Liver diseases in dogs: symptoms, signs, causes, treatment. Diet and food diet for liver diseases, therapeutic food

Liver diseases in dogs are difficult to diagnose at the initial stage, and the lost time can cause the death of the animal. The article will help to recognize an insidious disease and start the correct treatment of a four -legged friend in time.

If only our four -legged family members could speak! But, an extinct look and lack of appetite and interest in everything that happens is the only signals about the unhealthy that dogs can give the owners. Unfortunately, when the dog is unhealthy, we can only guess what exactly bothers her.

And even a timely appeal to the veterinarian does not always solve the problem. At the initial stage, some diseases are not able to recognize even an experienced veterinarian. These, first of all, include liver diseases in dogs.

Symptoms and first signs of liver disease in dogs

Liver diseases, both in humans and dogs, can be acute and chronic. There is no need to talk about any general symptoms characteristic of all diseases of the liver in dogs. It can be noted, perhaps, weight loss, refusal of food and a general painful condition.

Veterinarians distinguish 8 main syndromes, each of which has its own manifestations:

1. Liver shunt syndrome - represents blood poisoning with dangerous substances, manifested by disorders in the work of the central nervous system of the animal
2. Hepatolienic syndrome - characterized primarily by a noticeable simultaneous passion of the liver and spleen
3. Portal hypertension - the stomach increases, veins in this area are noticeably expanded and swollen
4. With mesenchymal - inflammatory syndrome - immunoglobulin (LGE indicator) is increased in the blood of the animal
5. Cholestatic syndrome It proceeds with a violation of secretion, the release of bile and an increase in the liver. In the analyzes, an indicator of hepatic enzymes is overestimated. The dog is affected by the skin, the color of feces changes, the body temperature rises. The animal often itches
6. Hemorrhagic syndrome characterized by bleeding, a blood test shows low hemoglobin
7. At dyspepsic syndrome The rapid weight loss of the dog is noted. The animal loses interest in what is happening, abides in a depressed state, experiences difficulties with defecation, vomiting occurs
8. Hepatodepressive syndrome It can be recognized by the non -flowing, depression of the dog. The remaining symptoms are inexpressive. In the liver, irreversible pathological changes occur, its main functions are violated

Important: the insidiousness of liver diseases in dogs is that by the time the symptoms of ill health are obvious, the liver is usually more affected than half.

Also, any liver disease can be accompanied by an increase in animal body temperature and an increase in the liver. With a neglected disease, the dog has a pear -shaped stomach. It acquires this form due to the accumulation of edematous fluid in it.

Important: sometimes the symptoms of liver disease in dogs are similar to rabies symptoms. Pay attention to how the dog relates to water. In most cases, liver diseases are accompanied by a strong thirst for the animal.

Increased the liver in the dog: Reasons

With any liver disease, the liver itself increases slightly. The reasons for this may be:

• dog feeding with cheap poor -quality food Or insufficient nutrition
• incorrect use of antiparasitic drugs, an overdose of antibiotics
• poisoning toxic plants, chemicals
• intoxication of the body due to prolonged viral or bacterial disease
• infectious diseases (plague, enteritis, salmoneliosis, hepatitis and others)
• oncological disease any internal organs
• strong harmaling
• kidney disease

Important: if one or more of these circumstances could affect the health of your dog, be sure to inform the veterinarian.

Interpretation of ultrasound in dogs with liver disease

When the symptoms of the disease are unclear, and the dog is getting worse and worse, the results of an ultrasound study of the liver will help to arrange all the points over the “I”.

IMPORTANT: Ultrasound of the liver is carried out to animals to identify pathological changes.

The state of the dog is evaluated according to the following criteria:

• position
• the size
• the form
• the clarity of the boundaries
• echogenicity
• homogeneity
• the condition of the capsule
• the condition of the vascular pattern
• the state of the gall bladder

Using ultrasound, the following can be identified pathology of the liver:

• Calcinate - dense areas in the liver consisting of calcium salts. Formed when infectious diseases
• Tumors of the liver - abdominal formations filled with liquid: blood, pus or bile
• Stains on the liver - testify to the helminthic defeat
• Seals - are often nascent cirrhosis

On an ultrasound of the liver disease, they look different:

• With hepatitis The liver is enlarged, compacted, heterogeneous. The vascular pattern is fuzzy
• Cirrhosis Diagnosed with extended angles, rounded edges, and mosaic liver structure. In the initial stages of the disease, the liver is increased, at the end of the disease - significantly decreases.
• Tumor differs in its heterogeneous structure, fuzzy boundaries, deformed vessels around
• Symptom simultaneously several diseases there may be diffuse liver changes

How to treat the liver in a dog?

Having assessed the general condition of the dog and the severity of the disease, the doctor prescribes a course of antibiotics and droppers of antioxic solutions. Plasma -substituting solutions, such as Hemodez, Polyglyukin, Enterodes, Polyiamin, Hydrolyzine, extremely important with the complete refusal of the dog from food and severe loss of weight.

Assign Hepatovet suspensions (independently or in complex), divopraide, thioprotectin. In severe cases, droppers of the solution are prescribed Ringer, Ringer-Lock, Trisol, Disol etc.

Painkillers ( Novokoin, Analgin) They help relieve pain and normalize the dog’s body temperature.

Toxic hepatitis requires mandatory gastric flushing a weak warm solution of potassium permanganate. It is also necessary to put enemas with chamomile decoction.

With cirrhosis, choleretic agents are prescribed: Allahol, Bisulfate, Hogol, Holosas. In the late stages, cirrhosis is not treated.

Important: if you can’t completely get rid of the disease, and the treatment will only relieve symptoms, then soon the dog will develop cirrhosis or acute irreversible liver failure. As a result, the animal will die.

Diet and nutrition of the dog for liver disease, how to feed?

Together with the onset of drug treatment, for successful getting rid of the disease, it is necessary to transfer the dog to a diet. The purpose of this diet is to provide the animal’s body with those substances with which the liver cells will regenerate and prevent further effect on the liver of harmful products:

• At the very beginning of treatment, you need 24-hour fasting period with access to drink. It is very good if the dog does not refuse the proposed decoctions of healing herbs: chamomile, series, sage, St. John's wort. When leaving fasting, offer the dog a kind of meat or fish broth
• Menu 2 - 4 days It consists mainly of cereals: oatmeal, rice, semolina with the addition of boiled beef or chicken minced meat. Food is divided into 4 - 6 doses
• FROM 3 days The introduction of kefir, low -fat sour cream and cottage cheese is permissible
• FROM 5 - 6 days You can offer boiled vegetables: carrots, potatoes, zucchini. Vegetables should be rubbed or passed through a meat grinder, adding boiled chicken or beef minced meat

Important: it should be noted that the altered diet is prescribed to a dog with a liver disease for life. Fatty food should be especially avoided.

What dog needs therapeutic food for liver problems?

Depending on the condition of the dog and the characteristics of the disease, the veterinarian can recommend special therapeutic nutrition in the form of canned food or dry food.

For the main nutrition, one of the following feeds can be selected:

• dry food Royal Canin Hepatic Canine
• Hill’s Pd Canine L/D - dry food, recommended for hepatoencephalopathy, copper toxicosis (copper -based deposits)
• canned food Royal Canin Hepatic Canine Cans
• Royal Canin Convalescence Supp Canine Cans - wet dietary food, recommended during recovery

Important: in no case can you feed a dog with an economy-class feeding liver, consisting of a low-class grain and offal of animals of “forced slaughter”. Such nutrition can even more harm the health of the dog.

Unfortunately, many liver diseases in dogs are not treated. In such cases, all the efforts of the owner, any treatment and special diets only extend the torment of the dog.

Sometimes it may seem that the dog has become better. But after the improvements, attacks come: the animal clogs into the corners, howls, behaves inadequately - it can accelerate and crash into walls, furniture and trees on the street, do not recognize the owners. Vision and scent are gradually lost, coordination of movements is greatly disturbed.

In such situations, you can not even think about recovery. To save the dog from torment, you will have to resort to euthanasia.

However, a correctly diagnosis at the early stage of the disease and timely treatment, the treatment sharply increases the likelihood of a favorable outcome. Therefore, in order not to lose precious time, the owners must immediately contact the veterinarian at the first signs of the dog’s unhealthy.

Video: liver failure in dogs. Treatment