Liver failure can be acute (sudden) or chronic (slowly developing over time). There are many causes of liver failure. Eating sugar free gum, a virus, eating poor quality food, cancer, infection with a bacteria called leptospira, chemical toxicity are just an example of what can cause liver failure.
Liver failure is diagnosed first with bloodwork. Then, the more specific cause is determined with additional tests – ultrasound, liver biopsy, specialized blood tests like bile acids to name a few.
Treatment can be as simple as excellent food – Dr Jean Dodds has a famous, effective liver cleansing diet that can take care of many issues. Some patients need fluid therapy to flush out the toxins, some do well with supplements like milk thistle, B vitamin, and SAMe, some patients need antibiotics, a few need surgery. Homeopathy, acupuncture and herbs have helped many of my patients, in combination with more conventional therapy.
The bottom line – if your precious pup is diagnosed with liver failure, get to the bottomline, there may be a lot that can be done to treat liver failure.