Liver disease, says the Canine Liver Disease Foundation, is one of the five leading causes of natural death among dogs. Your dog's liver plays such an important role in so many of its bodily functions that liver disease will seriously affect its overall condition. Its digestive and elimination processes will be impaired, and it won't efficiently remove toxins from his blood.
What you feed a dog with liver disease makes a big difference both in his overall health and in how well the liver can regenerate itself.
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Choosing the Right Diet
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Discuss the stage of your dog's liver disease with your vet before changing its diet. Dogs with hepatic encephalopathy (HE), a neurological condition resulting from severe liver disease, have different nutritional requirements than dogs with other types of liver problems.
Feed a dog with HE several small meals a day, Cornell University says. Switch it from meat-based to dairy and vegetable proteins (soy). Doing so will optimize its ability to absorb nutrients without overly stressing its liver.
Easily digestible high-quality proteins are essential. Start your dog at 5 mg of protein for each five pounds of body weight, and if its is doing well at that level after one or two weeks, try raising its protein ration. One dairy-based diet from Cornell is a mix of three cups each nonfat milk powder and cornstarch; 1.5 cups each of raw wheat germ and safflower oil; 3.2 oz of blackstrap molasses,1.6 oz of bone meal and 1.5 tsp of iodized salt.
Restrict a dog with HE copper intake. Copper can be toxic, especially in certain breeds of dogs including Bedlington terriers. Increase your pet's zinc intake, because zinc both fights disease-causing free radicals and blocks copper absorption. Give your dog between 50 and 100 mg of zinc for each 40 pounds of weight, says Cornell.
If its disease has interfered with his blood clotting, you may need to add a Vitamin K supplement. Your vet will recommend the correct dose depending on your dog's condition.
Dr. W. Jean Dodds, of Hemopet and Hemolife, has devised a liver cleansing diet to help dogs recover from severe liver damage. The diet is a mix of codfish and vegetables, so it wouldn't qualify under Cornell's recommendations of dairy and vegetable protein-based diets for dogs with HE.
Poach two cups of codfish in water until white. Wash 1.5 cups each of sweet potatoes and white potatoes. Do not peel. Cut them into 2-inch circular slices and simmer from 45 minutes to an hour before removing the peels.
Wash and chop 1.5 cups of zucchini and another 1.5 cups of celery, string beans or summer squash. Cook them until extremely tender. Mix the cod, vegetables and potatoes thoroughly. Give your dog three or four helpings per day, with its last meal just before it goes to sleep for the night.
This recipe makes eight cups of food. Divide it into single-meal amounts and freeze anything you won't feed in three days. Keep the rest of it refrigerated. Cut down on your pet's salt intake if its abdomen is distended with fluid (ascites).
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