Canine Liver Disease - Part 1

Again, this blog is coming from the Canine Nutrition lessons I am undertaking.  My most recent lesson was on liver disease in dogs.  My assignment was to research different canine liver diets on the market, list the ones I assessed and then rate them on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best.  Below are my findings.  Again, this blog will be 'Part 1' of my blogs on canine liver disease, as there is much more I want to check and pass along to you my readers.  This is extremely important information for doggie parents dealing with diseases in their furry companions. 

I checked two sources for canine liver disease, one that is based on a homemade diet, and one that is a prescription commercial diet.

For the homemade diet, I found on Ehow.com, it discussed that commercial diets can be harmful for dogs with liver disease because of chemicals in the food.  Fats and proteins are beneficial, and thus a homemade diet is better for a dog suffering from liver disease.  It is necessary to prevent the accumulation of copper and free radicals to assist in liver healing when considering a proper diet.   A homemade diet should consist of 18-22% quality protein, unless advanced liver disease has affected the brain.  Lean animal meat, plant proteins (soy based and wheat gluten) and dairy.  The article stated that cottage cheese, ricotta cheese and yogurt may be better tolerated by the dog.  Eggs and white fish were also listed for this diet.  As far as fats, it stated that 55-60% of the diet should come from fats in the form of Omega 3 or salmon oil (not cod liver oil).  Fiber should be between 3-13%, carbohydrates both soluble and insoluble, grains, oats, rice, and pasta lower the absorption of ammonia and helps the growth of beneficial bacteria.  Fiber helps rid bile acids, helps normalize transmit time, prevents constipation while binding toxins.  Avoid foods and supplements with copper, use anti-oxidants and include Vitamins, B, C, E and K.  The addition of zinc, SAMe, milk thistle, potassium and minimum amounts of sodium was also suggested.  It listed two recipes to use: 1) Chicken breast with skin, boiled rice, boiled carrots, wheat bran and rapeseed oil; 2) minced beef with 15% fat, tofu, boiled rice, boiled carrots, wheat bran and rapeseed oil.

I would rate this Ehow.com canine liver diet at a 4 because I’m not really convinced that I would want to add soy based products to my dog’s diet.  I really would be rather reluctant to add too much wheat in either, since both can be allergens for dogs.  I think perhaps the fat content of the diet is rather high, since in this lesson(my canine lesson) it mentioned 15-30% DM. (digestible matter) As far as grains, I’m okay with oats and brown rice (organic), pasta….??  The carb content of 3-13% I think however is a good percentage, but high quality carbs need to be stressed, certainly not refined ones.

Added note: The reason for watching foods that are allergens is because when you have a dog dealing with a disease, they already have a compromised immune system, a possible allergen is just another 'foreign invader' for your dog's system to have to deal with.  There are many other food choices to fed your ailing pet that will be much more 'freindly'.

The commercial diet for canine liver disease is from Hillspet.com.  It had an information section that discussed the important functions of the liver, one being that it filters toxins.  It also gave a list of some causes of liver disease, like viral and bacterial infections, poisonousness substances a pet might ingest, and specifically breeds such as the Bedlingtons and West Highland terriers who have difficulty excreting copper.  It also listed signs of liver disease.  That part was a nice outline, I thought.  However, they had two foods available, the first being a prescription dry diet, ‘Canine Hepatic Health l/d’.  These are the first 10 ingredients: brewer’s rice, pork fat with mixed tocopherols and citric acid, dried egg product, soybean meal, powdered cellulose, flaxseed, pork protein isolate, chicken liver flavor, dicalcium phosphate, lactic acid. 

I am not impressed with this kibble at all.  It seems like there’s a lot of made made ingredients.  Where are the whole foods to help the body heal and repair?  I’d be quite concerned that if this was all I fed my dog who had liver disease, that the dog food alone would bring about the dog’s demise. 

There was also a canned variety for the Hepatic Health diet.  The first 10 ingredients listed are: Water, rice, egg product, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), soybean meal, soybean oil, cornstarch, chicken liver flavor, corn gluten meal and powdered cellulose. 

This to me seems like the canned has even more allergens than the dry…with the soybean and corn.  I’d like to rate this dry and canned commercial diet a zero, but (the lesson instruction) said a 1-5 scale, so I’ll say ‘1’.  I would not feed my dog this diet if he/she had liver disease.  It is unfortunate that many people probably would chose this in the belief #1 that it is a ‘prescription diet’ and therefore must be good, and #2 because it is ‘formulated’ for liver disease.  These commercial diets do nothing to educate pet parents as to what their dogs nutritional needs really are, especially when the dog is not healthy and battling a disease.
 

In comparison to the 4 Phase Support listed in this lesson, the commercial diet does not include any of the necessary supports to help, like real meat….liver, kidney, and herbs, and no supplementation such as the hepatrophin PMG for the liver, or the renatrophin PMG for the kidneys, let alone any key vitamins or minerals.  Added note: I will blog more about these in upcoming articles.

As far as what I would do to help a dog with liver disease, I would definitely recommend a homemade diet focused on organ meats, lean red meat, quality fats like extra virgin olive oil and some organic butter.  I’d add some good veggies like broccoli, squash, and some good dairy like organic eggs, organic whole milk (good fat source too), cottage cheese, organic yogurt, some pro and pre-biotics.  And I would definitely add some of the PMG supplementation for the kidneys and liver, along with a quality vitamin/mineral supplement.  I would continue with filtered water, and providing a healthy, clean environment and as quiet an environment as possible, as reducing external and internal stresses would help.  I would need to do more personal study on the soy products before I’d be comfortable adding that to the homemade diet.