15 replies to this topic

[MMPF]

So I have a friend with a Havanese puppy that is 6 months old. They just found out he has a liver shunt and it is going to complicate him getting snipped.
Anyways, apparently this is quite common in Cairn terriers according to her vet. Wondering if anyone has experienced this or even knows about it. Routine blood work can pick it up and I am wondering if I should get Commodore tested next time we go to the vet.

[hheldorfer]

Several of our forum members have Cairns with this issue but I don't know anything about testing for it. I'm sure someone knowledgeable in this area will respond with some reliable info for you.

[pkcrossley]

i don't have any experience with it, fortunately, but the kind of liver shunt that is a known risk to cairn terriers (though not as prominent a risk as in many other small breeds) is congenital, so commie would already be showing signs of ill health if he had it. it might be worth testing for once. the test is not a direct test, it looks at blood products (i guess bile and so on) so many hours after a meal to see if there are abnormal results. it is indicative but not a hundred percent reliable. illnesses can happen later in life to cause liver shunt, but they are very rare. as helene said, there are plenty of discussions on the forum. if commie has normal size and behavior, drinking and urination, and his breath smells like plain old doggy breath, you probably don't have to worry, at least not till you can talk to your vet about it.

[pindrop]

When purchasing our puppy from the breeder, this was an automatic test that she had performed on all her litters. At 9 weeks, she takes them to the vet in the early morning before feeding. Blood work is taken at that time - then they are fed and approximately two hours later another blood test is taken. From this second batch of testing it is compared to the first test and supposedly the comparison is to determine how their system produces the food intake. (At least that is how I understand this as I am no expert.) Layla's tests came out negative for any Liver shunt. However, I'm not sure how foolproof this system is as I have heard other reports saying this is not 100%.

[ScruffynMag]

Like Layla, our breeder had Scruffy and his siblings tested before we brought him home but I have no knowledge regarding this condition.

[Terrier lover]

Unfortunately I know way more than I want to about liver disease. Many terriers have high liver enzymes beyond liver shunts. Our Scottie had incredibly high liver enzymes (a real problem in Scotties) and in part probably because she suffered from IBD all her life. Jock had normal readings till he was six. At that age he needed more dental work and routine blood work stopped the vets in their tracks. His bile acid tests are normal. Liver biopsy, ultrasounds more blood work more tests to discover that he did not have a shunt but had abnormally small blood vessels thru out his liver. It wasnt the number one cause of the high liver enzymes but certainly contributed to them. Liver shunts usually show up at a very early age like PK mentioned. Our vet contacted Sharon Center (she is a liver specialist and is noted on the Cairn health concerns link) Microvascular Dyplasia or MVD was suspected but that also was ruled out. We switched Jock to a home cooked fish diet, he is on several different herbs and is also on Urdsidol. His enzymes have dropped but still are no where normal. The vets have basically said he has active Chronic Hep with the reason not known. An energetic ten year old Cairn that he is you would never know... and that is what our vet says with a chuckle. He doesn’t know he has health issues and that’s just fine with us Party on Jock!

Edited by Terrier lover, 06 November 2011 - 09:23 AM.

[MMPF]

Thanks for the info everyone! Commer is healthy and lively as ever. I doubt the breeder tested for this as it was never mentioned to us but we are due for another vet visit so I will inquire about it!

[Rileymom27]

Hi! My Cairn, Riley was born with liver shunts and diagnosed at the age of 4 months. It is common for a dog with these shunts to exhibit signs before the age of one. Riley started to vomit, show agression and refuse to eat. He was also very small for a male Cairn. We had to wait until he was stable enough to obtain surgery at the age of 7 months. (he weighed only 7 pounds) but the operation was pretty successful. He had two major shunts ligated (had smaller ones that remained) and was critical for 2 days. Subsequently found out (age 6 years) that he also had only one viable kidney. Renal failure hastened his death at the age of 7 years but when I questioned the breeder she informed me that Riley was the first Cairn in over 25 years of breeding to have this condition. Hope this helps to alleviate any fears you may have.

[kintra]

Liver shunts are becoming quite a problem in Cairns. I don't personally have any experience with the disease, but we do Bile Acid tests on all of our litters at 10 weeks to make sure liver function is not an issue.

My male was born before the Bile Acid tests were popular. I never suspected he had any liver issues, but I had the bile acid test done on him a few years ago just for my own peace of mind and his numbers were completely normal. Around here, the tests cost less than $50 and is done in-house so we get the results back within an hour or two. The hardest part is the dog being fasted before the first blood drawing - they're pretty sure they're being tortured

[jimnconnie]

Our Bailey, 8yrs.old, had urinary problems in 2006, and one of the tests done was a Bile Acids Test. That test indicated liver problems, and we took him to the hospital for removal of bladder stones, and removal of what the surgeon termed "a large extra-hepatic portosystemic shunt". The shunt allows the blood to bypass the liver, and so the blood is not cleaned as it should be by the liver. He recovered well, and is in good health at this time, with no special diet except that we do provide him with high quality, reduced-fat kibble. This article:http://www.yorkieres.../research2.html explains Portosystemic shunts.
Jim

[nancyz]

My Cairn, Barney was born with a liver shunt. I got him as a rescue when he was 6 months old so I don't know his history. He vomited at times and had difficulty focusing and paying attention. It wasn't until he was about 18 months old that we discovered from a blood test that there was problems with his liver. A liver shunt was suspected and next he had a bile test, followed by an ultrasound which confirmed the shunt. He had major surgery to correct the problem to get the blood flowing through his liver again. The surgeon said they usually don't do that surgery if the dog is over 2 years old because of a poorer outcome. After the surgery he was on prescription food for 6 months and then on regular high quality dog food. His behavior became normal after the surgery and now 5 years later he is still doing well.

[cairnrescueleague]

I'm SO glad to hear that Barney is doing well. I fostered a cairn puppy (from a pet store) that had surgery for a liver shunt. The surgery was successful, but it was so nerve wracking!

[nancyz]

I suspect that Barny was originally sold by a pet store before that owner gave him up. Yes, his surgery was a tense time. It was done by a specialist surgeon at a specialty clinic. When I talked to the surgeon before the surgery he said when he was a child he had a cairn terrier he loved very much. I knew then Barney was in good hands! After the surgery Barney was there about 3 days with 24hr care before I could bring him home.

[Shilos Mom]

This is a little late as a response, but I just got my Yorkie out of surgery today and wanted to let people know about my experience. Shilo is a 3 yo female yorkie. Sha has had problems since birth, but her original owner could not afford treatment. We took her in and she was treated medically for a little more than a year. Last month she became lethargic, no appetite, lost weight, generally did not behave as normal. My vet began treatment with laculose and denamarin. She responded somewhat, but my vet refferred her to University of Tennessee for more detailed analysis. The UT Veterinary Hospital used a variety of tests, principally "Nuclear scintography" to identify the type of shunt ( extrahepatic-outside the liver, intrahepatic-inside the liver, or macrovascular- lots of internal tiny shunts) and identified her as a candidate for successful surgery. She was admitted the same day as she was tested, and surgery was performed the next day. She had one large exrahepatic shunt that was closed with an ameroid constrictor. This required a roughly 6 in incision in her belly which was sutured and glued. She was kept for two days in ICU and did very well so was released on day 3. The change in Shilo is amazing. Her appetite has returned with a vengeance, she is active and happy, just a marvelous recovery. I cannot say enough good things about the veterinary staff at UT. They took such good care of our baby and seemed genuinely concerned and interested in her condition. The cost estimate was $400 to $600 for the testing and analysis and a further $1400 to $1600 for the surgery, $1800 to $2200 total. My total cost was $2037 at UT and $152 for my vet treatment a total of $2189.
The surgeon and the surgical/treatment team talked to me for the best part of an hour explaining the testing procedure, the surgical protocols and the success rates befor I made a decision, once made, the surgery was scheduled and performed in the shortest time. Well worth the money. By the way, CareCredit offers instant loans for veterinary care with generous payment and interest plans. See www.carecredit .com for details. Took me 15 minutes for online approval. Hope this helps someone, sorry for the length.
Connie and Joe

Edited by Shilos Mom, 22 March 2012 - 05:33 PM.

[pkcrossley]

that is a wonderfully informative post.