Labradoodle with chronic hepatitis

[Barbara Dudas]

I am hoping someone out there will have some experience with this. Over the last three weeks my husband and I noticed some changes in our 8 year old doggie. First we noticed he seemed to have smaller than usual stools and he seemed to be straining. Second he started not wanting to get in the car. He goes to the office everyday with us and jaunt in the last two weeks he was hesitant getting in the car and we had to coax him. On Tuesday we thought his stomach looked a little larger so without hesitation we took him to the vet. An X-ray showed fluid in his abdomen which they drained to make him more comfortable. Blood work showed all his liver numbers were abnormal. They suggested we see a specialist for an ultrasound. We had that done yesterday and it showed what they believe is chronic hepatitis and pretty significant liver damage. At this point they would like to do a biopsy of his liver. The normal outpatient method of doing that is not possible since they are afraid he would bleed too much. They either want to do it in surgery or laparoscopically so we have to consult back with our vet to determine which method is the best for our guy. We have so many questions and are trying to wrap our heads around this. This seemed to come out of nowhere. The symptoms we were seeing seemed pretty minor. We were thinking we'd leave the vet on Monday with some meds or suggestions to relieve constipation and maybe some meds for arthritis. If anyone has any experience with this I would very much appreciate hearing what your experience has been. The big immediate question I have is regarding diet. The last few days I had been feeding him some chicken breasts mixed with broccoli and carrots to try to get him some relief from constipation. Generally he's been eating a mix of a high quality lamb canned food and dry food. He had gotten picky six months or so ago and we started mixing in the canned food (probably a sign of what was happening). Also any idea concerning the method for the biopsy? While I know the laparoscopic procedure is less invasive without specifying it the specialist indicated its an expensive procedure. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. The vet said they see chronic hep more frequently in the lab breed than in other breeds for what it's worth. Thank you!

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Hi there! I recently had a friend who's rescue dog was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer but the liver mets were the part that were causing the pain and other symptoms. I know this isn't exactly the same as your situation but they were told the same thing that a biopsy would be best to figure out what exactly is going on. In their situation they needed to know if the normal liver tissue was cirrhotic or not before deciding on a treatment plan since most medications are metabolized through the liver. Hope this helps, I'm so sorry you are going through this with you baby and I wish you the best of luck!

[Wendy and Myla]

Please keep us updated - this is a very interesting thread!  Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers!!!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Will be looking for updates as your boy progresses with treatment.  Hoping and praying for best outcome possible.

[Barbara Dudas]

Thanks again everyone. I am overwhelmed by your kindness. Chase started the meds and food yesterday and so far, so good. He is eating the food like crazy so I'm thrilled with that and taking the tablets like a champ. He gets two meds twice a day, one med once a day but two tablets and another once a day. Sunday and this morning he was great but I am worried about one thing. He let me know clearly he wanted to go to our office today ( my husband and I have a small insurance agency and had chase written into our lease as a permitted resident:)). So I took him but where he usually wanders around visiting each of us he took to his bed and stayed there all day. Towards late afternoon I tried to get him up and around and he wasn't much interested . When we got out to our car to go home he really didn't want to jump in and was shaking a lot. In the morning when I took him he didn't shake at all and jumped right in the car. After considerable coaxing he got in but shook the whole way home. He wouldn't eat when we first got home but he did eat later in the evening. Not sure what this is all about. I know liver failure can cause confusion so I'm worried he was just all mixed up. But he seemed fine tonight. I think tomorrow he will stay home and we will come home at lunch to let him out and make sure he's getting up and around. I just hate to see him stressed like he was this afternoon. I guess right now it's day to day. I will continue to update as we go along. Thanks again!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I wonder if he could be having a reaction to one of the meds since the problems started after he started taking them. Perhaps run it by the vet?

[Barbara Dudas]

Very worried this morning. Chase's abdomen is visibly larger. I have a call into the vet and will update later. I'm fairly sure the fluid has accumulated again and other than draining it I'm not sure what can be done. He also hasn't eaten yet today but maybe that's because he feels full and uncomfortable. Very worried for my boy....

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Oh, Barbara, you must be beside yourself with concern. These doodles are like family members, except that they cannot communicate clearly exactly how they are feeling. When my Wally was a puppy, he saw a wonderful orthopedic veterinarian at Angell Memorial Hospital in Boston, named Nick Trout. Dr. Trout is the author of the book, Tell Me Where it Hurts. Your understandable and relatable worry for Chase has moved me to order a copy of his very-well reviewed book. I hope that you get a clearer idea of precisely what's ailing your dear Chase, so that you can figure out what to do to treat him. Thinking of you both . . .

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I'm so sorry Barbara. Keeping Chase in our prayers-please update us when you are able. 

[Janet & Jaxson]

Thinking about both of you.  Hope they are able to figure it out soon.

[Barbara Dudas]

Just spoke with his wonderful regular vet who was on vacation last week when all of this happened.  He has had a chance to get up to date on the situation.  We both agreed that in all likelihood Chase has fluid in his abdomen again.  But from what he says, it's really a matter of comfort as to whether we should drain it again.  At this point we're going to give it a little more time to decide if I need to take him in for that.  He is acting fine, although he did not eat this morning.  He did take his medications like a champ again though.  His vet tells me that he believes that Chase's liver issues stem from a medication he was on prior to this happening.  He says he has seen this before where this medicine can build up and cause some loss of liver function.  However he tells me he has seen this always correct itself once the medication has stopped and some support for the liver has been given.  It's honestly the first time I've been given any hope that maybe, just maybe he can recover.  He also completely agreed that doing the biopsy wouldn't tell us much more than we know now and he would not do it.  So right now, we're sitting tight.  Obviously if he doesn't eat for a couple of days or if he seems to be uncomfortable I will have him drained again.  But right now it's status quo.  I feel more hopeful than I have for the past week and am just hoping it's not false hope.  Regarding the meds he was on, several years ago Chase went through a period where he was spiking a fever for no known cause.  We did a lot of tests and tests and tests and found nothing.  We went to the specialist they did a full work up and also found nothing. His vet decided to try some steroids to see if that helped and it did help a lot.  We kept him on that for about 6 months and he did well (except that he gained weight and ate anything that wasn't nailed down).  At that point he transitioned him onto this other drug (I can't remember the full name but it starts with Az).  He's been on that for about a year and a half and done beautifully.  The theory without being able to pin down a "for sure" diagnosis was that this was an autoimmune issue.  With the liver now the question is, is this a continuation of the autoimmune situation where the immune system has now attacked the liver, or is it a side effect of the meds, or completely unrelated.  Believe me a few years ago we did every test they could imagine and some they repeated two or three times.  I used to joke that we spent $2,000 to find out everything he didn't have.  So that is where we stand.  An hour ago I was getting ready to leave for our office.  He was sitting by the door all ready to go.  I hate to leave him alone anyway so I said he could come.  We got out to the car and he was very hesitant about getting in so I said it's okay let's go back into the house.  He started to walk to the door to the house and then turned back around and leaped into the car.  He was so determined to come, it just about broke my heart.  So the good news is he is laying at my feet today and I can keep a close eye on him.  How I will get him home, I don't know.  Thanks everyone!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

This is hopeful news! Hopefully his liver will heal with the new med changes. I'm glad he is with you today-better for both of you! Thanks for the update. 

[BG and Gavin]

Poor Chase. Continued good thoughts going out to you. I am glad he decided to go to work.