I restored
Lily's Liver Health
naturally
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.
I then got Lily evaluated for her Spay, but…
Lily’s Liver Enzymes were 5x the upper limit.
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.
Here is the
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.
protocol
I put her on....
½ tablet, 3 times a day
Order by going HERE.
Create an free account by entering your email.
Then search “Milk Thistle Forte Mediherb”
Canine Hepatic Support by Standard Process
Take twice the amount recommended, e.g. for dogs 21-40 lbs (Lily was over 20 lbs at the time, the recommended amount is ¼ tsp twice a day, so instead I gave her ½ tsp twice a day).
Search “Canine Hepatic Support Standard Process”
Livaplex by Standard Process
1 tablet, 3 times a day
Search “Livaplex Standard Process”
Food:
I chose OC Raw Food.
I alternate between 1 beef patty a day with 1 chicken patty a day. This has kept her weight stable.
I feed her 3 times a day (feeding her 3x a day with smaller meals has stopped her from regurgitating, because she would wolf down too much food at once).
Each meal contains:
- 1/3rd patty
- Mixed with 1/3rd cup of water into soup (she will not drink water otherwise, unless I flavor the water with Standard Process canine formulas).
- 1/3 carrot
Lily is now at her perfect weight of 21-21.5 lbs.
Tool Summary
- Create a free account and search the items listed above.
- Bonus: you can also use this account to purchase your own professional-grade supplements.
Food: find it here.
Dog Insurance: I use this one.
- Frenchies are high risk dogs for health problems because of the way Frenchies are bred. I strongly encourage a really strong dog insurance.
- Trupanion: can cover up to 90% of your vet bills.
- Get a dog harness to protect your Frenchie’s neck and make walking them much easier:
- Frenchie’s have compromised necks from all the inbreeding and their skulls being very large relative to their bodies.
- Putting a small collar around their neck and yanking it or if they leap at squirrel can be really compromising to their necks.
- Additionally, a collar will trigger a dog’s “Tugging” instinct…they will think they are a sleigh-dog.
- Instead, get a harness and attach the leash on the front of their chest or the side of their harness. This way if they yank or charge, they will spin around instead of pulling like a sleigh-dog.
- Lily has been super polite on the leash and not charged at squirrels anymore since she wears a harness with the leash attached on the front of side.
- Plus, her neck is not in jeopardy anymore from being on the leash.
- Frenchies usually have to go one size up to fit the harness because their chest is so broad and their head is so big relative to their weight.
