# Unusually small liver causing chronic liver disease



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I'm so sorry about your sweetie. I have no advice to offer about the small liver, but I know the sadness you are feeling. 

I'm not sure if there are nutritional challenges associated with the small liver, but the only thing I might suggest is to put him on an adult or even a puppy food if he needs more calories. 

I hope your vet can offer you some options. Is there a vet college near you or other source of specialists that you can consult?

Sending positive thoughts...


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## aussieladee (Nov 19, 2012)

Thank you for your kind words & a good suggestion about the college as we have a university about an hour from here who did all the vet tests for elbows, hips, heart & eyes on his mum & dad before they bred from them. The breeder was very dedicated to the breed & only bred from dogs who did not have those problems thankfully but she has since retired & moved away.
My vet doesn't know what else to do for him & just said to make him comfortable as it will eventually kill him, so not positive there.
With chronic liver disease there are issues with diet so very limited in what you can offer them to eat as fats, salt & protein are not tolerated well. Everything he eats, drinks, medicine or anything that could be absorbed thru the skin will affect the liver when it is compromised already so I have to be very careful with him.
Even just trying to take blood plus having a mild sedative for tests 2 weeks ago caused a nasty hot spot on his chest just to add to his discomfort. As much as he needs fat & protein to put weight on his health would deteriorate quickly if I gave him food with a high content of either, he is now on Hills Science diet for seniors which is a good quality dry food recommended by vets. I now leave his food bowl full so he can graze all day/night & he has an appetite just not gaining the weight he has lost, he can't have fresh beef so again limited to lamb (only a small amount due to fat) or chicken with rice, pasta or veges.
I just hope he has not lost too much weight that it affects his organs as he is happy & jumps up as soon as I go to take him outside for a toilet run. He is not only my best friend & companion but is also a therapy dog for my parents as Dad has dementia so very much a beloved family member. Since my parents lost their dog at the same time Chewbacca got sick last year he has become a big part of their lives by filling the gap their dog left when she passed.


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

I'm so sorry! I don't have any advice but I understand your pain. Love and spoil him, as I'm sure you already do ♥


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

I am sorry you are going through this.

A couple of things come to mind. 
Small, more frequent meals so you aren't dumping a huge load for Chewey's liver to have to breakdown all at once. 

I would ask about Denamarin. Our Bailey has some liver damage from a flea treatment 4 years ago (maybe 5 years ago). It helped improve her liver function a little, but mainly has kept it from getting worse. She has a lot of fatty tumors, but isn't a candidate for surgery with her liver function. I limit the medication she gets and space them out as much as possible. Bailey turned 12 in April, which is old for an Old English Sheepdog. FWIW, the Denamrin runs us 200/month.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Here is a homecooked diet you can try that might help. Dr. Jean Dodds is a very big name here in the US. There is an amino acid in the white fish that helps to heal the liver. Also, the doses for milk thistle, which is very inexpensive, are given. It might help, but certainly can't hurt.

http://canineliverdiseasefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dr20dodd27s20liver20diet.pdf

sending lots of good thoughts your way.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

oh, another thought, will your vet consider prescribing Actigall (ursodiol is the generic)? It works in a completely different way from the other drugs. It actually produces a bile in the intestines which then is absorbed thru the intestine rather than re-absorbing the toxic bile that the liver is producing. Used with great results in humans, relatively new in dogs but lots of good results there, too. 
Here's a little background on it:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=549

Finally, has your vet tried a combination for amoxicillin and metronidazole to help bring down any inflammation and/or sepsis in the liver? My Tiny's liver enzymes were literally off the scale (2500+ for the ALT, with under 100 being normal, and 35,000 for the ALP, with under 100 being normal) and after 4 weeks on amoxicillin, metronidazole, and actigall they are down to 640 for the ALT and 650 for the ALP. Still very high, but at least much lower than they were before.

Wishing you the best. It's so hard.


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## aussieladee (Nov 19, 2012)

Some good news after our vet visit today & got a different vet than last time who seemed more knowledgeable about his particular health issues. Chewy has actually put a small amount of weight(approx 300 grams or 10 ounces) back on since I put him on the new dry dog food 2 weeks ago which is a huge relief & altho it is only a very small amount the main thing is he is no longer losing it. His ribs & hip bones are still protruding but the vet is happy with his progress & wants me to continue with the strict diet I put him on, he will most likely never be able to eat fresh meat of any kind again because it is protein & the only things I can add to his diet is veges or pasta.
I asked about antibiotics & Denamarin plus other natural products available & the only one she thought might help is Denosyl which is is more appropriate for liver disease(similar to Denamrin), she was a bit sceptical about any benefit but she also said it certainly can't hurt if I was willing to spend the $70 for 2 weeks worth. Antibiotics will not help him as he does not have any infection, instead his liver is just too small for his body size so it has been stressed over his whole life & it just can't cope with what a normal sized liver can do easily. He has chronic liver disease from it & all we can do is manage it according to the symptoms & how he is feeling which will be ongoing for the rest of his life.
He is having 1 x 425mg of Denosyl each day for the next 2 weeks & then we will do another set of blood work to see if there has been a improvement, he is also allowed to play outside again with his new coat on which will make him happy as it is quite cold here now so had to keep him indoors for warmth.
The information you shared gave me something to take to the vet & we came home with a management plan because of it. I feel so much better about Chewy's future after sharing it with you so thank you for your kind words & support.


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