GSD having hepatitis

[cosmin_teuton Cub Find all posts View Profile Close cosmin_teuton]

Hello everyone

My GSD was diagnosed 3 months ago having unknown ethiology hepatitis.
He was eating Royal Canine German Sheperd 24 and was up to date vaccinated.
After aprox 3 weeks of treatment (LIV 52 adjoutant) the blood work came up really good. Basically all values went back to normal. Because of the diet the dog became faily thin.
Now the doctor suggested that we should put it back on dried food. So I slowly take him back to Royal Canine.
My problem is that this food contains 24% protein and 19% fat. Isn't that to much fat for a dog recovering from hepatitis?
Does anyone have a food option solution for me?
I will also repeat the bloodwork again cause I do not like how the dog looks and the faeces start loosing colour again.

Please help me with a better solution
Cosmin

[petsalive Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close petsalive]

Pancreatitis?

About 10 years ago one of our shepherds was diagnosed with the same thing - same progression, bad to better to bad again.

More blood work was done (I suggest you do this too and get a second opinion) and it was discovered that he had PANCREATITIS (common to shepherds) and the bad liver results were caused by the pancreatic ducts being blocked.

Pancreatis is worsened by fat, not proteins and so a low fat dry food was prescribed along with an antibiotic. He thrived and the acute attack of pancreatis resolved. We kept him on that diet and he passed away 4 years later at the age of 14. Please ask your vet if this might be a possibiity for your dog and if a dietary change should be made.

[cosmin_teuton Cub Find all posts View Profile Close cosmin_teuton]

Thanks for the hint. I'll try to test the dog for Pancreatitis.

Regards
Cosmin

[cosmin_teuton Cub Find all posts View Profile Close cosmin_teuton]

Test done, no results!

Hi again

I've tested my dog also for pancreatitis, kidney and liver problem.
I also did a complete bloodtest (hemoleucoghram) and everything is saying that the dog is ok.
However he is not gaining weight not even after changing to Acana Lamb and Rice and giving him nutritional suplements (Cafortran +).

H E L P!

[tigger the turtle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tigger the turtle]

Could the dog have diabetes?
before i was diagnosed for diabetes I lost a lot of weight until they found what was the problem.(I was 2 years so can`t tell how much weight was lost)

[cosmin_teuton Cub Find all posts View Profile Close cosmin_teuton]

Pancreatitis test details

Hello Petsalive

Are you able to tell me what were the tests to determine Pancreatitis on your shepherd? I'm not sure that the doctor (I've got a 2nd opinion) is right.... All the Pancreatitis' manifestations are present on my dog....
Maybe there are different blood works that need to be done or something.
An one more question, did your vet tested also the dog's feaces? Mine didn't...

Please help
Cosmin

PS: I'm sorry to bring this up, but did your dog died at age of 14 because of Pancreatic failure or just old age? Our vet told us that if our dog is having pancreatitis he has a lifehope of 4-5 years max (he's 4 now)...

[petsalive Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close petsalive]

Yes my vet tested the stool as well.

Our dog died of cancer , NOT pancreatitis.

We currently have another dog with pancreatic insufficiency who takes pancrezyme (a powder that predigests his food for him - we mix it with the food and a small amount of water 1'/2 hour before we feed him) and he has been eating this way for 7 years. Your vet is very wrong and you need to get a second opinion. At least TRY the pancrezyme - it will cost you about $70 a month initially if your vet is money hungry although if he gives you a RX you can buy it online cheaper.

Can you tell me what your dog's stools are like? Do they look 'fatty', greasy or loose?

Good luck.

[cosmin_teuton Cub Find all posts View Profile Close cosmin_teuton]

Hello

I finally got a 3rd opinion and now from a Digestive Disease/ Disorder specialist. My dog is now diagnozed with pancreatic insuficiency and also with gastritis.
So you were very right! The treatment is pretty much the way that you discribed it plus the gastritis treatment.
The vet said that there are good chances of total recovery so I hope for the best.

Thank you very much for your support
Cosmin

[petsalive Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close petsalive]

You are very welcome,

Your dog is very lucky to have you as his guardian. Not everyone would go to the lengths you did to find a way to make him feel better.

He should be fine with this treatment and you should start seeing results soon. Please let us all know how he is doing.

[kerryclair Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kerryclair]

Wow.
What an amazing thing.
A forum really working for what it was untended.
Congrats on finding the cause of your dogs illness. I shudder to think of how long it would have gone undetected had Sara not been here.
Thanks Sara!


Keep us posted on your dog Cosmin!

[cosmin_teuton Cub Find all posts View Profile Close cosmin_teuton]

I hope that I'll get back on the forum just to say that my dog is starting to gain weight. On Saturday we have the "official dog weighting day" so keep your finger crossed for us. He'll be then on 10th day of treatment so the scales must show some gain. :D

By the way, the diet food prescriebed is Mill's i/d which I will not normally feed to my dog because of its contain (a lot of corn,meat by product and soy). Can anyone recommend some other veterinary food for pancreatis insuficiency?

Thanks
Cosmin

[petsalive Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close petsalive]

At this point the food you feed is not that important. The most important thing is the medication and making sure you use it correctly.

We add the powder to the food (we use dry food so if you're using ID make sure you use the dry as opposed to the canned) 20-30 minutes before feeding with a sufficient amount of warm water to stir it completely. EACH piece of food MUST be covered with the water/pwder solution and the best way to accomplish this is to stir the mixture every few minutes so that the medication is able to 'pre-digest' the food for him. This takes a bit of getting used to as the resulting 'goop' does not look that palatable. However he WILL eat it. Also do not give him ANY treats as if they are not treated with the pancrezyme he will continue to lose weight.

The dogs we are currently treating are both eating Iams mini-chunks. I think your vet just wants to make sure that initially the food he eats is bland and that is fine. If he does well you can GRADUALLY switch him to another food over time.

[cosmin_teuton Cub Find all posts View Profile Close cosmin_teuton]

My heart is dying

Hello

Sadly I have no good news. My dog didn't gain any weight but nor did he lose any so it's not too bad.

What's really bad is that he started having problems breathing and I took him again to the vet thinking maybe he'd catch a cold. At a first general inspection the vet discovered that the glands (in his neck area) are swollen. An ECO on his abominal followed and the spleen looked like it had a lot of small black holes through it. The prognosis is now leukemia.
It is very sad how from 4-5 vets no one saw those swollen glands (half of fist like).
The plan now is to have a biopsy of one gland to see for sure that he has leukemia and what kind.
If leukemia is proven I don't think that I will take him through the nasty treatment with chemiotherapy and so on as he is already very weak. I still have some small hopes left but I think that I'm lying myself. I would give anything to see him healthy again as he is still calling me to play with him and he's still climbing into my arms.

Life's not fair,
Cosmin

[petsalive Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close petsalive]

I am so sorry to hear this terrible news.

I hope that the veterinarian gave him prednisone to take to make him more comfortable and to slow the progress until the biopsy comes back. The prednisone (which some vets call 'chemo'' but actually is not in the same class of drugs) will reduce the inflammation significantly so that he doesn't have trouble breathing in the meantime.

I just need to say that a dog's reaction to chemotherapy is not like a human's. The side effects that we expect do not happen and a;though it does not 'cure' leukemia' it often can give the dog another very comfortable year or two before it comes out of remission.

This is a hard decision to make and I am sure that loving him as you do you will make the kindest decision for him.

My prayers are with both of you.

[kerryclair Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kerryclair]

I agree with Sara. My dog was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer almost two years ago and given just two-three weeks to live. I opted to try the chemo. yes, it was very expensive (try care for credit) but he is still alive and happy, still going trail riding and still the joy in my days. He had NO suffering from the chemo. Did not lose any hair (dogs do not), still had an appetite, still romped and played...the day of the chemo he was a little more tired than other days but after a good nights sleep he was back to himself. If you can afford it, or if you just want him around for a while longer, I would also suggest it. It isn't bad for them at all. Attached is a pic of Zack on the way home from a hike Tuesday. We hiked for three hours, clearing a trail in our area, and this is his exhausted self on teh way home (no he isn't that fat, it is just the angle of my camera phone!).