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Our 7 year old yellow lab recently had liver failure and we have been trying to get her stabilized as best we can. She still has a lot of life in her (except for the few days that she almost sadly left us).
She will no longer eat her prescription dog food and I have been making her home made meals for the past few months. However since her diet is restricted I can only feed her certain things and not anything too rich in protein.
Most of the "OK" protein foods like eggs, cottage cheese and now even chicken she leaves in her bowl or worse yet picks out of the bowl and drops on the floor. I have since found baby food to be a good camouflage for some of these items but fear she will "catch on"!
My question is to any of you out there with dogs with liver disease what are you feeding your dog and if home made, what, how much (that has also been tricky for me) and what if any supplements do you give her/him. She is on Ursodiol and Sam-e but I think she needs regular supplements due to the home made diet.
My vet is also looking into this but I don't have much faith since he is not up on dog nutrition (it's time we look for another vet)!
Thanks in advance for any info you can share! We love our baby so much and will do anything to make her life better for as long as god can bless us with her!
My dog had a rare form of liver failure (hepatocutaneous syndrome) that was only diagnosed after four days in a major hospital. They discharged him with special food and supplements and all, but the minute he was off the IV, he wouldn't eat or drink.
It's such a rare condition that my two middle-aged vets had never seen it. The new grad vet had seen it twice in school.
So sorry I can't help you with advice, but I'm sure you'll take the best care of your pooch that you can and he'll have a lot of good days.
Instead of finding another Vet, try going to the Vet School...UGA has one also Auburn...and I see you are in Raleigh, I think they also have a Vet School check with them. If this is such a rare and debilitating disease I'd got straight to the Vet School and bi-pass other Vets.
A Holistic vet would be your best bet, IMO. You may wish to google for dr m.w. Fox or martin Goldstein for some basic good info. They have written books which you may wish to pick up.
They respect and study the digestive systems and nutritional requirements of animals. You may notice that just about every dog put on a "prescription" diet has to be jacked up on some medicine or another. NOT a coincidence! (Just check the self-explanatory ingredients, which burn out the over-worked Pancreases, Livers, Kidneys..., leading to all these issues...
Many sicknesses are, indeed, caused by the cheaper and cheaper "ingredients" in the mainstream foods (including those "prescriptions".) The pet food industry is using worse ingredients than ever before (now getting from CHINA), and the WORST thing is:
these very same companies actually too heavily influence (FUND) the veterinary schools (that's for another thread.) You won't have to worry about a Holistic vet telling you to feed something that will make your dog even worse.
Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble has all the facts on all the foods. EDIT: They list the CANNED foods as well.
The 5 & 6 star tiers are the healthiest. I'm not a nutritionalist or anything, so can't recommend a specific, but Holistic vets and those Doctors sites/books have all the expert info and could guide you.
Most people would never suspect the food's the problem -- when it really is the CAUSE for all these common health issues in our pets. The ingredients say it all. Best Wishes
A Holistic vet would be your best bet, IMO. You may wish to google for dr m.w. Fox or martin Goldstein for some basic good info. They have written books which you may wish to pick up.
They respect and study the digestive systems and nutritional requirements of animals. You may notice that just about every dog put on a "prescription" diet has to be jacked up on some medicine or another. NOT a coincidence! (Just check the self-explanatory ingredients, which burn out the over-worked Pancreases, Livers, Kidneys..., leading to all these issues...
Many sicknesses are, indeed, caused by the cheaper and cheaper "ingredients" in the mainstream foods (including those "prescriptions".) The pet food industry is using worse ingredients than ever before (now getting from CHINA), and the WORST thing is:
these very same companies actually too heavily influence (FUND) the veterinary schools (that's for another thread.) You won't have to worry about a Holistic vet telling you to feed something that will make your dog even worse.
Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble has all the facts on all the foods. EDIT: They list the CANNED foods as well.
The 5 & 6 star tiers are the healthiest. I'm not a nutritionalist or anything, so can't recommend a specific, but Holistic vets and those Doctors sites/books have all the expert info and could guide you.
Most people would never suspect the food's the problem -- when it really is the CAUSE for all these common health issues in our pets. The ingredients say it all. Best Wishes
I agree with this post wholeheartedly! Holistic is so much less invasive, and synthetic meds can kill an already faltering appetite. One thing I can recommend is milk thistle and dandelion root (both come in tea form) to mix with whatever you cook for her...they are both liver tonics and I actually give them to all my animals as preventative measures (I lost my beloved cat to liver failure recently, which is why I started looking into these herbs in the first place...) there are also some excellent supplements from a company called standard process geared to specific problems, and hepatic support is one of them. Whatever you do, dont let them give you prednisone...the liver will not be able to convert it if it is already compromised, and this drug will only make things worse! I wish you the best of luck with your dear furbaby!
I sent you a direct message with the name of a highly regarded pet nutritionist. She does consultations over the phone and will put together a specialized meal plan for you.
You're biggest problem will be getting your dog to eat, but the nutritionist also help you to put together a food diary and explain how to weigh the food, so you can track exactly what is going on.
Instead of messing around with commercial food or going to a lot of vets, I really recommend you set up an appointment with a good nutritionist and save yourself the confusion and heartache.
Woofers
Last edited by Woof Woof Woof!; 01-08-2009 at 10:16 PM..
Our 7 year old yellow lab recently had liver failure and we have been trying to get her stabilized as best we can. She still has a lot of life in her (except for the few days that she almost sadly left us).
My heart really goes out to you. I hope you are able to find help so that she lives a long healthy life.
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I hope you are able to find help so that she lives a long healthy life.
