Can I give my dog milk thistle for high ALT? What's the safe dosage?

Dogs are typically given milk thistle in combination with Vitamin E, Zinc and s-adenosyl methionine for liver disease. The dose is usually lower when used with these other supplements. Doses ranging from 5 mg/kg to 50 mg/kg per day have been reported to likely be safe, so 400 mg twice daily would be within this dose range. I do not typically recommend giving this supplement unless there is evidence of underlying liver disease because it is not likely to be helpful. There does not seem to be evidence of kidney disease or other problems when milk thistle supplements are used long term in dogs, but there are no studies in dogs without liver disease. I would recommend checking with your veterinarian before starting this supplement since it can potentially cause problems when given in conjunction with some other medications.

I'm with you, and I don't understand why the ALT would have gone up because of the Cushing's disease. Certainly we expect ALP elevations, but typically not ALT, so it makes me a bit worried that something else is going on. That's fantastic that he's been doing well with Cushing's for 8 years! The milk thistle shouldn't hurt, but I would think about maybe doing an abdominal ultrasound to see if some additional problem is present in the liver now, such as a tumor or infection.

My best recommendation to supplement liver function is a supplement called Denamarin. It contains several of the known ingredients we historically used to support liver health all in one supplement. Very often, I observe my patients Liver enzymes decreasing dramatically on this supplement.

Elevated ALT does not mean certain death for your dog, many blood test come back with elevated ALT and it is eventually treatable in most cases. Denamarin can help liver function in general but not always. if Prednisone is suspected to be the cause it may need to be stopped gradually.

ALT is one of the most important liver indicators in dogs and cats. It can also be elevated in dogs and cats when there is significant damage to the muscle, but in general it is thought of as a fairly sensitive marker for some type of liver damage. There are also several other markers for liver disease, so only knowing about the elevations in ALT may be misleading. If ALT was the only marker elevated, this is usually an indication of an inflammatory or infectious disease causing harm to the hepatic system. If you would like to discuss all of the laboratory testing and diagnostic imaging performed by your veterinarian, I would be able to take a closer look at your dog's situation. Let me know if I, or one of the other experts, can help you out in any way.

This is not a particularly high ALT, I usually don't get too concerned until the liver values are twice the high end of the range. This does not seem like a toxic dose of ibuprofen or paracetamol for a dog Ginger's size if only 2.5 ml of the liquid was ingested. If he still seems restless or you have more questions about his lab results you may want to check in with his veterinarian.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There is not protocol or drink/medication to detoxify a dog. Can you tell us why you think Danny needs this? Milk thistle is safe for dogs. For milk thistle extract (not straight herb) the dose for a 38 kg dog is 190-570 mg, so 400 mg once daily is fine. I wish you the best!