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The Dog Liver Disease Enzyme Levels Will Help
Determine Liver Disease
Any dog you own should have a complete blood count done
after 8 years of age or more. Symptoms of liver disease may or may
not be present when the tests are administered. The blood count test
will tell the veterinarian if the dog liver disease enzyme count is
at a higher level.
Many Factors Cause Liver Disease
Many factors can cause liver disease in your dog and can create a
chain reaction of problems within the dog's body. This can range
from the foods they eat to car accidents. Liver disease can take a
long time to diagnose because it is the largest gland in the body
and it takes a certain amount of time before enough of the gland is
damaged for the symptoms to show. That's why a dog that is over 8
years in age should have a complete blood count administered to rule
out any chance of liver disease being present.
Anemia is often present in a dog that is suffering from liver
disease. Depending on what type of liver disease is present, the
white blood count can also show up as either normal or decreased.
How a Diagnosis Is Made For Liver Disease
One of the tests indicating if liver disease is present in your dog
is a liver enzyme test. When the enzyme is elevated it could mean
liver disease is present, but is not always the case. Elevated
counts of enzymes could also be a sign of hyperthyroidism. The test
has to show a very highly elevated level of enzymes to indicate
liver disease. One test will not be enough to decide if this is the
diagnosis, so a second one will also have to be administered.
The dog liver disease enzyme count will have to show at least one
and a half times the normal amount of enzymes. Something that is a
little scary is that sometimes this test will still show up normal
even if there is severe liver disease already. In these types of
cases we may not be able to get help for our dog before it's too
late.
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