High Liver Enzymes-Need new food suggestions

I'd probably put her on Innova Senior canned food. It's super low protein, and far better, ingredients wise, than LD. Give the Denosyl at least an hour before you feed her, in the morning. It works best that way. I'd also start using milk thistle, in tincture form, in alcohol.

I feed a homemade, reduced protein diet, for Emma Nems, the liver dog. She does incredibly well. The liver is the only organ that regenerates. If you keep on top of things, you may end up with perfect liver enzymes in six months or so, which is fantastic.

[linkhttp://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00128.htm]http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00128.htm[/link]
 
here's some info on doggy liver tests that might help you.
What exactly was the diagnosis the vet gave you? we can't offer diet advice without more info about what is going on.

I'd also start using milk thistle, in tincture form, in alcohol.

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

What is this exactly and how do I give it? 

The Dr was supposed to fax me her results to work yesterday and then someone was going to scan it and email it to me but it didn't happen before 5 so I don't have the actual results in front of me.

They said they took her blood and the enzymes level looked OK and then they fed her and took the test again and they were high which leads them to believe there is a liver or bile problem.  I think that is how they described it.  As of now I am feeding the food they prescribed and giving her the Denosyl.  She is supposed to go back in a month to be checked again.  They said it is probably congenital and the rich food she was on before just helped it to come out.  She also has a very mild UTI that they found so she is also on antibiotics.  Glad I took her to get her teeth cleaned and found all this out.  They basically said she needs to be on a low protein/low fat diet for the rest of her life and hopefully we can treat it medically and not have to do a biopsy or anything. 

I will post the actual results when I get them. 

quote:

I'd also start using milk thistle, in tincture form, in alcohol.

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

What is this exactly and how do I give it?

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It's an herb, and you can give it in her food.

She actually doesn't need a low protein/low fat diet for the rest of her life. The liver NEEDS protein to regenerate. You need to use the highest quality protein available, in the best tolerated quantity. Emma tolerates 10% protein, wet. Her liver numbers have been perfect for two years, now. At one point, it was so bad, nobody thought she was going to live.

Joint the yahoo groups liver list, canine liver-d. There is a LOT of knowledge, there, and they can point you in the right direction.

Hey guys:
 
I'm new to this forum and relatively new to dog.com.  I happened upon this discussion because I, too have a dog that is being fed Innova Evo, and has an elevated ALT (liver enzyme).  He is a 6 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi athlete (hence the desired high levels of protein in his diet).  I compete him in flyball, canine musical freestyle and herding trials, with some disc dog work on the side.  He is a very drivey dog and hasn't missed a beat.  He's eating, drinking, running, playing, racing normally.  I took him in for a C6 test, and as a fluke, pulled extra blood. (I work at a veterinary practice so I can pull blood on my dogs whenever I feel like it).  I decided to run a profile on him just simply because he's 6 and I had the blood to do it with. Well, wouldn't you know...his ALT was 309 (normal is up to 100).  Nothing else abnormal, and again, clinically perfect.  So, we decided to place him on Denosyl, Milk Thistle, and some antibiotics in case he was just fighting some sort of infection that the liver was working on.  Two weeks later, we pull his blood again, 307.  No real change.  Nothing else on his bloodwork changed either, and again, he's still non-clinical.  So we continued his meds, discontinued his Antibiotics, sent off a Lepto test just in case (doubtful, but he is exposed to lots of dogs in the competition world) and took some X-rays.  Low and behold...the dog had eaten a staple that had migrated into his liver.  A regular human paper staple from an office.  We ultrasounded him and couldn't see it on ultrasound in the stomach.  We can't remove it via endoscopy because by now it's embedded so deep, we couldn't find it.  We can't surgically remove it because again, it's embedded and you can't go digging around in the liver.  At that time, we also tested his ALT again.  Now it's 509!  We increased his dose of Denosyl, we increased the dose of Milk Thistle, and we're playing the waiting game.  We are waiting one month to see if the body can absorb the staple and/or desintigrate it.  That is the hope.  At this point, either way, the liver will form a capsulated response and wall off away from it (which is why we're getting a high ALT), or it will dissolve it and pass it.  The entire time, my vet has recommended staying on the food we have him on, and monitor him for any other clinical signs.  Now...mind you...only ONE of his enzymes are elevated.  If both enzymes are elevated on your dog, that would indicate doing the Bile Acids test (the one they already did) and some others.
 
Depending on the reason for your dogs elevations, and depending on whether or not BOTH enzymes are involved, that will determine whether or not you need to switch food permanently or not.  Ideally, when the liver is going through stress, no, you do not want a HIGH protein diet such as Evo.  (42%)  You placing your dog on the LD Diet is not a bad thing...for now.  Monitor the enzymes, find out what's wrong with your dog and fix it.  Then, when the enzymes return to normal or begin to decline, I would recommend placing him on the Innova diets, but perhaps not something SO high in protein if he's not a working dog.  They have several other formulas to choose from.
 
Just my opinion...I do not mean to offend anyone, and I will not be offended if you tell me to go jump in a lake! []

I certain ho0pe your little one can absorb that staple and returns to normal.  These dogs can drive us nuts, can't they.  never know what they rae going to go or get into next.

Just my opinion...I do not mean to offend anyone, and I will not be offended if you tell me to go jump in a lake!

Not at all Carolynn [] Your post was very informative and helpful IMO. 'Most' members here are pretty thick skinned,so you dont have worry about offending anyone [] Not that there was anything even remotely offensive in your post.

i took my 10 month old puppy to the vet today to get her spaded and when her blood work came back he liver enzimes were 366 so he wouldent do her surgery because it wasent safe for her   ,her mom passed away when she was 5 days old so i had to feed her puppy formula that i bought at the vet, she does eat some table foods but i give her and my other dog that is 10 years old cesear dog food wet and dry,is their anything that i can give her to get her levels down ,she is now going on all dog food no table food .

@MichelleDominauxRichardDominaux

i took my 10 month old puppy to the vet today to get her spaded and when her blood work came back he liver enzimes were 366 so he wouldent do her surgery because it wasent safe for her ,her mom passed away when she was 5 days old so i had to feed her puppy formula that i bought at the vet, she does eat some table foods but i give her and my other dog that is 10 years old cesear dog food wet and dry,is their anything that i can give her to get her levels down ,she is now going on all dog food no table food .

Hi -- first be aware you posted at the bottom of a very very old thread, so this may not get much attention.  

When a vet does blood work pre-surgery it is a very very abbreviated (small number of items) picture of what's going on in the blood.  It's designed to catch problems that could cause adverse reactions/problems during surgery or with the sedative (the stuff that makes them sleepy initially) or anesthesia (the drug that makes them "sleep" right at that moment -- the anesthesia wears off fast but the sedative lasts hours which is why they use them together).

There is not just one liver enzyme -- there are 4, and they all have differing ranges so it's hard to know which was elevated.  You should  ask the vet to run a "full blood chemistry panel" so you have an idea before you start exactly where the problems are.

There are pharmaceuticals like Denamarin & others used to get liver values down but they are pricey.    (Denamarin is actually SAM-e + milk thistle that have been so processed they become a pharmaceutical.)  You can use the herb milk thistle and the supplement SAM-e that together work very well to help get blood values down.   If you want to email me I can help you with where to get good quality of both and how to dose.  

Getting a very high quality herb is critical.  They aren't regulated and most of the stuff you can get at Wal-Mart, or even health stores tends not to be very high quality and it can be expensive.  When you see "standardized" on the label of an herb that doesn't indicate any sort of quality but rather that they are admitting there is a certain percentage of things like weeds that may have been in that field that was harvested.  So they simply mix it up before they put in capsules so it makes all the capsules the same.  

In some herbs that isn't a big deal -- but in milk thistle it is when you are trying to get liver values down, you don't want to have any chemicals (like fertilizer) in that dried herb.  So usually I suggest getting high quality bulk herbs (like StarWest) -- and the best part is -- buying them without capsules is way cheaper -- "bulk" means you just get the dried powdered herb and keep in an airtight container- EZ to use).  Usually  I  use http://www.leavesandroots.com or even www.mountainroseherbs.com -- both are reputable and sell high quality herbs.

My email is callieatcritturs@yahoo.com if you want some help.  

A liver value in the 300's isn't horrific, but it's way way too high for such a young dog.  You can get those liver levels down, but you do need the vet to help you figure out **why** they are high.  It may be some thing like a pesticide or similar you are using to control fleas, etc.