Is there a dry food out there that would be better suited for a dog with mildly elevated liver numbers?

If anyone uses Milk Thistle, could you share what dosage you use and can it be given with food or does it need to be an empty stomach.

Went through this with my JRT 2 years ago, I put her on a lower fat food(SD W/D) with the grain free kibble I was feeding (Orijen) ( I couldn't feed her the SD by itself)
The Milk Thistle and Sam-E need to be given on an empty stomach,I used a combo product I got from my vet I think it had about the same amounts as the supplements found in the grocery store. Denamarin has both. You may have to look on the bags for one that has a lower fat content, I was able to use half/half and still get good results.

My 13 yr old has elevated liver function. In addition to what was said on the previous message I put her on a lower protein kibble. She had been on a grain free but the protein level was too high. My vet recommended lowering the protein level which I did. I give the SAM-E, milk thistle, and vit E from Walmart. When I took her to the vet's recently her liver values were still slightly high but had been cut in half since the original test. I believe that it was the change in food and the adding of the suppliments that made the difference.

It can take time to get levels back to normal. I went thru this.

Here is what I did. Hope this helps. Note about the internal specialist putting my girl on antibiotic as often times it can be an infection causing the liver elevation. (not so in my case, but worth a try)

You will probably have to copy and paste this link

http://www.heartypet.com/blog/?p=78

Good luck. Its hard but you have to be patient, as I said, it takes time, especially with natural supplements.

Hi Janet,

What food are you feeding, and do you give the Sam-E, Milk Thistle and E with her meal or on an empty stomach? thanks! How long was the time period between the blood panels when you saw the difference?

Thank you for the link Patty! Good Info.

Thanks Tiffany!

it took Gabby a few months for her levels to go down. They have stayed down. She ended up having other symptoms and with furthur testing it turned out she had Cushings, which turned into Addisons after her adrenals failed due to the medication.

Milk thistle twice a day along with a SamE. No reason, it was just less expensive and easier to get than the combo drug. Two months later, liver numbers were back to normal. This was due to food allergies that were I diagnosed for some time.689j

I have a 14yr old (non-lab) who was sick SICK over Labor Day. Blood work showed his liver #'s to be off the chart!! He is eating Science Diet L/D, which there is canned and dry foods available. I also asked about milk thistle and SAMe...my vet highly recommended the use of both, but I opted to use Denamarin (given on empty stomach at least 1hr prior to feeding in AM)

http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/dog/dog-liver-health/denamarin-for-dogs

He is doing GREAT so far and am anxious to see what the blood work shows in 2wks! Good Luck to you!

What dosage of Milk Thistle is everyone using?

My girl was on 200mg of MT daily. But it depends on how high your dogs levels are. I later had her on 100mg when her levels dropped.

I also learned that MT with dandelion is a better product.

Please note: I learned: MT "can" be detrimental to a healthy liver. So once my girl was in normal range I only continued with the B 50 complex. E I dropped to 200ui and I added alfalfa at 300mg daily. I took her off the MT and the SAMe

She has been in normal range since Dec. 2009 and continues on the B,E and Alfalfa.

You can try the Denamarin from your vet but it more expensive than the above. Back in 2008 it would have cost me $120 a month and I bet its more expensive now.

Note: for those that have not read my blog; SAMe is best given with a B50 complex and on an empty stomach for better uptake. The e and MT can be given in meals.

I also learned that when giving 2 supps a day (if your MT is 100mg capsules and you are giving 200mg per day) it is best to split into a.m. and p.m. meal. This goes for any natural supplements.

I paid $52 for a 30 count bottle of Denamarin

And depending on the amount you need to give (in my case it would have been 2 per day) that adds up monthly so I chose to use the vitamins in human form and saved a lot of money.

And it worked just as well.......

Not discounting Denamarin, just saying....... most dog supps are a lot more expensive than the human forms we can give.

Just remember in most human forms of holistic care for our dogs you should give half the human dose daily.

This depends on the dogs weight, the age and the circumstances.

If you are unsure, talk with a holistic vet.