Dog has high ALT values for 2 months without clinical signs

My mutt Sharik, 3 years old, 2 mths ago had a pustular rash on hairless areas, there was a rise of ALT (176 u/l), ALKP - 80 U/l, GGT 7 U/l. We did ultrasound-ok. Viral tests-negative for the most common viruses. Here (in Ukraine) we don't have bile acids test. We treated pyoderma and liver condition with Ceftriaxon 10 days, Ciprofloxacin 10 days, Heptral+ Ursofalk.After antibiotics ALT-94 U/l, Creatincinase-99. We stayed on heptoprotectos, after 2 weeks ALT - 157 again.What can it be? Thank you.

  • Vetinfo

    By: Kara McCarty El Segundo, CA

    Replied on 04/19/2011

    How is your dog feeling? Has his skin rash healed? Do you have any previous bloodwork to compare to? It sounds like the only liver enzyme that was elevated was his ALT, is that correct? What was is blood urea nitrogen (BUN)? It is often low in liver disease patients. Did he have an elevated white blood cell count? The fact that his ultrasound and viral tests were normal are encouraging. If his appetite is good, he's feeling fine and his rash has cleared you may be able to take a watch and see approach. Animals aren't machines and don't always follow the book guidelines, they sometimes have values that are outside of reference ranges. Liver enzymes can increase 5 to 6 times the median reference range before indicating serious disease. As long as he is feeling and looking fine you may wish to have him rechecked every 2 to 3 months to track his liver enzymes. If they are increasing you may opt for a liver biopsy or a longer treatment period of antibiotics (3 to 4 weeks) if his white blood cell count is increased. In the meantime you may want to put him on a liver protective diet like Hills K/D and use a nutritional product called SAM-E. Kara, DVM

More Questions on Liver and Pancreas

  • What is the best diet for a dog who recently got diagnosed with a liver shunt?

    My 2 year old yorkie just got diagnosed with a liver shunt. The vet put her on Hill's Prescription Diet l/d but every time I feed her, she just doesn't seem satisfied. What foods can I feed her for a natural diet that is low in protein but will satisfy a picky eater.

  • Is it normal for an old dog to get liver disease?

    Is it common for a old dog (14 year old female pointer) to develop liver disease? She also has hypothyroid disease and arthritis.

  • What could have caused a liver failure with my dog

    This is what happened to a healthy 8 mo female Bassett Hound. 1 - 2 days of vomiting, loose stool, Lethargy alp 892, alt >2000, glucose 42 & platelets 66,000. Gave 3 units of plasma and no improvement. What could have happened to have things so bad so fast..ate something toxic? Leptospirosis? Thanks Sue

  • My dog has liver problem with phenobarbital

    HI MY VET TOLD ME THAT MY DOG IS ON PHENOBARBITAL lhasa apso/maltesse has low protein 1.5 gm/dL and vet told me that my dog will die soon ,because her liver is small .She prescribe Metronidazole and Denamarin WHAT IS DANGER PROTEIN LEVEL ?CAN MY DOG SURVIVE?What about Metronidazole why?when metronidazole should'nt be used with liver problems nor seizure. Thank you Jerry

  • Can Adequan cause bleeding tendencies with my dog

    Can Adequan cause bleeding tendencies, could it be harmful to her spleen mass and/or kidneys? My dog has had three Adequan injections now, over the course of 1 1/2 weeks. She is old and also just started taking a course of Acetaminophen for gum disease. About a year ago, we tried Metacam for her arthritis but it caused problems with her kidney. We also know she has a mass on her spleen about the size of a small grapefruit. As I said, she's had three injections and seems "out of it"; sleepy. One of her rear legs also seems to be "giving out" on her at random moments. Thank you, Cath

  • Possible dog liver shunt with these results?

    I had an enzyme test on my yorkie and the Alt was 131 and the Glu was 161 after eating. Could this be a concern for possible liver shunt? Here are the results. Male Yorkie approx 3lbs, 6 months old.ALB - 3.2ALP - 68ALT - 131AMY - 686TBIL - .2BUN - 18CA - 10.3PHOS - 4.9CRE - .4GLU - 161NA+ - 144K+ - 5.8TP - 5.5GLOB - 2.2-

  • Dog liver enlarged with lesions and fluid retention

    we noticed her abd.right away took her in lab work and pills for 2 weeks..lab work only got elevated after the 2 wks.we got xray and u/s showed a lot of fluid and u/s showed enlarged liver with destructive lesions.the vet says draining the fluid would be worthless it would return within 24hrs? She is on lasix 50mg 2xday and keflex 50mg 2day will this work? or is it impossible to remove that amount of fluid with pills. she is eating and drinking well.

  • Can a reaction to the dog Lyme vaccine mimic liver shunt's disease?

    14 week maltese had a reaction to Lyme vaccine, shaking and tremors. 6 days later developed seizure like activity, unable to walk, did not recognize name. Went to Tufts Univ. Hospital, appeared to be fine. 2 days later had the Bile Acid test done. Bile Acids (fasting) results were 21.9 and Bile Acids Post Prandial 52.9. How often would symptons occur in Porto-systemic shunt? Would eating (Eukanuba, Bil-Jac, Royal Canin all small breed puppy) cause hepatic enzymes levels to be elevated?

  • Is this one of the liver problems dogs get?

    My 13 yr old setter was put on rimadyl 2 wks ago because I was told he more than likely has bone cancer or a tumer in his back left hock & at his age I need to look at pain management.His liver levels have always been off but didn't change. Today was his 2 week check up and his liver levels have changed I think from 291 to 271? The vet wants him to stay on the meds and recheck in 1 month instead of 6. He's also on Tramodly & siloxine. Should I pull the rimidly?

  • See all questions in Liver and Pancreas

Please do not use our site to attempt to diagnose or treat your pet. Your veterinarian is the best source of health advice for an individual pet.

Please do use our site to become better informed about the medical problems your pet may have. We will do our best to ensure that information presented is accurate and up-to-date. The most current information will be at the top of each page. Remember that veterinarians often disagree about the best treatments for pets. There are often several perfectly acceptable ways to treat the same condition. Just ask a lot of questions!

For all emergency situations, please contact your local Emergency Pet Clinic or on-call Veterinarian. Answers are not provided in real time. We can not guarantee an answer to every question, nor can we provide timely responses to urgent questions in many instances.