Causes Of Liver Damage In Dogs
Here are some factors in liver damage …
Liver disease is more common in dogs than you might expect. Certain breeds of dogs are more prone to liver disease because of a genetic difficulty to excrete copper. Among them are Labrador retrievers, Dalmatians and Great Danes.
Signs Of Liver Damage Or Disease In Dogs
Milk thistle is a flower in the Aster family. It’s native to the Mediterranean regions of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Humans have used milk thistle for medicinal purposes for over 2000 years … especially its roots and seeds. Conventional medicine accepts milk thistle as one of the few herbs with medicinal value.
There are three important chemicals isolated from the milk thistle …
Together, these three substances are known as silymarin.
Humans usually use milk thistle as a liver tonic. And silymarin can help dogs and other pets with …
What is Milk Thistle Good for in Dogs?
Summers explains that silymarin and milk thistle for dogs may be beneficial to pups with liver problems and other diseases.
Some conditions that milk thistle may help with are:
Milk thistle has been studied on a limited basis as a liver supplement for dogs, but the results are promising.
A study published in the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics found that milk thistle effectively treated liver dysfunction in Beagles.
“Silymarin is believed to inhibit inflammatory pathways, act as an antioxidant by scavenging free radicals that can damage cells, increase protein production by the liver, and promote bile flow,” says Summers.
For Cushing’s disease in dogs, milk thistle can help protect the liver, says Dr. Angie Krause, a holistic veterinarian at Boulder Holistic Vet in Boulder, Colorado. “While milk thistle will not treat the cause of Cushing’s disease, it can help protect the liver from the increased levels of cortisol,” she says.
Some veterinarians even recommend milk thistle and silymarin as a treatment for diabetes and pancreatitis in dogs.
“Milk thistle may slightly reduce the insulin needs in diabetic dogs,” says Krause. “It may also be beneficial in the treatment of pancreatitis—both to protect the liver from pancreatic inflammation and promote the smooth flow of bile.”