My beautiful 5 year old recently became ill,acting very sluggish,lethargic,seemed to be struggling to walkand swollen tummy then just minutes before her vet appointment collapsed.She was kept in for tests and scans and i was told me failed one of the liver tests( apparently there are 4 and one was raised the rest normal) and her red blood count was very low.They scanned her thinking it could be an internal bleed but couldnt find anything although they havent ruled out the bleed,could be a small one they havent been able to find it.They have now sent her blood and samples off to the pathologist and for now i have her home.She is on tablets and l/d hills food which she hates,her appetite is fine,she just doesnt like the food but she has turned in to an old dog over night,walks incredibly slow and her back legs seem very weak.She also has a black mole like raised spot appear on her tummy but vet didnt say much about that although im very concerned but its not only baffled me my vets are too.So for nowi just have to wait and see what the pathologist says.Has anyone any ideas what this could be? She has no sign of any infection,her temperature is fine but my little girl is fading before my eyes,its heartbreaking x

Kenzi,  what breed is she?

There are certain breeds that are more likely to have liver problems than others ;-)

Don't know whether this information will help?

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/04/09/pet-liver-blood-test.aspx

ETA
This may be worth reading too    http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/09/21/cushings-disease-caused-by-pet-stress.aspx

She is a toy poodle.Im worried sick but the test results and the stiff back legs dont seem to match up plus she still has an appetite its all very strange.

In my practice, most Cushing's dogs get referred after a misdiagnosed liver disease. The liver of an animal with hyperadrenocorticism gets overtaxed from trying to process the excess cortisol in circulation throughout the body. This causes an elevation in the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and the inducible liver enzyme, alkaline phosphatase (ALP)

This is from the second link.

Poodles are on the list of dogs most often affected.

Don't forget,  the list of symptoms is a list of all the symtoms found in many dogs.   Each individual dog may not show all of the symptoms/signs.

The struggling to walk and swollen tummy are actuallly mentioned on the page ;-)

It  may  be  worth asking if it is a possibility ;-)

It may be something completely different but if it is this,  it's treatable.

Would cushings cause them to have stiff back legs,she is incredibly slow and stiff when walking,she has turned in to an old dog

[url=]http://www.canine-cushings.co.uk/diagnosis.htm[/]

This tells you more.

It may not be this,  but it's something worth asking about if the vet doesn't mention it ;-)

From reading posts by people with. Cushings Syndrome,  it can make even young people  feel like an oap :-(

I hope you do get a diagnosis and it's treatable.   It's horrendous seeing your dog fail and not knowing why or how to help :-(

When did she collapse ?

I lost a girl at 10 years old with acute liver failure.

She had multiple symptoms and initially had slightly elevated liver blood test results .

She also struggled with walking and the day she was PTS (a week after she first eyeing signs ) she was really struggling to walk as her limbs swelled to twice the normal size.

I do hope they can get to the bottom of it x

She collapsed last thursday.I took her to the vet and they kept her in to do tests.I was told because only one of the 4 liver tests was elevated then it wasnt complete liver failure cos they wouldve all been elevated but every day she is struggling more and more to walk like her little legs are just wasting away and today i was told because the lab is getting renovated just now results wont be back until thursday,this to me is unaccectable because her life could depend on those results.Was your girl still eating cos mine is still loving her food and drinking too.She cant even jump up to say hello cant climb stairs now either.

She was eating at first but the last couple of days she wouldn't eat.

Do hope you get the results through soon

So sorry to hear you lost your girl,its like losing a family member so sad.Im desperate to get her results,i just want her to get better x

So sorry to hear you lost your girl,its like losing a family member so sad.Im desperate to get her results,i just want her to get better x

Could it be Addisons it can make them very lethargic, it can mimic other conditions and poodles are prone to it.  My whippet has addisons but the vets initially treated her for pancreatitis until I asked them to do the test.  She hasd slight non regenerative anaemia, loss of appetite, and lethargy/depression.

Her kidney function was normal it was just the liver that was elevated.Do all addison sufferers have kidney problems? she seems to be fading before my eyes,she has absolutely no energy but still has an appetite.Im so angry i have to wait for results simply because they are decorating the lab!! x

It can be common for them to have elevated liver/kidney values because they cannot balance their electrolytes.  Addisons is often called "the great pretender" as it can mimic other illnesses.  The only way to know is to perform an ACTH test which some vets seem reluctant to do.  Luckily mine were very co-operative. 

We still have no test results yet so im getting very anxious but the vet told me they think she has an internal bleed that the scan did not show up so if the blood tests dont give any answers they are going to open her up and try and locate it.They dont think its cushings,told me her symptoms have come on too fast and too severe x

I would insist they chase the results back or get her in asap

Yes thats what i did then i suggested taking her back but they said they cant do anything until they get the results,its so fustrating x

Is she getting any worse

They must have access to other labs? Could they not take more bloods and send to a different lab?

I don't think it's good enough to be told "we can't get the results back as the lab is closed for renovating". That is appalling!

Yes I am sure there will will be a practice near by that has a in house Lab

Her results came back with raised white blood cells too so she has to go in to vets in the morning for an xray,they have suggested a thyroid problem,infection of some sort,menengitis and havent ruled out cushings,so worried about my baby x

Let's us know how she gets on a hope they get her sorted poor little thing x

Any more news ?

She has had a spinal tap done and been tested for addisons but due to the xmas period it will be at least a week to get results back.However the vet doesnt think its menengitis,im thinking she may have slipped a disc and wonder if this would show up on an x ray cos she had one last week and she has had 3 scans now x

Change your vet.

They sound like they havent got a clue. D

They really dont.The spinal tap was done by my old ve cos the new one( i moved 40 miles away) wouldnt do it or should i say couldnt do it but they havent actually tested her for specific things just done basic bloods scans etc,its so fustrating and very upsetting too.She is on steroids and antibiotics so im clinging to the fact they might start working soon but for what i have no idea x

Has she improved at all ?

Sorry fir the late reply but thought you might want to know how my girl was doing.She has continued to improve,can now move a little faster,eats well and can lift her front paws off the ground something she couldnt do when she was ver ill.However she still isnt back to normal,i think that will take many months and we never got an answer,all tests including her spinal tap didnt give any answers at all.Im just happy she is heading in the right direction x

I  glad she has improved . I hope she continues to do so and she gets back to normal soon x