Would you or your vet recognise the symptoms of a Liver Shunt?

Post date: Aug 13, 2014 6:58:35 PM

We've had two reports in the past week of Dachshunds with Liver Shunts. One (Longhaired) was successfully operated on by the vet, but it took the vet 10 weeks before they listened to the owner who suspected a shunt. Sadly, in the second case (Mini Wire), the vets failed to recognise the symptoms and the puppy died at 21 weeks old. This puppy exhibited 18 different symptoms of Liver Shunt and although 6 different vets were asked about the possibility of Liver Shunt over the course of her ownership, it was not correctly diagnosed. On the last day of her life, a new relief vet recognised the symptoms and suggested that a Liver Shunt may well be the problem. Sadly by then it was too late and the dog died very soon afterwards.

This puppy was constantly pacing (virtually 24/7), trying to hide, pawing and rubbing its head and nudging other dogs out of the way, sitting down and then immediately moving off again. It suffered constant constipation and bowel issues, failed to thrive and eventually did not recover well from an anaesthetic for an operation to repair a hernia.

We had no reports of Liver Shunts in our DachsLife 2012 Health Survey and there are only 1% or cases in our online health report. However, knowing that some young puppies may have died with no diagnosis, it is likely that Liver Shunts are more common than we might think. Read our Liver Shunt Summary document to understand the symptoms and watch the YouTube video below which discusses the diagnosis and treatment of Liver Shunts.

Please report any health problem with your Dachshund(s) at our online reporting page. All reports are completely confidential.