HIGH LIVER PROTEIN

Question
I have an  8 mo. old imperial shih-tzu, female who has been diagnosed with high protein levels in her liver.  I have to feed her a low protein diet and I need to get her checked periodically.  Is this serious and what causes it?

Answer
Since the liver does not store protein, this is incorrect. It might be that the protein levels in her bloodstream are too high as her liver isn't metabolizing it well. That can lead to ammonia in the blood stream that will cause seizures. She might have a portosystemic shunt which doesn't allow the liver to metabolize nutrients properly.
Some dogs are born with faulty livers that don't filter out certain nutrients as well as the next dog. In that case this would be a congenital problem, not one that was 'caused' by anything.

You will need to keep her on a lower protein diet for life and that includes treats. Treats are usually not recommended for dogs like this.

Since the information you have given me isn't very complete I really don't know what else to tell you. You should call the vet on Monday and talk to the technician or the vet and ask more about what your dog has and if it is a congenital problem.