Hi Everyone,

Hope someone can help I have a 6 year old lab bitch she has been attending the vet for yellowing of the skin and a liver complaint know her stomach has swollen up and the vet has given her more antibiotics and vit b has anyone else heard of this.

Hope to hear from someone soon

I'm afraid I can't help, but hopefully John will be along shortly, he knows a great deal about Labs and dogs in general.

Best wishes

liberty

Sounds very much like Jaundice or Leptospirosis (Leptospirosis can cause a form of Jaundice). This can be very serious but can be treated if caught in time. I remember a Dalmatian near my having it many years ago. One of the signs of Jaundice is very light or almost white stools.

I take it you have not taken your dog abroad to a warm climate under the pet passport scheme? Babesiosis is a tick born disease again where there is yellowing of the skin. Always let your vet know if your dog has been abroard because this can bring a whole raft of different complaints into the equation.

Regards, John

Hi just wanted to say about Babesia, I looked after a dog with this disease & his skin didn`t turn yellow nor did the whites of his eyes. The first symptom was lethargy/depression & not eating followed quickly by high temp & urine turning orange going darker to almost blood colour. Of course it may vary from dog to dog but from what the vet said & what I saw, the coloured urine is always there & in fact the vet started treating him for it before the results came back, he was that sure what he had.

Christine, Spain.

Hi John
I haven't taken her abroad and she has been getting treatment since July just atibiotics and vit b but it cleared up she has no temp. and the vet said last night she would pass the fluid but her stomach is just the same. I have 3 other labs and they are all fine I am worried about her but she doesn't seem unwell .
Lyndsey

Babesiosis was always a long shot Lyndsey. My main reason for mentioning it was because with the pet passport scheme, more and more dogs are coming into the country whether for the first time or on returning from holiday and vets are now finding things which they have never seen in the past including at least one case of Ehrlichiosis!

The fluid will no doubt disperse but it is something which will not suddenly disappear more gradually go in time.

Try not to worry too much, I know thats difficult but dogs have a knack of telling us how they feel.

Best wishes, John

Jaundice (yellowing of the skin) is a symptom of liver disease rather than a disease in itself. Similarly, the swelling of the abdomen (dropsy) is another sign of liver disease -fluid is building up in the abdomen because the liver isn't working properly. There are many causes of liver failure, leptospirosis is one as John mentioned, but there are others such as tumours, poisoning, hepatitis etc & only your vet will be able to tell you what the cause is after further tests/xrays etc. Unfortunately, I have learned rather more than I ever wanted to know about liver failure in the past few months as we had a Cocker with this problem. The good news is that the liver is the only organ partially capable of repairing itself & with medication & attention to diet (special hepatic diets are available), many affected dogs can make a full recovery (depending on what the underlying cause is of course). The supplement Milk Thistle is also often recommended for dogs with liver disease. Good luck - do hope your Lab is on the mend very soon.

Jane

Thanks I will get some milk thistle its worth a try was your dog ill or did it just have symptoms. My dog seems to be fine except for the swelling and skin colour.

Lyndsey

Yes sadly our dog was very ill in the end & did not respond to treatment - as well as the jaundice & abdominal swelling, she was also vomiting frequently & losing a lot of weight over a period of a couple of months as her liver disease was very advanced by this stage (though she had previously recovered well from a bout of hepatitis a few years beforehand) As your dog doesn't have such severe symptoms, the signs are good that she will recover well. Has your vet done a blood & urine test recently to test the liver function? This should indicate whether the antibiotics etc are working. Is she also on one of the special diets? Hills, Waltham & Royal Canin all do prescription diets for dogs with liver disease (available from your vet) These or a natural diet designed for liver patients can be helpful. I have an e-book on various aspects of living with a dog with liver disease, including natural diets & alternative remedies. If you would like it, I'd be happy to send it to you.

yes thanks I would love the e-book. Does the bloated look take long to go away? The vet has done a lot of test that have cost a fortune he says her liver function is at 300 and should be about 80 so I am just hoping for the best, its a worrying time she doesn't seem to want to eat today but she still isn't acting unwell and she is drinking. I keep hoping that ist's not a tumor but she goes back to thw vet on Wednesday so I'm praying for good news.

Thanks
Lyndsey

No problem Lyndsey, I'm sending you the e-book. Be warned if you don't have broadband, it will take a while to download into your inbox as its quite a big file (its in PDF format so you'll need Acrobat Reader to open it)

The bloated look will gradually reduce once the liver function gets nearer to being normal but while the liver is still not working well, the bloated tummy will continue, though sometimes a vet will prescribe diuretics to get rid of the excess fluid. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your girl - its such a worry isn't it?

Jane

Jane

Can you please send me the e-book. Our springer spaniel Jake (not 4 years old yet) has been diagnosed (by the Dick Veterinary Hospital) with liver fibrosis and is on steroids, and a few other tablets including Hepatosyl capsules (have you come across an alternative to these tablets?). He is currently eating Hills Prescription LD food.

Thanks, Carla

Its on its way Carla :-) I've not come across Hepatosyl capsules before so I'm not sure what a good alternative would be, although Milk Thistle might help as this is the herbal supplement often recommended for liver disease (in humans as well as dogs)

Hiya
I hope all is wel... i also would say try milk thistle... Charlie has liver damage due to his chemo, so i tried milk thistle and his symptoms have improved.

Donna and charliex

thanks I'm going to see how it goes tomorrow and take it from there
Lyndsey

Thanks for the e-book. The vet has just phoned today and she has to go in for ultrasound tomorrow and to have the fluid draned of her abdomin. Keeping fingers crossed.

Lyndsey

Thanks everyone for all of your help. But sadly I lost Holly yesterday it turned out that she had cancer.

Oh I`m really sorry to hear that. It`s very hard when this happens but now your holly isn`t in any pain & she`s running free.

Christine, Spain.

Sorry to hear that. :( Her symptoms sounded very like those of our old lab when she had terminal liver cancer, but I hesitated to be a gloom-merchant. You did your very best for her, that is what matters.

I'm so sorry to hear that. We never know what's around the corner and sometimes that can be a good thing. You did your best for her and that's all anyone can do.

Kind thoughts, John

I'm so sorry to hear about Holly, very sad news indeed :-(