If your dog’s liver can no longer do its job, it is referred to as liver failure or liver insufficiency.
This is a serious illnessbecause your dog cannot live without this large, important organ.
Liver failure in dogs is often difficult to recognize and treatment is often too late.
This article will educate you about the symptoms of liver failure so your dog can get help quickly. You will also learn everything you need to know about diagnosis and treatment.
Liver failure in dogs: chronic and acute
There are two forms of liver failure: In chronic, the liver fails slowly through a creeping process like a disease, when acute it comes to one sudden loss the liver function.
The liver fulfills over 1000 different tasks for the dog’s body. It is one of the central organs for metabolism, digestion and nutrient storage.
It is all the more clear that a dog’s liver failure has serious consequences that can even lead to euthanasia.
In the case of acute liver failure in dogs, up to 70 percent of the liver function is lost within a very short time.
Parts of the liver tissue die off. The vet speaks of liver necrosis.
Acute liver failure is extremely rare. However, it can be successfully treated if detected early.
Chronic liver failure in dogs, on the other hand, is a gradual process. This often makes it difficult to diagnose.
The chronic course is often only recognized when it is very far advanced.
What are the causes and triggers of liver failure in dogs?
Liver failure in dogs can genetic changes, diseases or even poisoning appear.
In fact, there are different causes for acute and chronic liver failure in dogs. We have put these together for you below.
Causes of acute liver failure
Acute liver failure is triggered by pathogens or substances such as toxins that suddenly invade from the outside.
This is one of the pathogens, for example Adenovirus (Hepatitis), causing inflammation of the liver. If left untreated, this leads to liver failure.
Interesting
Adenovirus can also be responsible for chronic liver failure. You can counter this with your dog vaccinate permit.
The toxins include, for example, xylitol, a common sugar substitute, or an overdose of paracetamol, which can trigger liver failure in dogs.
Furthermore, poor blood circulation (perfusion), shortness of breath (hypoxia) and overheating in the dog can lead to acute liver failure.
Causes of chronic liver failure
In chronic liver failure are common Genetic defects, diseases or obesity are triggers.
Obesity in the dog can cause a so-called fatty liver. This damages the liver tissue and thus restricts the function of the dog’s liver.
Dogs can get gallstones too. When the bile ducts become blocked, bile builds up, which can damage the liver.
If left untreated, liver tumors can also lead to liver failure.
And the infestation of parasites, such as the liver fluke, causes a failure of the liver functions.
One of the congenital causes is liver shunt. Blood vessels in the liver are malformed here and ensure that the liver cannot fulfill its filtering function.
On the other hand, there is the congenital copper storage disease in my dog breeds. Here too much copper is stored in the cells of the liver, which damages them.
Symptoms of liver failure in dogs
In fact, they differ partly unspecific symptoms of chronic and acute liver failure hardly differ from each other.
In fact, the symptoms appear faster in acute liver failure than in chronic.
Symptoms of liver failure are:
- Vomit
- Diarrhea
- loss of appetite and weight loss
- lethargy
- Fever
- Increased water intake and excretion
In fact, these symptoms also appear in other diseases, making it very difficult to specify here.
Symptoms such as jaundice and pain only appear when the dog’s liver failure is already in its final stages. We’ll go into more detail on this later.
How is liver failure in dogs diagnosed at the vet?
Laboratory and imaging tests are available to the veterinarian for diagnosis.
If there is a suspicion that the dog is suffering from liver failure, the first thing to do is to liver values in the blood checked.
If there are any abnormalities, the veterinarian will use X-rays or ultrasound to get an idea of what is happening.
In addition, the veterinarian can take a liver biopsy under anesthesia and examine the cells under the microscope.
Then he can say exactly what the cause of the liver failure is and treat it accordingly
What are the treatment options for liver failure in dogs?
Liver failure in a dog that is discovered in good time can go through well Medication, a liver diet or, if necessary, an operation be treated, depending on the cause.
In the case of liver failure caused by pathogens, infusions with antibiotics are given.
Biliary obstruction is treated with ursodeoxycholic acid.
If possible, tumors are surgically removed.
liver diet
What is always necessary when the liver has suffered damage is a so-called liver diet.
With the liver diet, care is taken to ensure that the dog only easily digestible proteins gets over the meat.
Fats should be fed as little as possible and only high-quality oils such as linseed or salmon oil should be fed.
Otherwise, the dogs are allowed to eat fruit, vegetables and rice.
Overweight dogs must be closely monitored by the veterinarian. Rapid weight loss from dieting is harmful to the liver. Care must be taken here.
End-stage liver failure in the dog: liver cirrhosis symptoms and life expectancy
If the liver failure in the dog is already in the final stage, the vet speaks of cirrhosis of the liver.
Here has the liver major damage and lots of scar tissue, which severely limits their function. The blood flow to the liver works only very weakly.
Liver cirrhosis can be recognized by yellow mucous membranes, the so-called jaundice.
There are also seizures, accumulation of fluid in the abdomen and difficult blood clotting.
How high the life expectancy is in the final stage cannot be determined exactly.
This depends on how well the dog responds to the treatment. Often it is only a few months.
When should you euthanize a dog with liver failure?
Liver failure does not immediately mean a death sentence for the dog. If detected early, the function of the liver can be preserved with limitations.
But she has to Liver diet strictly observed become.
If the liver failure in the dog is already in the final stages, it must be weighed up how much the animal is suffering.
If the dog no longer wants to eat, if it is plagued with pain and its metabolism is increasingly coming to a standstill, euthanasia is the obvious solution.
Important
The vet will always tell you advisory to the side stand. Especially when it comes to the decision to euthanize.
Conclusion
Liver failure in dogs is a serious condition. The dog cannot live without a functioning liver. It fulfills over 1000 tasks that are important for the organism.
Liver failure is often recognized much too late due to the unspecific symptoms that occur.
So if you suspect your dog has liver problems, talk to your vet about it. The earlier liver failure is diagnosed, the better!
Is your dog suffering from liver failure? Or have you had a dog with this condition? Let us share your experiences.