can anyone fill me in on tests for liver shunt?I know you can get a blood test done so if there are 2 tpyes does the blood test cover both types also what sort of test result do you get back Is it a one off test or do you need to test again?

Hi, we had a 4month old pup with a liver shunt. The Vet initially did a blood test said it may be a shunt. The only way they could confirm was we had to take the pup in to Vets, along with packed lunch!! They took a blood test, fed her, waited for a while (1hr or 2hr I think) then re took the blood test, which in our case confirmed it was a Liver shunt.

did your pup have syptoms or did you test anyway?

Hi,

Yes they do a fasted blood test and then another 60/90 mins after a meal and test for bile acids.  The tests for my girl weren't entirely conclusive so she went on to have her abdomen scanned which I requested just to be 100% sure.  She had quite a lot of symptoms of a shunt but it didn't all fit.

Yes we had symptoms, she was the pup from Hell!! I had no idea that she had a shunt. She wouldn't settle, was very hyper. She started being sick too. So took her to the Vet who suspected straight away. They said the reason she was being hyper was the toxins being released through the shunt into her system. Within a few days she was in the Vet hospital having her op, where she stayed for almost a week, I was gutted. But the op went well, she came home was on a hepatic diet for a few weeks, and now she is almost 2yrs old and fingers crossed, as fit as a fiddle.