functionality like bile acids or ammonia or bile acids stimulation tests) in order to identify specifically the problem and give you a specific answer. If you have them, please write to us again or request a consultation and upload all the results of the tests available. 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.