Vegetarian Dog Food In Australia?

[Guest]

Hi everyone

as the title suggest i have a dog with a liver shunt, he has had surgery to remove urate bladder stones in April this year and i suspect he has stones again

I have researched this condition extensively and hes not supposed to eat meat protein

as its too high purines and his liver cant metabolise it , hence causing the stones

i have consulted people with are experts in this area and they have advised a vegatarian diet is essential with vegetbale/dairy protein, i absoloutely LOATHE the idea of this

BUT if it means my dog will live a longer life and no more surgeries to remove stones

i will try anything

Ive looked online and havent found many options

any advice? like i said im devastated to have this happen to my dog

but he is sick. look up liver shunt and you will see

royal canin has a kibble for this condition but its not avail in Aus

thanks.

[mish13]

Hi Henrietta25, sorry I don't have any suggestions but just wanted to wish you all the best with your dog and I hope someone on here can help you. I have a dog with an auto immune disease so I can sympathise with you.

[twodoggies2001]

My boy also had a liver shunt, diagnosed at 6 months old. He is now 14 years old. He was operated on at Werribee by the specialist vets there and was put on a low protein diet but there was never any mention of cutting out meat in his diet. He was fed proteins in the form of cottage cheese, eggs chicken, and honestly, I can't remember any more, but I am sure if you google, you will find recipes for this awful affliction. After a few months on this restricted diet, he was able to eat practically anything, provided it was not too fatty. He has survived till now, although his age dictates his health I suppose, but this is not connected to his liver shunt.

[Guest]

thank you for the replies

you are lucky yours could be corrected, after its corrected within a couple of months the shunt closes off and blood flows normally (they place a constricter ring on the shunt - vessel) so a dog can usually go back to normal food

unfortunatley when they opened my dog to do the surgery and remove the bladder stones

they couldnt see the shunt so it was never corrected

hence why he is on this ridiculous diet, i love my baby so much

but its scary reading how sick he could get if he eats high purine foods

the specialist knew not alot about diet , supplements required for a liver dog

i found it all out myself online

[twodoggies2001]

thank you for the replies

you are lucky yours could be corrected, after its corrected within a couple of months the shunt closes off and blood flows normally (they place a constricter ring on the shunt - vessel) so a dog can usually go back to normal food

unfortunatley when they opened my dog to do the surgery and remove the bladder stones

they couldnt see the shunt so it was never corrected

hence why he is on this ridiculous diet, i love my baby so much

but its scary reading how sick he could get if he eats high purine foods

the specialist knew not alot about diet , supplements required for a liver dog

i found it all out myself online

Where abouts in Victoria are you? Perhaps you could consult animal nutritionist. I took my boy to a holistic vet when he developed a drug induced pancreatic attack. My 'normal' vet advised me that I had to feed a specially formulated commercial diet, whereas I always fed my boys raw and natural. Another vet that I was speaking to asked me, hands on hips, 'do you want your dog to die? This was because I was resisting feeding the commercial diet. I told this hands on hips doc. what a stupid question he asked. This holistic vet I finally went to adjusted his diet to suit and he still is fed raw.

[Guest]

thanks- i looked online a while ago for a holistic vet in melbourne and

couldnt find one, i need someone who knows about liver disease

seriously vets know nothing about nutrition, they just give you hills rx

full of crap and thats it, my vet nows nothing about food a shunt dog should eat

the world specialist at the university of tennessee on liver shunts DOES NOT recommend

raw as their liver has to work too hard to metabolise it

im in northern suburbs of melb

i would appreciate the contact details

thanks again

[twodoggies2001]

thanks- i looked online a while ago for a holistic vet in melbourne and

couldnt find one, i need someone who knows about liver disease

seriously vets know nothing about nutrition, they just give you hills rx

full of crap and thats it, my vet nows nothing about food a shunt dog should eat

the world specialist at the university of tennessee on liver shunts DOES NOT recommend

raw as their liver has to work too hard to metabolise it

im in northern suburbs of melb

i would appreciate the contact details

thanks again

Anne Neville. East West vets, South Road, Bentleigh. 95551899

[Guest]

thanks i might give it a try

hopefully i will have some suggestions re the vego dog food

[pixie_meg]

there is definitely a vegetarian dog food. just did a search. here it is. http://www.biopetonline.com.au/productsVeganDog.html

should be able to buy it through their web site.

[Sezy]

www,greenpet.com.au have a few options.

[Mr R & NR]

I second Anne Neville, she is very good on the nutrition side. Best wishes for your dog's recovery.

[JulesP]

Hi, My dog has just been diagnosed with multiple liver shunts that can't be operated on.

Hills do a dry and tinned food - L/D Hepatic. The tinned is better than the dry for meat content. I've also just been put onto a Royal Canin food - It is the Urinary s/o. It isn't supposed to have meat in it.

The problem with meat is the liver can't process the protein in meat and that causes toxins. The toxins could lead to a coma.

Supplements would be milk thistle & SAMe.

A homemade diet would involve egg whites as the protein source. I'm not mucking around with homemade diets yet.

[karly101]

The Hills U/d would probably be a better choice- http://www.hillsvet.com/pdf/en-us/FINAL_LUTD_Flyer_-_Urinary_Canine_P9670_(5-11-09).pdf I know Hills is rubbished a lot but the prescription diets are good - in the clinic have seen very good results with all the dogs that we have put on u/d in that they haven't been back for stones! We do have a few clients feeding l/d as well which does seem to help support the liver - Hills do have vets available to discuss cases if you are open to considering it. Your dog has been on medication as well?

I would be worried the vegetarian diets may not be able to keep the urine pH level right... but there are also homemade diets listed in the veterinarian nutrition textbooks.

[sas]

I had my allergic dog on a Royal Canin Veggie Protein diet a few years back.

[BIG-DOG-LOVER]

Vegan dry dog food, based in Victoria but deliver.

www.veganpet.com.au

My dog loves the stuff, the owner is very helpful also, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you sent her an email with any queries.

[Guest]

I had my allergic dog on a Royal Canin Veggie Protein diet a few years back.

thank you

what food was that? do you know the name?

[Guest]

thanks everyone!

[JulesP]

You can not just buy a vegetarian dog food and think it will be ok for a dog with liver problems. Some of the suggested straight vegetarian food would be just as bad for a dog with liver problems as meat would be.

[dancinbcs]

Can they have fish ? The only fish that is high in purines is sardines. Everything else is suitable for a low purine diet.

[JulesP]

Dr Jean Dodd has a liver diet that uses cod as the protein source. But most of the reading I've done says that vegetarian protein is easier for the liver to process. My specialist also said veggie or eggs were better.

You would not believe the difference in how Amber is eating and her energy levels. She has gone from a dog that didn't want to eat to one that barks at me for food.