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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Diet for AIHA, IMT, Evans etc.
With the chance that Mitch may be home again soon I was wondering what is the best diet dog food recommended for dogs recovering from AIHA etc. I will obviously discuss this with the vet also at the hospital before he is discharged but was wondering what has been advised to others. He may well still be on a diet of chicken, ham and tuna and may well take some weaning off! If that what is best right now though that is what he will have. I have been told his pancreas is inflamed as are his kidneys and his liver shows some irregularities? Not of particular concern apparantly but I will question further. I was asked if he had had pancreatitis. Two and a half years he had an acute stomach bug for a few days - vomitting, diarohea, abdomen pain. He recovered after IV fluids and a course of antibiotics. Could this of been pancreatitis and would there still be evidence of that episode now? Sorry lots of questions! |
| Kath Scotland |
| kath, I have no idea if what Mitch had was pancreatitis. I never had a dog suffering from it so I can't say. As for diet, I think basically keep it lean and grain free is a good way. For the first 4 months I have fed Kahlu home cooked meals of lean chicken or fish (salmon and cod goes on sale here pretty frequently) sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, carrots, beets and other veggies. I also added cooked eggs and mashed blueberries every now and then. I tried to have a big variety of things so it would be as balanced as possible. Now he is on a high quality high protein kibble diet. Maybe you want to look up Dr. Dodds liver cleansing diet: http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/liver_diet.htm i kind of based the home cooked meals on this. Best wishes Brigitte & Kahlu |
| Brigitte BC Canada |
| I'm not sure if ham is a good idea as it has nitrates, etc in it. Unless you get nitrate free ham. Check with your vet on this one. My original vet told me ham isn't good for pets. Good luck. |
| Mardi Northern Cali |
| Brigitte, Thanks for the link to the liver cleansing diet - which also go's on to a link on milk thistle. This looks like it may be a very good idea. I may well give the diet a try but will discuss liver issues with the vet first. Mardi, Maybe I will stay off the ham then! I know it's something they have managed to tempt him with at the vet school when he has been fussy but I would of thought it woud be rather high in salt if nothing else. kath |
| Kath Scotland |
| Hi, My Kent had AIHA, then Pancreatitis, then IMT, then kidney problems. I started homecooking, and got all of his liver values close to normal over time. I think its important for any dog on pred to take milk thistle with SAM-E and B vitamin. The canine liver disease foundation has a lot of links to different liver cleansing diets and dosages of the above. For pancreatitis, it is extremely important to stay away from all fat which can set it off. Once portions of the pancreas are insulted, they do not recover, so yes i think you would still see evidence of a pancreatic attack. The key is no and low fat. Even a pork chop bone can set it off. So research lean meats, and you want to make sure any protein is high quality - this is beneficial for the kidneys too. Ask your vet about omega 3 supplementation, though a oil, it is not a 'fat' perse so may be appropriate - do ask your vet. There is no specific aiha diet, as aiha is a blood disease, but the key is to feed a healthy diet that works to help out the kidneys and liver and pancreas as these are put under strain by the drugs given to control the aiha and imt. Make sense? Kent got a home cooked diet, i have an excel sheet calculator that i used specific to kidneys that allowed me to balance his nutrients. It is available at k9kidneydiet at yahoo. It is worth working with a canince nutritionist for one or two consults with blood results in front of you to work out a specific diet. My other rule was : keep it simple (as possible) which meant when shopping for treats, least ingredients, simple ingredients that i could pronounce, etc. For low fat Hills SD has one but my dog did not like it, so i would mix things up. My dog loved Fromms, and liked wellness and these are both good. I would ask your vet about wellness sweet potato and fish kibble - it is good for the liver and low in fat 12%. I hope this helps a little, Christine and Kent |
| Christine FL |
| Thanks Christine for your advice. I will refer back when I have Mitch home. I can get Hills diet in the UK but I cannot find Wellness dog food over here anywhere. Hills, Eukanuba, Proplan and Iams tend be some of the main ones. Thanks again Kath |
| Kath Scotland |
| I use Innova Senior dry food and Wellness grain free wet food for my dog. Supplement with Bio-algae tablets I send away for. Good luck. Like everyone has said, keep it simple use good, fresh foods. |
| Mardi Northern Cali |
| Ren's diet is probably not practical for most dogs. Since Ren is a Chihuahua and is very small I prepare all her meals. She eats hormone & antibiotic free beef and chicken. Also white fish; Cod or Pollock. I add organic raw carrots, peas, snow peas, sweet potatoes or yams. Pet tinic is added with meals 2x daily. SAMe for liver function (milk thistle). I am guilty of handing over a treat once and a while. But never anything that is fatty or salty or anything that has chemicals added. Sue & Ren |
| Susie delaware |
This thread was discussed between 13/08/2009 and 15/08/2009
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