Pondering the liver

[famous seamus]

Thanks for the good wishes. We had Pixie's bloodwork done which was normal on all counts except for one thing: her triglicerides were high. My vet said there is an issue most common to schnauzers that causes serious problems from high triglicerides (too much fat in her blood) but not usually seen in Shelties.

I've been feeding her a duck-based food because of her history with seizures but since duck is a fatty food, I'm going to switch her to Fromm Whitefish and Potato which is 11 percent fat vs. 15. She's also been getting a half dose of krill oil and coconut oil to help her joints. I'm eliminating the coconut oil.

We don't know if this was the cause of the seizure or whether it was just her history recurring. Unfortunately, epilepsy in dogs is 8 parts guessing game and 2 parts medicine. So I'll watch her and hold my breath and we'll see what happens. She hasn't had any more seizures since last week so I'm hopeful.

Sending good thoughts for Harper's results, Kate! Please keep us posted.

We feed our girls' whitefish and potato by Fromm's. Once I switched them over to Duck but it didn't quite agree with their systems, the biggest poops that I have ever seen and I have seen quite a lot.

Dodds encourages fish and potato as a super good diet and with it's lower fat content and protein the girls thrive. Illinois Sheltie Rescue also concurs that it is a good food when I contacted them about Harper.

Harper's thyroid level was at 1.7 for her last bloodwork. We are having it done again, when we have her liver enzymes tested again. It is so difficult to keep her thyroid even at 2-3 as recommended for our shelties. This has been ongoing for years. She takes a quarter of a .1 mg per day.

Will keep all posted. Fingers crossed for us all.

Hugs,
Kate

 

[Bradt9881]

Fletcher also gets whitefish and sweet potato; no runny stools, and he likes the taste. His is Blue Buffalo brand, however.

 

[Bradt9881]

Thanks for the good wishes. We had Pixie's bloodwork done which was normal on all counts except for one thing: her triglicerides were high. My vet said there is an issue most common to schnauzers that causes serious problems from high triglicerides (too much fat in her blood) but not usually seen in Shelties.

I've been feeding her a duck-based food because of her history with seizures but since duck is a fatty food, I'm going to switch her to Fromm Whitefish and Potato which is 11 percent fat vs. 15. She's also been getting a half dose of krill oil and coconut oil to help her joints. I'm eliminating the coconut oil.

We don't know if this was the cause of the seizure or whether it was just her history recurring. Unfortunately, epilepsy in dogs is 8 parts guessing game and 2 parts medicine. So I'll watch her and hold my breath and we'll see what happens. She hasn't had any more seizures since last week so I'm hopeful.

Sending good thoughts for Harper's results, Kate! Please keep us posted.

Ann have you tried olive oil? It's monounsaturated, with proven benefits in people....

 

[trini]

Thanks for the good wishes. We had Pixie's bloodwork done which was normal on all counts except for one thing: her triglicerides were high. My vet said there is an issue most common to schnauzers that causes serious problems from high triglicerides (too much fat in her blood) but not usually seen in Shelties.

I've been feeding her a duck-based food because of her history with seizures but since duck is a fatty food, I'm going to switch her to Fromm Whitefish and Potato which is 11 percent fat vs. 15. She's also been getting a half dose of krill oil and coconut oil to help her joints. I'm eliminating the coconut oil.

We don't know if this was the cause of the seizure or whether it was just her history recurring. Unfortunately, epilepsy in dogs is 8 parts guessing game and 2 parts medicine. So I'll watch her and hold my breath and we'll see what happens. She hasn't had any more seizures since last week so I'm hopeful.

Ann, our little sable boy, Simba, started having focal seizures when he was approx. 14 months old. Within a few months he was put on anti-seizure meds, but little improvement. We had an MRI done on his brain to make sure no tumors or lesions...all normal. Bloodwork showed slightly elevated levels of triglicerides but not to the point of raising alarm. Then 2 years ago his seizure activity suddenly escalated with psycho motor seizures that lasted over an hour per incident and were happening a couple of times per week...very scary.

New bloodwork put his triglicerides literally off the chart. Simba was at a healthy weight and had been getting Wellness fish and sweet potato as his diet...he also gets yearly bloodwork...so this elevation came on fast. Our vet was very suspicious that the escalation in his seizure activity, both in type/intensity and in duration, might be tied to the extremely high fat in his blood. He put Simba on Hill's R/D which is only 6% fat...it took a few months but the prolonged psychomotor seizures have now been gone for well over a year and his mini focal seizures have almost completely disappeared (he used to have them multiple times daily). I suspect Simba may need to stay on a very low fat food for the rest of his life. Three months ago we stopped all anti-seizure meds and so far he is doing really well.

Simba is our third sheltie with seizures...but the first where the seizure activity looks like it *may* have been tied to fat in the blood.

I hope your little Pixie will respond well to the lower fat diet. Seizures are so emotionally hard to see in a little dog you love.

Trini

 

[Shelby's mom]

We lost our 1st sheltie to liver failure as a result of a gallbladder mucocele.

Looking back and knowing what I know now Hollie most definitely had gallbladder issues tha majority of her life. The symptoms were always diagnosed with something else, Lyme disease, she just has a lot of acid in her stomach when she is hungry causing her to vomit, just has arthritis, no her liver enzymes are elevated from the anti-inflammatories. Now I know these were all symptoms of her gallbladder. I still kick myself ever day for not pushing the issue more.

After loosing Hollie we did some research and found that Shelties naturally have higher than normal cholesterol. So. I strongly think that the high cholesterol on top of high fat treats and increase in weight contributed to her issues.

We are very careful with Shelby and try to give her lower fat treats and espcially use fresh veggies as treats.

Just my opinion.

 

[Ann]

Thanks for the information and suggestions, everyone! Brad, I haven't tried olive oil but it's a good thought. I've been probably overdosing her on oil for the severe arthritis in her front elbows so with her seizure history I may have helped to bring it on.

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience with Hollie, Shelby's mom. Just more proof that we need to be our dogs' advocates and trust our instincts when it comes to their health.

Trini, your Simba story confirms my suspicions. The only thing that's changed in Pixie's regimen is the oil, and the only change in her bloodwork was the triglicerides. Now that I know, I'll be keeping a close eye on what she gets.

We cured Pixie's seizures when she was young using only prescription holistic medications, so I know I could put her back on those if needed. But my vet agrees that unless the seizures come at least once a month, we'll just keep an eye on it for now. I'm hoping I can control it with diet and these suggestions will help a lot.

Just another reason why this Forum community is fabulous!! You guys are the best.

 

[BarbV]

Rereading this thread, that there has to be a better way to communicate about our dog illnesses, that perhaps we can help other dogs with earlier diagnoses.

I don't know what the answer is but will I give it some thought as to how to better share knowledge without all the emotion (guilty, as charged, btw!).

It does distract from getting to the bottom, when we each go it the laundry list of dog issues.

I guess I'm thinking about a medical thread that posts the facts only that we know about, and broken down specifically by conditions....e.g. hypothyroid, gall bladder, various cancers, skin allergies, etc.

Just thinking out loud. Not sure how this would work in practice, because ultimately we will still just post a new post and all respond.

 

[famous seamus]

We lost our 1st sheltie to liver failure as a result of a gallbladder mucocele.

Looking back and knowing what I know now Hollie most definitely had gallbladder issues tha majority of her life. The symptoms were always diagnosed with something else, Lyme disease, she just has a lot of acid in her stomach when she is hungry causing her to vomit, just has arthritis, no her liver enzymes are elevated from the anti-inflammatories. Now I know these were all symptoms of her gallbladder. I still kick myself ever day for not pushing the issue more.

After loosing Hollie we did some research and found that Shelties naturally have higher than normal cholesterol. So. I strongly think that the high cholesterol on top of high fat treats and increase in weight contributed to her issues.

We are very careful with Shelby and try to give her lower fat treats and espcially use fresh veggies as treats.

Just my opinion.

Thank you for sharing your story about little Hollie. I must remember to mention to the vet to have Harper's gall bladder checked for issues if her enzymes come back elevated again.

Hugs,
Kate

 

[Bradt9881]

Thanks for the information and suggestions, everyone! Brad, I haven't tried olive oil but it's a good thought. I've been probably overdosing her on oil for the severe arthritis in her front elbows so with her seizure history I may have helped to bring it on.

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience with Hollie, Shelby's mom. Just more proof that we need to be our dogs' advocates and trust our instincts when it comes to their health.

Trini, your Simba story confirms my suspicions. The only thing that's changed in Pixie's regimen is the oil, and the only change in her bloodwork was the triglicerides. Now that I know, I'll be keeping a close eye on what she gets.

We cured Pixie's seizures when she was young using only prescription holistic medications, so I know I could put her back on those if needed. But my vet agrees that unless the seizures come at least once a month, we'll just keep an eye on it for now. I'm hoping I can control it with diet and these suggestions will help a lot.

Just another reason why this Forum community is fabulous!! You guys are the best.

I have no clue if it works in dogs but in humans we treat triglycerides with a purified fish oil omega 3 called lovaza...

 

[bkzoo]

My Trace passed very suddenly due to "liver issues". The details of what we went through the last week of his life can be found on the Sheltie Angel thread. We were not able to do the biopsy to determine exactly what was causing his problems. The vet that did the ultrasound could only tell us that his liver did not look "normal" in a few aspects.

I don't know if it had anything at all to do with Trace's problem, but a month earlier my best friend at work had to rush her smooth Collie in for an ultrasound. He had suddenly stopped eating & the regular vet was concerned with the blood test results. His issue was gallbladder "sludge" - I believe I saw that discussed in earlier posts. He turned around & was back to normal after a week of meds & diet change.

You can imagine my suprise when, one month later, Trace stopped eating & we are scheduling an ultrasound. I only wish we had the same end to the story...

The only common factor between my friend's dog & Trace was the food we were using. About 6 years ago when I adopted my Heeler mix, Toby, I spent hours researching various food choices. I wanted "the best". (I am also aware that there are many different ideas on that subject as well). I ended up choosing Taste of the Wild salmon version but my vet thought there were too many fish ingredients. At that time, Natural Balance was quite highly rated, so that's what we decided on.

After what the two dogs went thru, I went back to research & found way too many negative comments regarding Natural Balance. I have no idea if it had anything to do with either dog's problems, but am not taking any chances. It was just too much of a coincidence for me. Toby is now on Blue Buffalo Wilderness, duck version. My friend switched her two Collies also.

Sorry for the long post...