# Low protein in bloodwork. Possible liver issues.



## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

Millie went in to get spayed today. We asked for the full blood work before she gets operated on. The vet called to tell me that her protein levels we a little bit lower then they should be. The range was 55-75 and hers were at 52. Her kidney levels were good so they are assuming it's her liver. She mentioned that we would probably have to change her diet because of this. They are sending her blood away for further testing now. They are still doing the spay today but they are treating her like she has liver problems and using a different anesthesia then they normally would. I don't even know if I am explaining this all right because is just got of the phone with my vet. Has anyone else had this? I know I will get a better explanation of it all when I pick her up later but I would love to hear from anyone who has experienced this first hand or knows what this means.
Thanks in advance!


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## Den&Barb (Dec 6, 2013)

Haven't experienced this first hand but the reason for the "other" anesthesia is they are using one that is not as taxing to the liver. All anesthetics are cleansed from the blood stream by the liver. Shouldn't present any problems since Millie's levels weren't extremely low. This anesthesia might be better for her in any event. Out of curiosity, what has her diet been?


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

Den&Barb said:


> Haven't experienced this first hand but the reason for the "other" anesthesia is they are using one that is not as taxing to the liver. All anesthetics are cleansed from the blood stream by the liver. Shouldn't present any problems since Millie's levels weren't extremely low. This anesthesia might be better for her in any event. Out of curiosity, what has her diet been?


I'm extremely happy that we did the blood work and that they found this out before they put her under a normal anesthesia. 
She is currently eating Simply Nourish, gluten free, chicken and Turkey puppy food. It's kibble. It got a four out of five on the dog food advisor website. We are totally open to changing her diet to make and keep her healthy though.


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## Den&Barb (Dec 6, 2013)

Ask the vet what he/she thinks is the cause. Has there been any weight loss or is there large amounts of protein in the urine? Those would be things to be considered if there was a medical problem. Sounds like the food has sufficient protein, but that could easily be upped if necessary and there isn't some medical condition. I would imagine further results will give a better idea. Hopefully it's just a diet issue which can easily be changed. How old is Millie?


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

So, Millie made it through her spay fine and is in recovery. Yay!
I asked a few more questions about her liver. She said that they are sending her blood work out today to check her bile Caids because that would tell us if she has a liver shunt.Well, she said a really long word with the word shunt at the end of it so I'm assuming that would be a liver shunt. Then she talked about a vegetarian diet and listed some brands of food that they recommend. I did hear any brands that were good which is worrisome to me. She also mentioned that probiotics would be helpful. 
I'm feeling quite overwhelmed right now. I know I shouldn't worry about it until we get the blood test results back. I need to focus on her spay recovery now.


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

Den&Barb said:


> Ask the vet what he/she thinks is the cause. Has there been any weight loss or is there large amounts of protein in the urine? Those would be things to be considered if there was a medical problem. Sounds like the food has sufficient protein, but that could easily be upped if necessary and there isn't some medical condition. I would imagine further results will give a better idea. Hopefully it's just a diet issue which can easily be changed. How old is Millie?


The vet said we need to adjust how much she is eating because she has a little bit of belly fat. They said Her kidneys are fine so I'm assuming there wouldn't be protein in her urine. 
It's so weird though because she had no symptoms. She seems very healthy. She's growing fine, she's active, she eats well, and her poops are good. It's all very surprising to me. 
She's six and a half months old.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I hope it's nothing. I have heard of dogs having high levels and it was due to a vaccine or something else. I would wait until the test comes back. Just to be safe, she should be on a low or no protein diet for now. 
How much does she weigh?


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

lfung5 said:


> I hope it's nothing. I have heard of dogs having high levels and it was due to a vaccine or something else. I would wait until the test comes back. Just to be safe, she should be on a low or no protein diet for now.
> How much does she weigh?


That's very comforting. She got weighed this morning. She is eight pounds.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

That's a good weight for 6 months old. 
Bella had a liver shunt but she was 4 lbs at 7 months. 

I'm hoping its nothing. Keel is posted!!


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

lfung5 said:


> That's a good weight for 6 months old.
> Bella had a liver shunt but she was 4 lbs at 7 months.
> 
> I'm hoping its nothing. Keel is posted!!


When I picked Millie up from the vet, they said it couldn't be a liver shunt because she is growing well. They are checking if it is hepatoportal microvascular dysplasia aka MVD. They said we should have test results tomorrow. I will keep you posted. Thanks for all of your replies!


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

I am so happy to be able to say that Millie is fine!!!!!! My vet said her bile acid test came back perfectly normal. My vet also still thinks that the food we are feeding Millie is too high in protein and calcium. She keeps mentioning a food called science diet but I haven't heard very many good things about that brand. Any suggestions of food that is lower in protein and calcium?


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## HannahBearsMom (Jul 31, 2011)

I'm sorry you are going through this. As you may know, my Maccabee was diagnosed with a extrahepatic portosystemic shunt (a shunt in one of the vessels that should carry blood to the liver) shortly after his first birthday. He had surgery last May and is doing great. He is asymptomatic and appears to have made a full recovery.

I hope your baby does not have a shunt, and I wanted to provide some information as you are trying to determine if she actually has liver disease.

The University of Tennessee Vet School is home to renowned surgeon, Karen Tobias. Dr. Tobias probably repairs more liver shunts than anyone else in the world. She is fantastic. Here is a link to UT's Liver Shunt Page: http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/sacs/calendar/ (the site is not working for me right now, but that is the correct web address)

I'm not sure why your vet told you a blood test can be used to diagnose a liver shunt. The only way to diagnose a shunt with any certainty is via CT scan or scintography. Most people will tell you that an ultrasound is useless as a diagnostic tool for liver shunts. Before I knew that, Maccabee underwent an ultrasound and the specialist identified a large extrahepatic shunt. Dr. Tobias was very surprised and impressed that the vet identified the shunt, and said an accurate diagnosis via ultrasound is rare.

The C-Reactive Protein test can identify liver problems, but it cannot be used to positively identlfy a shunt. As I said earlier, CT scan or scintogrophy are the ways to go. But, before you start with expensive imaging, I'd ask the vet to run a Bile Acids test. The test consists of 2 blood draws; one after fasting and the second 2 hours after eating a fatty food the vet will provide. If the Bile Acids test is abnormal, the next thing would be a CT scan or scintogrophy.

As for size, dogs with liver disease are often small, but not always. Maccabee was the smallest in his litter, but he was growing well. He got up to over 8 pounds before he started showing symptoms and losing weight.

Most vets do not have a lot of experience diagnosing or treating dogs with liver disease. If possible, I'd take Millie to a vet school clinic or a vet-internist.

Finally, you should probably switch Millie to a low protein food. The standard foods for dogs with liver disease are Hills ld and Royal Canine hepatic formula. Maccabee ate Hills ld until about 6 months after his surgery. Then I switched him to The Honest Kitchen Keen formula (organic turkey).

There is a Yahoo Group from which you can get a lot more info (Liver Shunt and MVD Support Group).

Feel free to post here or PM me if I can answer any questions for you.


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## HannahBearsMom (Jul 31, 2011)

Sarahdee said:


> I am so happy to be able to say that Millie is fine!!!!!! My vet said her bile acid test came back perfectly normal. My vet also still thinks that the food we are feeding Millie is too high in protein and calcium. She keeps mentioning a food called science diet but I haven't heard very many good things about that brand. Any suggestions of food that is lower in protein and calcium?


I posted before I saw your most recent post. Glad all is well!

Two foods with lower protein: 
The Honest Kitchen - Keen
Blue Buffalo - Life Protection Formula Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe for Senior Dogs


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

HannahBearsMom said:


> I posted before I saw your most recent post. Glad all is well!
> 
> Two foods with lower protein:
> The Honest Kitchen - Keen
> Blue Buffalo - Life Protection Formula Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe for Senior Dogs


Thanks so much for all of that information!! I'm going to look into those dog foods.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Great news!!!! I am happy to hear she is ok


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

Sarahdee said:


> I am so happy to be able to say that Millie is fine!!!!!! My vet said her bile acid test came back perfectly normal. My vet also still thinks that the food we are feeding Millie is too high in protein and calcium. She keeps mentioning a food called science diet but I haven't heard very many good things about that brand. Any suggestions of food that is lower in protein and calcium?


What a relief that must have been. So happy for you and Millie too.


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

Thanks Everyone! I'm such a worry wart. I should have just listened to my husband and waited until I heard back from the vet to worry.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

That's good news. Now you can relax and figure out new food. All vets like science diet for some reason. My vet who is an excellent vet and even shows and breeds recommended Science diet. Everyone else thinks its bad. I feed mine Formms Its not puppy food . But it has 24% . I have no idea if that is high or low.


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## Den&Barb (Dec 6, 2013)

This thread got a bit confusing as some people were talking about high protein levels, when you first stated the protein level was low? Actually 5.2 -7.8 is the normal range. You even said your vet was stating her protein intake (diet) was maybe too high in protein? If there was a liver problem, less protein intake could be a recommendation, but the tests didn't indicate that. Personally, I don't see in this case there is any need in lowering Millie's protein intake, at least at this point in time. If she is not very active (lays around most of the time) she may not need as much protein, but I really don't see that what you are feeding her, at her present health status (which is normal), needs any changing. And the vet recommends Science Diet, why?Well, to each their own.


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## Sarahdee (Apr 5, 2012)

Den&Barb said:


> This thread got a bit confusing as some people were talking about high protein levels, when you first stated the protein level was low? Actually 5.2 -7.8 is the normal range. You even said your vet was stating her protein intake (diet) was maybe too high in protein? If there was a liver problem, less protein intake could be a recommendation, but the tests didn't indicate that. Personally, I don't see in this case there is any need in lowering Millie's protein intake, at least at this point in time. If she is not very active (lays around most of the time) she may not need as much protein, but I really don't see that what you are feeding her, at her present health status (which is normal), needs any changing. And the vet recommends Science Diet, why?Well, to each their own.


I am confused as well. I don't know if I'm going to change her diet because she seems perfectly healthy to me. I don't understand why I should put her on a lower protein diet because everything I have been reading the last few days says that higher protein is better for dogs unless they have kidney or liver issues. My husband has a friend who is a vet and he's going to get her option on this. She lives too far away for a visit.


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

Talk to Pam King about this. Its very common for bloodwork to come back like yours and its usually that the dog has recently had their heart worm/flea prevention. take them off, wait and retest. You should find them back to normal.


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