Perhaps you’ve seen this on an Embark test?

It looks scary….but what is LOW NORMAL ALT really?

I asked my vet that question, and you might be surprised by the answer and the simple analogy she used to help explain it.

How a vet explains low ALT (summarized):

It is basically the same theory as a person who has low blood pressure as their normal. It does not make the person any less healthy than the person who has normal blood pressure levels. However, if a person who normally has low blood pressure, suddenly has a pressure spike to ‘normal’ range, then the doctor knows that there’s something wrong.

So if your dog or it’s parents have Low Normal ALT on it’s DNA test (which it is very common in Pomskies), it does not have a negative effect in any way on your dog. It is not a disease or considered unhealthy. It is just a DNA notification for your vet to keep in their records in case for future reference.

Should the vet ever require an Alanine Aminotransferase Activity test, they will know that the Normal range would be considered “High” range for your dog.