Denamarin is denosyl and marin combined. It's made by the same people who do Adequan -- it's a very good quality product.
It's good stuff ... *but* ... it wouldn't be my choice.
As I said it's *very* good quality. Marin is literally milk thistle that has been extremely processed to the point where it is considered a pharmaceutical. Denosyl is very close to Sam-e (it is a detox for the liver).
Bottom line they are very pricey -- VERY pricey. But my biggest problems with them are two:
1. When you refine something THAT highly (literally so it has reached a point of so "consistent" and so chemically-based that it can be "tested" as highly as that is) you tend to refine the safety out of it.
I have a dog who survived IMHA (immune-mediated hemolytic anemia). In order to survive Billy took many months of steroid-like drugs in huge quantities. My biggest concern all the way thru was that his organs wouldn't survive the drugs because they are so damaging.
I gave Billy enormous quantities of milk thistle -- because in *huge* quantities it actually PROTECTS the liver *and* kidneys from damage, as well as helping detox them. he also eventually got Sam-E (which is a supplement -- not considered a pharmaceutical).
He did incredibly well. My pug also had a stressed liver resulting from meds she got before she came to me -- and SHE also has taken milk thistle (for over a year now) as well as SAM-e periodically.
Both dogs did wonderfully and we achieved normal liver levels with both of them. I get the milk thistle *in bulk* (i.e., no capsules -- I just mix the powdered milk thistle in their food). http://www.leavesandroots.com -- I get the ground herb in the pound bags -- $12.75.
I've figured out that one pound bag is equivalent to about 10 - 12 bottles of milk thistle capsules you'd get at a health store. (That's about $200 or more worth of milk thistle.)
Sam-e is pricey and I've bought all sorts of brands. My favorite is Cell Food Sam-E which is a liquid (so I by-pass the little blister packs it's normally packaged in as a capsule).
YOu really can't over-dose on either of them -- they are VERY safe. Just make sure it's well tolerated by your dog (start at the normal human dose and increase from there). Feel free to email me if you want more info.
2. Ok -- what's my second problem with Marin, Denosyl and Denamarin?
Testing. I can't emphasize -- these products are extremely good quality. There is not a thing *wrong* with them other than the fact you can't give a *lot* of them. It's a moderate dose so you don't get huge results, nor can you use them to actually protect the liver as well as milk thistle does.
But they are a good, pharmaceutical product. One of the reasons vets like them so much is because they are TESTED.
that means they'll take a bunch of dogs of the same breed and actually **induce** a disease (like liver failure) JUST SO they can administer the drug to see how well it 'Helps" them.
That's a type of animal testing that I just have a real creepy problem with -- it's done routinely ... but I don't want to support it particularly when there is a natural alternative that is out there that will help as much or more.
My other suggestion for you would be to try TCVM -- Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine.
Please don't shut me off here -- I'm NOT telling you to leave your vet -- far far from it. Most TCVM vets consider themselves "complimentary therapy" -- In ADDITION not instead of.
TCVM absolutely rocks for liver problems. The liver is the only organ of the body that will actually ***regenerate***. It will heal itself given the right care usually -- unless you're dealing with liver cancer or truly advanced liver disease. And even then you can usually calm the liver down a great deal.
Billy's liver and kidneys were a bit damaged by the big drugs -- the amazing thing is he's 3 1/2 years a survivor of IMHA and he's honestly in the best health of his entire life. His skin looks GREAT (and that's huge for this dog).
Acupuncture does awesome things to help the body heal - it can also greatly promote helping the liver recover and thrive.
Chinese herbology is way beyond anything we typically have here. But milk thistle is one of those things commonly used in TCVM (and there are other blends combined with Oriental herbs that are incredible and I've experienced those too).
The best part is the treatment is worry free -- No bad side effects - and there is a safety in naturals that is unsurpassed in regular Western medicine.
http://www.tcvm.com -- that's the URL for the Chi Institute -- on the left is a "locator" that will help you find a TCVM vet in your state or country (if you are out of the US under the locator itself is a sentence link with a ton of vets in it).
Once again -- I'm not bad-mouthing Marin, Denamarin or Denosyl -- they are good quality products -- but I think you can do way way better for your money with the naturals and achieve more actually.