Veterinary Guide to Canine Liver Disease 2025 🐶🍃🩺

By Dr. Duncan Houston BVSc

🧬 What Is Liver Disease in Dogs?

Liver disease describes any condition damaging liver function, whether due to inflammation, congenital shunts, toxins, infections, metabolic disorders, cancer, or more. The liver’s central roles—filtering blood, producing bile and proteins, detoxifying, and storing nutrients—can be disrupted at any stage, leading to serious illness.

👥 Who’s at Risk?

• Young dogs: congenital portosystemic shunts and microvascular dysplasia, especially in small breeds like Yorkies and Cairn Terriers.
• Any age: toxin exposure (e.g., xylitol, acetaminophen, blue-green algae, NSAIDs).
• Breed predispositions: Copper storage (Bedlington, Dobermans), portosystemic shunts (Pugs, Maltese), chronic hepatitis (Dobermans, Cocker Spaniels).
• Infectious causes: Leptospirosis, canine adenovirus, histoplasmosis, others.
• Metabolic/vascular: portosystemic shunts, microvascular dysplasia.
• Cancer: liver tumors and metastases in older dogs.

⚠️ Clinical Signs

• Gastro signs: inappetence, vomiting, diarrhea (even using gray/acholic stool).
• Weight loss, lethargy, decreased activity.
• PU/PD (increased drinking/urination), ascites, abdominal pain.
• Jaundice—yellow mucous membranes, sclera, skin.
• Neurologic signs (hepatic encephalopathy): seizures, head pressing, disorientation.
• Coagulopathy—easy bruising, bleeding ulcers, clotting abnormalities.
• Often subclinical for long periods—detected via routine bloodwork.

🔍 Diagnostic Approach

1. History & physical exam: note breed, toxin exposures, PU/PD, neurologic changes.
2. Bloodwork: CBC (anemia, infection), chemistry (ALT, ALP, bilirubin, albumin), clotting panels.
3. Urinalysis: assess urinary concentrating ability, toxin excretion.
4. Imaging: abdominal ultrasound/X-ray to evaluate liver structure, masses, shunts, ascites.
5. Special tests: bile acids, ammonia, fasting tests for shunts or dysplasia.
6. Sampling: FNA or biopsy to confirm cancer, copper storage, and chronic hepatitis.

🛠️ Treatment Strategies

1. Remove the Underlying Cause

• Toxins: gastric lavage, antidotes, supportive care.
• Infections: antibiotics or antivirals—e.g., for leptospirosis, viral hepatitis.
• Shunts (PSS): surgical attenuation (ameroid banding/cellophane ring) or medical management (low-protein diet, lactulose, antibiotics).

2. Supportive & Symptomatic Care

• Fluid therapy, electrolytes, antiemetics, GI protectants, and pain relief.
• Lactulose and antibiotics (metronidazole/neomycin) to reduce ammonia.
• Vitamin supplementation: SAMe, milk thistle (silybin), vitamin K for clotting.

3. Nutritional Management

• High-quality, low–to–moderate protein, high-carbohydrate, liver-support diet.
• Customized diet plans, possibly through a veterinary nutritionist.

4. Cancer and Masses

• Surgical resection of cysts or focal tumors where feasible.
• Medical therapy or palliative care for diffuse disease or inoperable tumors.

5. Monitoring & Ongoing Care

• Recheck bloodwork (chem, coag, bile acids), imaging every 3–6 months or as needed.
• Track clinical signs, body weight, and quality of life.

📈 Prognosis & Outcomes

• Acute, mild, or toxin-related cases: good prognosis with early treatment and liver regeneration.
• Chronic hepatitis or copper-associated: guarded to fair—lifelong management often needed.
• Congenital shunts: excellent prognosis post-surgery (median survival >4 years).
• Hepatic failure/cirrhosis: poor—if >70% loss occurs, life expectancy is short without treatment.
• Liver cancer and diffuse disease: variable—localized masses have surgical potential; diffuse or metastatic disease carries a heartbreaking prognosis.

📱 Ask A Vet Telehealth Support

• 📸 Share lab results, imaging, and photos of jaundice or ascites for specialist review.
• 🔔 Receive medication, diet, and monitoring reminders for hepatic support.
• 🩺 Video follow-ups to assess appetite, behavior, GI signs, and neurological status.

🎓 Case Spotlight: “Bella” the Yorkie

Bella, a 2-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, showed slowed growth, vomiting, ataxia, and copper-colored urine. Workup revealed microvascular dysplasia with elevated bile acids. Under targeted antibiotics, lactulose, low-protein diet, and metronidazole, she stabilised within weeks. Ask A Vet guided routine lab checks and diet management; Bella is thriving at 3 now, with a seizure-free, happy life 🐾.

🔚 Key Takeaways

1. Liver disease in dogs arises from diverse causes—congenital, toxic, infectious, metabolic, and neoplastic.
2. Watch for subtle signs—jaundice, ascites, appetite loss, vomiting, neurologic changes.
3. Diagnosis via bloodwork, imaging, bile acids/ammonia, and biopsy when required.
4. Treatment includes cause-targeted therapy, supportive care, nutrition, surgery, and supplements.
5. Prognosis varies from excellent (acute or surgically managed shunts) to guarded for chronic/cancer.
6. Ask A Vet telehealth provides continuous remote monitoring, treatment coordination, and peace of mind 📲🐾

Dr Duncan Houston BVSc, founder of Ask A Vet. Download the Ask A Vet app for expert telehealth services—from early detection and diagnostics review to medication coordination, diet planning, and long-term monitoring for your dog’s liver disease journey 🐶📲