Macy Gray, story of a dog with liver disease

It was less than two weeks ago that I posted that Macy was on the downturn. Prior to that I have spoken about proper dog nutrition twice. Once in february, and once in March. Took her into the vet and her blood samples and urine are stellar! She is an eight year, old large breed and I have been so obsessed with her illness, that I may have taken natural aging signs and panicked. the vet told me she had never seen a dog with liver disease improve that quickly and maintain it's health. Keep it in your heart that it can happen. Even when you get the worst diagnosis from your vet, which I did in January. Don't give up hope!

Diet and nutritional support for dogs with liver disease, continued.

Well it has been over a month since Macy has been on the diet described in my previous post. Her blood panels came back completely clean. The only elevated panel was the amount of bile in her blood. This panel should be between 0 and 2. At the height of Macy's illness, this panel was 18. It has dropped to 6. I have tweaked the diet a bit. Her primary carb source is now yams. Yams have tremendous effects on the blood and are high in vitamin A, vitamin C and trace minerals. I am trying to steer clear of any grains whatsoever, a reason which will be explained in my next post. I am only using organic vegetables and meats, free of pesticides, hormones and steroids. The reason for this is any chemical weakens the system and you never want to introduce chemicals into the system of a dog with liver disease. Vegetables are primarily steamed carrots, kelp, artichoke hearts, spinach or green beans, again organic. I am keeping her on tofu and white fish until her blood panels are completely clear. As for immunity support, I have taken her off Heartworm and will not put her on any flea and tick medications. These weaken the dog's immunity over time and and place tremendous strain on the heart, kidney and liver. Interestingly enough, there are no known instances of wolves or wild canids with heartworm disease. It is believed by a growing number of vets that heartworm is a man made disease caused by over vaccination, poor nutrition and ingestion of chemicals, pesticides, steroids and growth hormones. These chemicals compromise the dogs natural defense system that would kill parasites in the blood before reaching the heart. Nutritional support has been adjusted as well. She still gets the vitamins listed in the previous post...these are essential. To find a natural supplement that would assist her in cleansing her blood, boosting her immune system and killing intestinal parasites I have put her on ActiPet Wormwood Therapy. Another good formula is Parasite Doctor.. I have also purchased a black walnut tincture. It is important that there is either no alcohol in the tincture or that the alcohol is taken out. See this link. Many of the supplements, or similar ones can be found in a good health food store, such as Garners. I have also looked into natural flea and tick support and the best I have seen is Flea Free. It is extremely important in a multi dog household, that a dog with liver disease not be around dogs with commercial flea and tick applications or collars. All dogs need to be on a natural, non chemical approach. You must also be terribly careful about fertilizers, pesticides and lawn treatments in any outdoor area they inhabit. Finally vaccinations need to be addressed. A puppy or adolescent dog needs to have vaccinations, but not as frequently as most veterinarians suggest. For example, the rabies vaccine lasts two years even though most states require yearly vaccines. There is growing awareness within the veterinary community about the problem of over vaccinating. Titer tests, which determine the dog's built in immunity to disease such as rabies, distemper or parvo are available. Often once a dog matures, it has developed an immunity to many of these diseases. Ask your vet for a titer test prior to vaccinations. If he or she balks, find a vet that will work with you. More information on vaccinations. Links: http://www.preciouspets.org/articles/natural-heartworm-prevention.htm http://www.cupofdog.com/2008/03/19/heartworm-prevention-naturally/ Best of luck and as always, feel free to comment with any questions.

Selecting a good food requires reading labels

I've heard a lot of frustration and remorse over the current Menu Foods recalls. Many ask, "How can I know if I am feeding my dog a safe product?" Quite simple, learn to read a label and learn a few simple facts about dog and cat food The extrusion process The majority of dry dog and cat food is made with an extruder. An extruder will gum up if the protein content of the food is more than 50%. Most commercial brands of dog food (Alpo, Pedigree, Purina) as well as those foods that claim to be premium (Nutro, Iams, Bil-Jac and Science Diet) have less than 30% protein. The rest of the food is comprised of filler. It is the type and quality of the protein and the filler that should be your primary concern. Protein Dog food ingredients are listed by weight. At least two meat sources should be among the top three ingredients in the food you serve to ensure your dog is getting enough protein. Whole fresh meat contains moisture and simply weighs more than grains and other fillers. If the first listed ingredient is a grain, run away...run far away. The quality of that meat is important too. Look for fresh meat or meal and the type of meat or meal should be clearly identified For example a product listing chicken, lamb and herring meal would be superior to a similar product offering chicken, lamb and meat/animal meal. Steer clear of meat by-products and animal proteins. The FDA does not have strict standards for these categories. Poor handling and slow transport can affect the quality of by-products. There is a much wider range in the quality of by-products than there is in fresh meat. Many commercial brands like to utilize these sources because they are cheaper sources of protein. Generic animal proteins or by-products enable them to utilize whatever is cheapest that day. Fats to need to be specific as well. Chicken fat is vastly preferable to animal fat because it is clear what your getting. Animal fat again gives the manufacturer the ability to purchase cheap fats and mix them anyway they want. Some commercial pet foods have been known to purchase used restaurant grease and rendered fats. Grains and Vegetables Look for whole grains and vegetables. Avoid food fragments which are by-products of another food manufacturing process, such as brewers rice, wheat bran, rice bran, rice flour or wheat gluten. If you have a dog with food allergies, steer clear of foods that list wheat or corn in any form. It is important to mention that in both the Menu Foods recall and the Diamond Foods recall, grain quality was the problem. Brewing grains that get wet can ferment. Grains outsourced from other countries may be of substandard quality. Look for manufacturers who use grains that meet human consumption standards. Preservatives, colors and sweeteners Preservatives such as BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin, propylene glycol, artificial colors and sweeteners such as corn syrup, sucrose and ammoniated glycyrrhizin should all be avoided. Finally, any company that makes a food you intend to feed your pet should be completely upfront and honest about the quality of the ingredients, where and how the food is manufactured and what quality controls are in place. If they aren't, don't buy it