I recommend using bile acids as a screening test for a breeding program. It is a blood test that requires a twelve hour fast followed by a blood draw, feeding, and then another blood draw two hours later. If any known relatives of a dog being considered for breeding have a shunt or MVD, be highly cautious as the mode of inheritance is not yet known.

Sources:

http://clubs.akc.org/stca/liverShunt.htm (Liver shunt and testing explained)

http://www.livershunt.com (Liver shunt resources and research)

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