Oh my! that would probably fit the vet's parameters, but 18% protein and get 8% fat? Bacca would not have enough energy to get up in the morning. I really question this kind of diet.
And here is the latest (yesterday) from my vet. Seems she's backing away from switching diet.
Regarding the diet: there are many internal medicine specialists who do not recommend switching the diet in cases of liver disease until we see signs of hepatic encephalopathy, which we are not seeing in the case of Bacca (per what you have told us). So, I do not think that this is a terrible thing for the time, in any case (as long as it is not high protein). I definitely recommend an abdominal ultrasound +/- liver biopsy. If it is a shunt and this is obvious, then liver biopsy would not be necessary. If it is not a shunt, then biopsy is an integral part of his diagnosis.
I think that the best thing for Chewbacca is a consult with an internist. If this were my dog, I would bring him to AVAH for a referral consult. If you are interested only in the abdominal ultrasound, then we can definitely do that for you here, but if you are interested in pursuing a biopsy (percutaneous - through the skin). then I recommend that you consult Lina Bravo at AVAH. I would be happy to give you a referral. Because his Albumin is low, a coagulation profile is absolutely essential, because the liver produces clotting factors and if the liver is failing, we need to make sure it is still producing adequate clotting factors before we biopsy the liver. At AVAH, Bacca would be in the ideal setting for liver biopsy.
