My dog's ALP is high. What causes elevated liver enzymes in dogs?

Related Answers from Veterinarians

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  Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

  Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

  Published on May 25th, 2018

  Hi there. An ALP of 477 is actually not particularly high at all, and may not be of any clinical concern :) This is a type of liver enzyme that can be affected by lots of different things. Increases can be due to certain types of medication (especially steroids such as prednisone), Cushing's disease, an actual problem with the liver such as an infection or tumor, or can be a normal aging change. If your dog is acting normal and having no symptoms of a problem, then you could opt to simply monitor lab work over the next few months for any changes. If you want to investigate further to see if there is a problem, testing that would be helpful would include testing for Cushing's disease, abdominal x-rays and ultrasound, and possibly even a liver biopsy.

  

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  Answered By Jenny, DVM

  Veterinarian

  Published on March 20th, 2018

  It is high enough to look into it but not high enough to panic.some are greater than 2000! If the other liver enzymes are normal, I would also worry less. If the cushing's test is normal than I would do an ultrasound to look at the liver and especially the gall bladder. I would also recheck the values in 2-4 weeks to see if there are any changes whether it going up or down.

  

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  Answered By Jeffrey Milner

  Veterinarian

  Published on November 8th, 2017

  A mild increase in ALP is not particularly significant in my opinion in the absence of clinical signs or other hematologic changes. I would recheck the values in another 3-6 months for changes unless there are clinical signs of illness sooner. Other more aggressive diagnostics could be done however just to be sure nothing is wrong include ultrasound or other advanced imaging techniques (CT , MRI). There are also liver supplements such as Denamarin or Denosyl that help provide liver support. They are extremely effective in lower liver enzymes back to normal. Hope this makes sense.

  

  1Pet Parents found this answer helpful