Dog Health: the Canine Liver

If you have a dog, you're undoubtedly concerned with dog health and dog health problems – at least, I hope you are. Most pet owners strive to have a pet that’s happy and healthy, one that’s sleek and practically glows with vitality. I own three dogs – two Great Danes and a Basset hound. They’re extremely important to me and to my family. In fact, they really are like human family members in many respects, and that includes the care they receive. I don’t think I’m in the minority here, either. Yes, there are still a few irresponsible, uncaring dog owners who tie their pets up in the back yard and pretty much forget about them, but I sincerely hope and pray that such owners are getting fewer and fewer. Dogs are wonderful, loyal, amazing animals that totally depend on us to take care of them. We’ve taken them out of the wild and domesticated them, changing them from independent hunters to domestic pets. That’s not the dog’s fault. Canines were perfectly content roaming the plains and forests and living in their closely knit, ordered packs. We domesticated them for our benefit – not for theirs. Through breeding, crossbreeding, and line breeding, man has actually created and worsened some dog health problems. We owe it to our furry pals to provide them with adequate nutrition, proper housing, and love. Owners should also keep abreast of dog health and take the necessary steps to maintain and correct it.

Dog health problems are numerous, and there are entire books devoted to the subject. Dogs are inquisitive by nature, and their curiosity often gets them into trouble. They say that curiosity killed the cat, but it’s had its share of canine victims, too. Historically speaking, canines in the wild were hunters and scavengers. They often killed and ate prey, but they also took advantage of any scraps and edible tidbits they found lying around. It’s completely natural for canines to investigate objects to find out if they’re edible, and pet dogs still have this strong instinct. That’s often how dogs get sick from poisonous substances.

Of course, not all dog health problems arise from the canines’ curiosity. Many, like arthritis, usually come from age or from injuries. Canines can also suffer from many of the same health conditions that humans suffer from, including diabetes, cancer, asthma, allergic reactions, internal parasites, anemia, and heart disease, just to name a few. There are also, of course, dog health problems that humans never or extremely rarely experience, like heart worms, parvovirus, distemper, and rabies. Yes, humans can get rabies, but it’s extremely rare.

Some dog health problems can be prevented through medications, diet, vaccines, and lifestyle. Unfortunately, there are some that can’t be prevented. Many of those, however, can be cured or treated with proper veterinary care, medications, and supportive care. In either case, knowledge is power, as it is for most topics. The more you know about your dog’s health and potential problems that could arise, the better able you’ll be to recognize them, treat them, and prevent them.

Do you ever think about your dog's liver function? Canine liver health is extremely important to your dog’s overall well being. Liver function includes activities that are necessary for survival. For one thing, the organ functions as a sort of filter, removing harmful substances and waste from the blood. The liver also produces bile, which is an important part of the digestive process. The liver produces proteins, and it helps break down and process proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. It’s responsible for making cholesterol, too. And even though cholesterol is sometimes thought of as a bad substance, it’s necessary for several bodily functions, including those having to do with hormones.

Another important function of the liver has to do with blood sugar levels. The liver stores glycogen, which is a form of glucose. When the body doesn’t receive enough carbohydrates in the diet, glycogen from the liver can “feed” the body. It can also help regulate blood sugar by turning protein and fat into glucose.

Hopefully, now you can fully appreciate the importance of a healthy liver. If your dog’s liver is damaged, diseased, or compromised in some other way, the results can be deadly. In fact, other than accidental death, liver disease is the fifth most common cause of death in dogs. The scary part of canine liver disease is that you might not even know if your dog is suffering from it. The symptoms are sometimes vague, and you might attribute them to something else. Typical symptoms of canine liver disease include weight loss, depression, decreased appetite, and inactivity. A dog with liver disease might have bouts of diarrhea or vomiting, also.

To help keep your dog’s liver healthy and properly functioning, there’s now an oral dog medication that you can use. It’s called Denamarin, and you won’t need a prescription for it. In fact, you can buy it online. Even better, the tablets are chewable, so they’re easy to administer. You won’t have to force a nasty-tasting pill down the throat of your unwilling pooch.

How is Denamarin for dogs beneficial to liver function? One of the active ingredients is silybin. Silybin, an extract from milk thistle, is a hepatoprotective agent. In other words, it has the ability to prevent liver damage. The silybin in Denamarin increases the amount of glutathione in the liver. Glutathione is a tripeptide that works as an antioxidant, preventing damage from free radicals to liver cells. All cells in the body have the capacity to produce glutathione, but production in the liver is especially important, and some animals don’t produce enough. In fact, studies done on mice with drastically reduced levels or an absence of glutathione in the liver died shortly after birth.

Denamarin contains another powerful ingredient, too – S-Adenosylmethionine, or SAMe, for short. SAMe is found in just about every organ, every fluid, and every type of tissue in the body. It’s an integral part of the immune system. Unfortunately, humans and animals with diseased or damaged livers often don’t produce enough SAMe. Studies conducted on humans and mice show that when such individuals were treated with SAMe, liver function was improved. In fact, in mice, liver damage was sometimes even reversed.

Why gamble with dog health? If you really care about your dog, you want it to live a long, happy, comfortable life. You’ll want to take care of any dog health problems that pop up, and you’ll want to prevent as many as you can. After all, prevention is always better than a cure or treatments. As you’re assessing your pooch’s health, don’t forget about the importance of liver function. Denamarin for dogs is inexpensive, easy to use, and readily available. It can protect your pet’s liver, and it might even be able to reverse any liver damage that has already occurred. Canine liver health is nothing to fool around with!

You don’t have to spend a fortune on dog health. You do need to do some comparison shopping, however. I often get discount pet meds from 1800 pet meds, and they usually have some great bargains. I was surprised to discover that Denamarin is actually cheaper on Amazon. Take the Denamarin chews for large dogs, for example. On the pet meds site, a supply of thirty costs $74.39, and that’s a special holiday price. On Amazon, thirty Denamarin tablets for large dogs is just $65.63. On most other sites that offer discount pet meds, the tablets for medium dogs is $49.99 for thirty, but on Amazon, the price is $47.92. For cats and small dogs, most sites charge $33.99 for thirty doses of Denamarin, but Amazon charges only $23.67. Why not take advantage of cheap pet meds when you can get them? The ingredients and quality are the same, and you could save a bundle over the course of a few years!