High blood cholesterol in people gets a great deal of attention, but your dog can also develop high cholesterol. Dogs can suffer from hyperlipidemia, or what is commonly called high blood cholesterol and high levels of triglycerides, for numerous reasons, just as people do. It can be hereditary which can make your dog more prone to the disease. Other times, there is an underlying medical condition, which is normally first suspected by veterinarians. The three main medical causes are diabetes, Cushing's disease and hypothyroidism.
Things You'll Need
- Fish oil supplements
- Low-fat dog food
Instructions
Observe your dog: there are symptoms that can be reported to your veterinarian such as decreased appetite, diarrhea, vomiting and noticeable abdominal pain that can be the first clue of the existence of hyperlipidemia. There are blood tests that can confirm hyperlipidemia. When the condition is identified, your veterinarian will also check for diabetes, Cushing's disease and hypothyroidism. If any of these exist, he will treat them with the proper medications while also treating the hyperlipidemia.
Realize that the presence of hyperlipidemia will mean some major dietary changes for your dog. The first course of treatment will be placing your dog on a low-fat or ultra-low-fat diet, normally around 8 to 10 percent fat, which also contains a good amount of dietary fiber. Diet along with fish oil supplements is normally used in combination in an attempt to bring the cholesterol and triglyceride levels down.
Take your dog back to the veterinarian 4 weeks later to have more blood drawn to see if the blood cholesterol levels have fallen. If they have, your veterinarian will probably continue the course of treatment. If there is no change, your veterinarian will probably recommend lowering the fat in your dog's diet even more and increasing the fish oil supplementation. There currently is no medication to give dogs for hyperlipidemia but, normally, following a low-fat diet along with fish oil as well as treating any other condition your dog may have will bring the cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels to the normal range.