What is the normal range for alkaline phosphatase levels in dogs?

She is a puppy. An elevated ALP is normal in puppies. ALP can go up because of liver problems, but also increases during bone growth. I see this elevation in about 80% of puppy bloodwork. I do not treat this as it it is not a problem and the value becomes normal when they stop growing. If there are other liver values elevated, then I am concerned, but ALP alone is not generally a problem. Per IDEXX, one of the largest veterinary pathology services in the United States, ALP values in puppies can be elevated 4 times normal (which is about where Luna is.) Denamarin, Vitamin B, and a low-carb diet will not hurt Luna, but they probably won’t change the ALP either. Best wishes to you and Luna.

ALP is released by the liver when there is damage to the liver cells. Causes can be simply age related, or the elevation can be from diseases like Cushings or Addison’s. It can also be elevated when there is a growth in the liver. I would recommend having your vet retest this value in 2 weeks as long as your dog is doing well otherwise. If it’s still high I’d do more diagnostics (cushings test, ultrasound). Hope that helps and best to you and Olive.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Unfortunately ALP is such a vague value and does not tell us much in the way of specific diseases that it is not a very useful value. In older dogs with a high ALP, this may be a normal finding not related to any disease. Cushing's disease can cause an elevated ALP along with many other causes. If the ALP continues to rise or does not resolve, I would consider testing for Cushing's disease and have an abdominal ultrasound performed. Bronchitis and a tooth infection generally would not cause an increase in this value in my experience. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello, thank you for your question about Daisy. There are numerous causes for elevated ALP in dogs, many of which you have ruled out by the testing described. Some dogs can experience a condition called vacuolar hepatopathy, a benign condition that we can sometimes not identify the reason for. Many of these dogs demonstrated no symptoms even with a significantly elevated ALP. There is no specific ALP level that will lead to symptoms in dogs, it is very patient dependent (some dogs are much more sensitive to mild changes). I would recommend having her liver values monitored every 4-6 months, or sooner if she develops any signs such as vomiting or inappetance. Additionally, I would consider adding Denamarin/Denosyl to her treatment regimen. Although this may not normalize her ALP it can help prevent further elevation of the value in the future. Hope this helps, good luck!

Since every lab analyzer has a different range that is considered normal, we would need to see the actual values along with the reference ranges. It is usually listed like this: ALP 254 (215-354). Alternatively, you can take a picture of the labwork and attach it to your new question.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! That basically means that whatever process is affecting the liver such as hepatitis appears to be improving. Under general normal ranges, an ALT of 150 is just slightly increased which is not necessarily significant in dogs. It would be recommended to continue to monitor to see if that value normalizes. If it does not, it would be a good idea to work it up further with an abdominal ultrasound. Good luck and have a great day!

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. ALT is an enzyme that is released when liver cells are damaged. The normal values are usually less than 100. Unfortunately, the presence of the enzyme does not indicate the cause or reversibility of the damage, nor does it tell us if this is recent, but temporary damage, or on-going problems with the liver. Toxins, including plants, medications, such as steroids, viruses, & endocrine diseases can all cause increases in ALT. If Kobee is not having any problems, then I would recommend retesting in 6 weeks. If Kobee is sick, there are many more diagnostic tests that can be conducted to try & get to the cause of the problem. Often, we actually never find this out, & dogs do very, very well with moderately elevated values. We actually do not even get concerned until the values are at least 3xs normal, or there are other parameters that are abnormal. If Kobee is well, then all I might recommend is discussing with your vet about putting him on a neutroceutical called Denamarin. It can help with oxidative changes in the liver. I hope he does well. Take care.