Lily's Liver Health
How
March 7th, 2021: I get Lily from a breeding farm that was shutting down. The owner of the farm needed to give the breeding dogs a new home. When I got Lily, she was overweight, her fur was a bit ruff and even felt a bit brittle. The picture above is the first picture I ever took of Lily.
The vet wanted to do more testing, abdominal ultrasound, and even verbally suggested exploratory surgery. I asked her, “can we try changing her diet for a couple months and doing some liver support first, then retest?” She shrugged, and waived off my suggestion and said I could try it but ultrasounds and surgery are the most reliable thing to do. This was the vet’s write up:
I opted to try nutrition and diet change first, knowing that the ultrasounds and surgery will always be there, and to retest. If Lily’s enzymes didn’t shift or got worse, then I would have done the additional testing and ultrasound…exploratory surgery would not be an option I would choose, unless there was something unusual on the ultrasound.
I consulted a colleague who raised bulldogs for 20+ years and he suggested a simple supplement protocol and a change in diet, and within 2 months, Lily’s enzymes were completely normal, and the other issues were no longer of concern either.
Plus, her weight normalized to 21-21.5 lbs and her fur got super soft.
Disclaimer: I made the decision to do diet and nutrition first from a variety of factors, most notably how Lily’s food was dried cheap kibble and not real raw meat. I also made the decision because I had a clear time limit: 2 months and then retest. I asked the Vet if there was any danger in waiting 2 months, and she shrugged and said to retest for sure. Your situation with your dog’s health may be very different so you have to consult your veterinary professional before enacting anything recommended or inferred here.
I put her on....