This condition, which is caused when a blood vessel in the liver that is supposed to close soon after birth stays open, is sometimes found in Deerhound puppies. Breeders should test their litters before the pups go to their new homes (this test is included in the SDCA Health & Genetics Code of Ethics Guidelines for Health Testing). Surgery is possible in some cases to correct the problem, including a promising new, non-invasive procedure currently being done at UC Davis.
The University of Tennessee has been at the forefront of research into the causes and treatment of liver shunts. Their web page is a great resource for information on this condition:
http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/sacs/shunt/index.php
Click here for John Dillberger’s 2004 Claymore column on liver shunts.
Click here for the July 28, 2015 post on liver shunt testing.
The SDCA Code of Ethics includes testing for portosystemic shunts in its Health Testing Guidelines. Many labs do bile-acid testing; talk with your veterinarian about where to run the test and for protocol details.
Portosystemic shunts are included in the SDCA Liver Disease/Thrombosis project. Read more about this research here, and sample collection information can be found here.