Holistic Liver Disease Protocol For Dogs And Cats
The goal of our Natural Liver Disease Protocol is to support the proper functioning of one of your dog or cat’s most important organs – the liver.* Buy doing this we help to support and maintain the functions of the liver so important to the body described at the beginning of this page. At the same time, in a holistic fashion, we want to address any contributing factors to your pet’s liver failure whether these are in your pet’s diet, environment or are related to medication side-effects. Since we do not necessarily know the root cause of the imbalance in your particular animal, we do know from our research and experience what are the primary culprits.
Core Recommendations Suggested products are included in the Core Liver Disease Package found below.
Our “Core Recommendations” form the backbone of our Liver Disease Protocol. They consist of supplement recommendations that we feel are the most important to provide to your dog or cat for this condition. They are displayed as a package and individually at the bottom of this page along with other helpful products for iver disease from which you may make additional selections.
A complimentary Liver Disease Help Sheet is included with every core liver disease package purchase. If you require more direction please feel free to use our Email Consultation Form or if you desire some personalized “hand-holding” to help with your canine or feline liver failure therapy sign up for a Phone Consultation with Maria.
Highly Recommended
Additional Foods For Dogs With Liver Disease
Whether you are feeding prescription food or a home-cooked diet, add additional types of food to your dog’s diet. Appropriate options include:
- Dairy products such as cottage cheese, yogurt, goat cheese, and ricotta cheese.
- High-quality proteins such as chicken and turkey without the bones, fish, and eggs.
- Oatmeal, white rice, barley, and canned plain pumpkin .
- Fish oil .
- Coconut oil.
- Fruits such as blueberries, figs, seedless watermelon, and papayas.
Halo Vegan Dry Dog Food Best Value
Halo 37026 Vegan Dry Dog Food is the best dog food for liver disease for the money. As the name implies, its utterly plant-based with no animal byproducts. Its available in a few different bag sizes so you can purchase as much as you need.
Because liver disease sufferers can be sensitive to animal-based proteins, this food offers a great alternative. Halo delivers the same percentage of necessary protein while being totally digestible. Its all-natural, non-GMO, and grain-free. There are no preservatives or added artificial flavor.
Especially for vegan recipes, this dog food is much cheaper in comparison and delivers the same fantastic nutrition. It may need supplementation with other additives recommended by your vet. However, it is the best value on the list due to its high quality and affordability.
- Vegan food may not be suitable for all specialized diets
Don’t Miss: Can You Catch Hepatitis C
What Role Can Nutrition Play In Treating Liver Disease
Nutritional management can be an effective strategy when used in combination with appropriate medical treatment . Nutritional management of liver disease focuses on controlling the clinical signs of disease, as opposed to targeting the underlying cause. The nutrient profile should: maintain normal metabolic function provide an adequate and highly digestible caloric density avoid changes to mental function from toxins in the blood support liver repair and regeneration decrease further damage to the liver and maintain appropriate levels of sodium, chloride, potassium, and the other biologically active minerals.
Your veterinarian will help you choose the most appropriate diet for your dog, based on the complexities of her liver disease. You will notice that the total protein content will be lower than regular dog food, but the digestibility and quality will be higher. This provides the body with adequate protein to support liver healing, but avoids excessive levels of protein waste that can affect mental function. Because it is so important for these dogs to eat in order to heal, it will be important to prevent nausea in order to keep the dog from developing an aversion to the very food she needs to eat.
Why Is Diet So Important
As you can see, many of these symptoms are directly related to the digestive system. A properly balanced maintenance diet is essential for your pet to thrive with their condition.
Depending on the root cause, recommendations or special dietary needs may be given by your vet. Youll need a food that will help the liver to regenerate while providing adequate nutrition at the same time.
No Appetite
You will want to tailor-make a diet that appeals to your pets appetite. A big issue with liver disease is that it decreases their desire to eat. Making sure the food you select is enticing to them will be a huge determining factor in success.
Vital Nutrients
Having the proper balance of nutrients is step one. Diet is all about managing the symptoms they have and allowing the body to heal. If your dogs food is loaded with unnatural fillers or harmful chemicals, it can even make the situation much worse than it needs to be.
Lower Intake
While it may seem odd, protein can be a massive trigger in liver disease. For this reason, a lot of veterinarians will cut out animal-based proteins, substituting them for plant-based proteins instead. You will also want to make sure calorie and carbohydrate content is not too high.
Read Also: Hepatitis E Causes And Treatment
Specific Diet For Dogs With Liver Disease
Since dogs suffering from liver disease require a change in diet, there are specific steps to take with a dog’s daily dietary regimen. Of course, you will need to discuss your dog’s specific needs with your veterinarian. Generally, your veterinarian will recommend a diet for a dog with elevated liver enzymes based on commercially prepared or home-cooked meals, or a combination of these.
Treatment For Dogs With Chronic Active Hepatitis
Recommended Reading: How Can You Transmit Hepatitis C
What Cat And Dog Liver Disease Diet Should Contain And What Not
It is common that cats and dogs with liver disease have reduced appetite. They may even refuse to eat at all. In those cases, force feeding with a syringe or feeding tube may be necessary to make sure the animal gets the right nutrition and calories.
When the initial condition has been brought under control it is important to start feeding again but some dietary adjustment is normally recommended to help the liver to recover. Even when the liver is damaged beyond repair, the diet still plays an important role in the management / supportive care of the disease.
Overview Of Canine Chronic Active Hepatitis
Chronic active hepatitis is a chronic and progressive inflammation of the liver of dogs that leads eventually to the replacement of normal liver tissue with scar tissue. The disease is also called chronic canine inflammatory hepatic disease. In most cases, the cause of this disorder is never discovered. Potential causes include canine hepatitis virus , leptospirosis, copper storage disease, drug toxicity, and genetic factors. Reactions on the part of the immune system to the liver inflammation may contribute to the progressive worsening of the disease.
All breeds of dogs can be affected, although the incidence is greater in the Bedlington terrier, West Highland white terrier, Doberman pinscher, cocker spaniel and Skye terrier. CAH usually occurs in middle-aged animals, and females appear to be at higher risk.
What to Watch For
Also Check: How Do You Treat Hepatitis B
How We Can Help
The liver is responsible for many important functions including the removal of by-products from the digestion of food, the absorption of food and the production of proteins necessary for normal blood consistency and clotting as well as other key molecules involved in metabolism. Different liver disease processes can all lead to progressive damage and destruction of liver cells and can ultimately lead to what is termed liver failure. The initial damage usually results in leakage of certain enzymes from the liver cells into the bloodstream. The elevation of these liver enzymes on a blood test indicates that a patient may have a hepatopathy but does not indicate whether the patient is in liver failure or not. Measuring substances made by the liver such as blood glucose, cholesterol, bilirubin and albumin provides insight into liver function. When the liver fails, some or all of these substance can become low. Special tests such as a bile acid test are often used as well to further diagnose liver failure. Once a diagnosis of liver disease is made, dietary therapy may prove beneficial in preventing further damage and in ameliorating the consequences of liver failure.
When Special Diets Might Be Beneficial
No part may be reproduced without the written permission of the authors. Version 4-04.
Canine Chronic Hepatitis Inflammatory Liver Disease In Dogs
The liver is a unique organ with several important functions in the body. For various reasons, the liver can become inflamed, resulting in a clinical syndrome called canine chronic hepatitis. This week, I discuss this important disease entity including details about diagnosis and treatment. Happy reading!
Recommended Reading: Hepatitis B Treatment Antiviral Drugs
What Are The Symptoms
Because of its multi-functionality, it can cause a spiraling array of misfires and symptomatic issues in your pets system. Some of them may be easily recognizable, while others you will have to pay attention to. Since they cant speak, they need us to be extra aware and responsive when something isnt right.
Jaundice
Jaundice is often very noticeable because the first sign you notice is the yellowing in the white portions of the eye. You can also see this color in the gums, skin, and ears.
Jaundice is caused by a high level of bilirubin in the system. When the liver doesnt function as it should, it causes a buildup of this waste substance and doesnt excrete it as it should.
Neurological Changes
A brain degenerative condition that takes place due to liver disease, otherwise known as hepatic encephalopathy, show a wide range of physical symptoms. One of the responsibilities of the liver is to filter anomia in the body. When it can no longer do this, it backs up, causing neurological problems.
That can cause a dog to have abnormal personality traits, seizures, depression, head pressing, and blindness.
Gastrointestinal Issues
Concerning their diet, the gastrointestinal symptoms shown in dogs is another telltale sign. They typically will have problems with digestion including diarrhea, vomiting, lack of appetite, increased urination, and weight loss.
Treatment Options For Dogs With Hepatitis
In acute hepatitis caused by a viral infection, supportive treatment is the only possible approach to address the condition. As mentioned, acute hepatitis often resolves on its own but treatment is needed to support the dogs immune system so they can fight the infection themselves.
Chronic hepatitis, unlike the acute type, will require long-term anti-inflammatory medication to control the inflammation in the liver tissue and minimize damage. Shifting the dogs diet to a formula suited to support liver health can help speed up recovery and prevent the progression of the disease.
Regardless of the cause or the type, if your dog is showing signs of illness and you think it may be related to the liver, its best to visit your vet immediately for a thorough check-up.
Don’t Miss: Hepatitis C Transmission Routes Cdc
Calculation Of Energy Needs
Although the type and severity of liver disease influence energy requirements, there is no absolute method by which these concerns can be quantified. Patients with chronic hepatic failure are considered empirically to be hypermetabolic. Those with acute inflammatory or necrotizing hepatic injury are considered to have increased protein and energy requirements for tissue repair. There are no guidelines for estimated energy needs in dogs with vacuolar hepatopathies or cats with hepatic lipidosis other than clinical experience, which suggests that normal intakes are sufficient. Other variables influencing MER, including stress, the level of physical activity, the presence of anorexia and preexisting malnourishment, also should be considered. However, because adjustments in energy intakes are made empirically, there are unavoidable wide variations among recommendations. Each regimen therefore must be individually tailored to meet the circumstances of an individual patient.
Vitamins & Minerals That Support Pets Liver Health
To help prevent deficiencies, the diet for pets with hepatic disease needs to be balanced with selection of daily vitamin and mineral supplements. The vitamin requirements of dogs and cats varies somewhat.
– Vitamin K helps to control bleeding disorders in both cats and dogs
– Vitamin E as an antioxidant helps to remove free radicals and prevents continued oxidative damage to the liver
– Vitamin C may be needed for dogs as important part of the ascorbic acid is produced in the liver and it can be lower than normal if the dog suffers from hepatic insufficiency
– B Vitamins are essential for the liver to perform its multitude of metabolic functions. Vitamin B and especially Thiamine supplementation is strongly recommended for cats as they become deficient quite quickly if they suffer from anorexia
– Zinc reduces copper absorption but many dogs with hepatic disease also suffer from zinc deficiency
– SAM-e is naturally produced by the liver and necessary for many functions of the liver cells but SAM-e synthesis is depressed in both cats and dogs with chronic liver disease
Vitamins to avoid, as they can worsen liver damage, are Vitamin A and Copper. Vitamin A can be hepatotoxic and can interact synergistically with other substances and damage the liver. Excess copper is also hepatotoxic and should be kept to minimal for pets with hepatic disease.
Read Also: Hepatitis C Contagious Through Urine
Chronic Hepatitis With Or Without Increased Hepatic Copper In West Highland White Terriers:
Although West Highland White Terriers have been shown to accumulate excessive hepatic copper, not all dogs with high hepatic copper concentrations develop hepatitis. Some dogs with severely increased hepatic copper concentrations die of old age without necroinflammatory liver lesions. Although West Highland White Terriers with chronic hepatitis usually do have high tissue copper concentrations, they differ from Bedlington Terriers with copper storage hepatopathy in that: 1) the mode of inheritance has not been determined, 2) maximal copper accumulation occurs by 6 mo of age and may then decline, 3) overall hepatic copper concentrations are lower than in Bedlington Terriers, and 4) hemolytic anemia has not been reported.
Focal hepatitis may be seen in asymptomatic young adult dogs. Chronic hepatitis is associated with anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, and later ascites. Increased liver enzymes develop first with focal disease, followed by increased TSBA concentrations and then hyperbilirubinemia as the severity of liver injury advances. Histopathologic changes include multifocal necroinflammatory hepatitis with typical copper-affiliated granulomas and single cell necrosis, with advanced disease culminating in cirrhosis. Treatments target copper primarily if an association between inflammation and copper accumulation is histologically verified.
Vitamins In Liver Disease
Humans with chronic liver disease and poor nutritional intake can develop serious vitamin deficiencies . Acute severe hepatic necrosis can result in a critical loss of vitamins stored in liver parenchyma. If vitamin intake or supplementation is inadequate, vitamin deficiencies can develop acutely. Liver tissue from humans with chronic liver disease contains less folate, riboflavin, nicotinamide, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, vitamin A, zinc and cobalt than normal tissue . Reduced vitamin storage results from hepatocyte degeneration, tissue fibrosis, fatty infiltration and altered hepatocyte function. Vitamin deficiencies are amplified by their increased use in regenerative processes, intestinal malabsorption, reduced metabolic activation or increased urinary losses. A state of functional vitamin deficiency develops consequent to impaired use or transport of a vitamin to its receptor or end organ. Complex interrelated abnormalities may also develop, as exemplified by vitamin A in which availability depends on the adequacy of protein synthesis and zinc sufficiency.
Recommended Reading: Hepatitis A And B Vaccine Schedule For Adults
Canine Chronic Hepatitis What Is It
The liver is unquestionably a vital organ. It has central roles in digestion, hormone production, detoxifying blood, metabolism, and blood clotting. Infections, toxins, genetic disorders, and various drugs may disrupt normal living functions. Any of these factors can induce a chronic, vicious, self-perpetuating cycle liver cell injury and scarring. Inflammatory cells from the bloodstream enter the liver in response to previous exposure to infectious organisms, toxins, and/or an abnormal signal from the patients own immune system. The result is liver cell damage, cell death , and perpetual inflammation.
Several factors can trigger canine chronic hepatitis:
- Infections
- Drugs
- Copper click here for more information
Additionally, many breeds have genetic predisposition to and/or increased prevalence for chronic liver inflammation, including:
- Doberman pinschers
- Fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity
- Bleeding
Homemade Dog Food For Liver Disease
If you are making your own food, feed at least 50 percent of the meals as meat, keeping carbs and grains under 50 percent or less. You can calculate the amount of food for your dog by multiplying one gram of protein times your dog’s body weight.
- Dr. Jean Dodds recommends a liver cleansing diet, which consists of a 50/50 mix of white potatoes and sweet potatoes with a white fish such as cod and halibut.
- Mix 1/3 fish to 2/3 potato mixture. As the dog acclimates to the diet, you can add cooked chopped carrots, yellow squash and green beans, and scrambled eggs.
- She also recommends adding in a daily multivitamin.
You May Like: Can You Donate Plasma If You Had Hepatitis B