Lab with Liver Damage, please help!

[Devlin_Kain]

Hi!  My girlfriend has a chocolate Lab/pit mix.  He just turned 2, and he lives with her parents as I have a Husky and do not think i want an 80 pound lab and her right now.  Well, the lab (Benni) was limping on saturday and when we took him home on sunday, her parents called and yelled at her and said he wouldnt even get up to walk outside to use the bathroom, and if they tried to help him he would just cry and bark.  They took Benni to the vet, and the vet said that he has liver damage, but her parents told her the vet told them it was because someone gave him drugs or liquor at the party.  no one fed the dog drugs, as we do not use, and my friend who thre the party gives HIS lab liquor, but didnt give any to Benni.  Even if benni DID drink a bit, i dont think liver damage would happen overnight.  It would have to take a lot of damage to the liver before it started acting up right?

We also left them there to go run an errand, and there is some rat poison in the garage.  I dont know if he go into it, but i guess my question is this....does it take time DAMAGING a liver to see a dog illustrate the pain, or can it happen overnight?  If not, it was her parents fault,a nd not hers, and im going to get that dog ASAP.  Please help.

[dogmom192]

My homeopathic vet recommended a serious liver support supplement that my dog LOVES. Its called "Gluta-DMG LS" by Vetri-Science.  I get it through entirelypets.com.  Make sure you get the one with the LS in the title, because they have something similar sounding without the LS in the title, and its an entirely different product.  It's kind of expensive, (about $30.00 for 60 nuggets, 1 nugget/30 lbs) but totally worth it if you're dog is taking any kind of medicines, or has previously had some type of stress on the liver from meds or inferior food or whatever.  

[Me967]

The answer to your question is yes.  It could be caused by alcohol.  Huge no no with dogs.  Liver failure can be slow moving or very fast (acute chronic hepatitis) and caused by many things with out signs of jaundice at all..  Unfortunately I know, because I just lost a dog due to liver failure with top notch doctors and treatment caught in the early stages, still only gave her ~11 months.  Mine was due to a infected bird found in the yard.

I've seen dogs poisoned and they usually have issues with bleeding gums, nose, lethargy, etc.  
I've seen garage dogs that could actually drink antifreeze water because their poor bodies built up a tolerance for it.  Urggg.  Most dogs would die within 24 hours with such toxins.

Number 1 issue right now should be what's best for the dog.  Not what caused it.  That can be figured out later.   I hope Benni gets the help that is needed ASAP.  VERY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW.  No other issue should be of concern.

Best of wishes.......Amy.

[Ghilly]

I am wondering, however, if the dog was given liquor or somehow drank liquor, if it could cause an acute attack of pancreatitiis?  That would also cause yelping upon trying to move the dog.  If it's sore because of the paw, then I tend to agree with Red and think that it must have somehow injured itself playing rough with the other dog.

What is the dog's color like around his eyes, the insides of his ears and on his belly and the insides of his back legs?  Is it normal or is it yellow?  If he has severe liver damage, there would be a significant amount of ictarus (jaundice) in these areas.  If not, this doesn't mean there is no liver damage, but it is less severe than the parents are leading you to believe.

I have to say that I think it's disgusting that these people would withhold the dog from your girlfriend because of the color of your skin.  It sounds to me like she is lucky to have someone who would worry about her pet as much as you are, and that you would probably worry just as much about HER well-being.  I guess there's just no explaining the ignorance of some people.  Please keep us posted as to this dog's progress.  Don't let them bully her out of her own dog.  If she wants it, she needs to go get it, and if they won't give it to her, she needs to go back with a police officer in tow because, while it's unfortunate that a living creature is thought of in this way, the dog is HER PROPERTY, and they have no right to it.  If she had abandoned it that would be one thing, but she did not, so they are not entitled to lay claim to it just because they don't approve of you.

Ghilly

[Red931]

I will say this. If the liver damage was as bad as you say they described this dog would be in dire straits right now and probably would not have been sent home from the Vet's.

With the situation being the way you say they described it, I would think that dog would have been kept for a day or two at the hospital.

A small amount of alcohol would not cause liver damage that would cause the dog to yelp and bark when touched. Also, the rat poison would have caused vomiting.

I am begining to think the dog may have suffered an injury while playing with the other dog when they were not being supervised.

Did you try to check the leg he was limping on before you brought him back home?

I think this one calls for a little detective work after all information that has been given at this time.

[Devlin_Kain]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.  I dont think that she will be able to get the dog from the house anymore....which boggles my mind bc its HER dog, just her parents love it and have been holding it for her, now they wanna take it....ANYWAYS.

The dog has been to the vet, and I think he will be treated, we just dont know what the cause was and i wasjust inquiring if it was possible for liver damage to happen so fast because I didnt know.  Just looking for information.  I will surely keep you guys posted as I hear more.

[katew888]

I think at this point it is less important to find the exact cause and whether liver damage from liquor occurs overnight and more important to simply get the dog to a vet and get him treated immediately.  You can tell the vet what could have POSSIBLY happened and he will treat the dog from there and cover all the bases.  

Please keep us posted.

[have 2 kids]

Have your girlfriend call the vet and find out what he thinks.   Is it possible for her to get the dog and bring it to the vet?

[Devlin_Kain]

it was not at my house.  My husky stays in my house or is in the backyard supervised.  We were at a friends house, but his lab is like, 3 and a half, and knows better.  I talked with my friend, he said it didnt look like any of the rat poison traps had been tampered with, but the dog could have licked them.  I honestly dont think it was the rat poison, but I could be wrong.

We dont know WHAT the vet said, all we know is what her parents have told her the vet said to them, but i dont trust it.  We are an interracial couple, and her parents hate the fact that she is dating a black guy, pretty much disowned her.  Soooo, they could be using it as a reason to not let her come over or to have her dog.  They said the vet specifically said alcohol or drugs, which i know is a damn lie because the dogs were around us the whole time.  Even if it was liquor, would that destroy a dog's liver overnight?  I almost 100% positive that he didnt get into the rat poison after talking with my friend, plus the vet said nothing about rat poison.  So is it possible for alcohol to damage the dog's liver overnight, or could it be something was wrong with the dog before and it just started showing when we had the dog?

[Red931]

If was the rat poison the vet can tell and it needs to be addressed or the dog will die soon. For the dog to be in that much pain I would tend to say that he has been poisoned by something.

What has the Vet decided to do with treatment? This is very severe and potentially fatal. If this dog was fine when you picked it up and then has liver damage after one day it has most likely been poisoned by something.

Did you check the rat poison to see if it has been compromised? You have a dog of you own there so the rat poison has to go. Your dog may get into it also.