diet for liver issues

[Marcy and Cocoa]

I wonder if someone can help me.  This is perhaps a bit premature since we are still waiting for further test results but my 3 yr old GD was found during routine blood work to have abnormal liver enzyme readings.  The blood work was repeated with the same result.  Rather than treat her with a broad spectrum antibiotic and perhaps waste important time, i elected to have an ultrasound to rule out tumor, etc.  Nothing was seen in the ultrasound so they proceeded to do an ultrasound guided biopsy last Thurs.  Preliminary results show a pigmentation for copper storage disease, but quantity and final biopsy results are pending.  I asked the vet how she would treat the problem and the first thing she said was diet  - and mentioned a Hills Science Diet formulation forliver disease - which this VCA facility sells.  To be fair, i don't think she is pushing the sale, but i think that she just doesn't have any more specific knowledge of the good/bad, do's/don'ts of the issue. I asked what specifically she would include and/or exclude from a diet for this issue and she suggested i see a pet nutritionist - which i am willing to do, but i thought i would look for help here too.  Cocoa currently eats Orijen Fresh Fish (with a spoonful of pumpkin) - a very high protein food, which is what i seem to read is appropriate to support a damaged liver.  Any thoughts as to what  - assuming this is the issue - i should be doing?  Cocoa is totally asymptomatic - no evidence of any problem at all in her behavior, eating, drinking, eliminating, etc.  Thank you.

[Lynn Stoops]

I am so sorry to hear about Cocoa.  What about Sojo food ~ http://www.sojos.com/food.html

 

Also I know that dogs that are on different meds for seizures have liver concerns ~ you might want to look at adding Milk Thistle or Sam-E to Cocoa's diet.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would be very careful with raw foods in a dog with liver disease. It would be very difficult to find the copper values for various raw foods. I could not find any nutritional analysis on the Sojo's site in regard to the vitamin and mineral content of their products. It will be essential to know the copper content of any food Marcy gives Cocoa.

I would also not experiment with any herbal remedies for which there are no clinical studies showing the safety or effectiveness. SamE in particular has produced some very bad side-effects in humans.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

You could also ask your vet if she knows of a diet you could cook for him.  What I ran into with my chihuahua's kidney disease was that the hills k/d had the right ratios, amounts of protein, etc...but my vet knew I wouldn't feed that, so she offered me a homecooking option.  It is working out very very very well.

[Linda Flanders]

Hi Marcy, 

Just visited this site for the first time in months and saw your posts on Cocoa.  How are things now? Any new news ? Wishing you and Cocoa the best, let me know how she is doing.

Take care, Linda & Sadie

[Marcy and Cocoa]

Hi Linda,

 

Well, after much ado and many tests, the result is - nothing ....  I will have further blood tests done in a couple of months, but since nothing at all after the original elevated liver enzyme reading was found in an ultrasound, biopsy or further blood and urine tests, and since she has absolutely no symptoms indicating any problems, the recommendation from several vets is to do nothing further at this time.  If it had turned out to be copper storage disease i was planning to tell Judith as that often has a genetic connection, but in the end it turned out not to be the case.  Otherwise all is well, she is active and happy and at least one of us enjoyed our first snow!

 

Thanks for asking and i hope all is well with you!

 

Best,

marcy