What diet and holistic care helps my English Springer with PFK?

Thanks for asking PetCoach! When we use a holistic approach to treatment, we need to remember that it is best to think of it as a marriage of traditional western medicine (drugs) with eastern medicine (herbs, acupuncture, etc). Some of the medications we use for congestive heart failure just CANNOT be replaced-- for instance Lasix (furosemide) - this medication is essential in treatment of chf. Additional treatments in addition to frequently used drugs for CHF would include acupuncture, as well as an herb called Hawthorn. This herb is not going to interfere with Lasix (furosemide), Vetmedin (pimobendan), or enalipril. If she is on digoxin (used to treat some arrhythmias), it could potentially interfere. I recommend Standard Process/Medi-herb brand for herbals. Here is a website to find a place that sells this brand: https://www.standardprocess.com/HCP-Search Adding acupuncture and Hawthorn would be the best suggestion I have for you. Good luck with your dog!

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Pearl looks like she is very sweet! One of the things you may be able to do to help Pearl lose weight is to home cook for her. There is a website called balanceit.com that can help ensure the home cooked diet you are feeding is appropriate for weight loss and well balanced. From a holistic standpoint improving nutrition and having Pearl lose weight can help her overall well being. If she is on temaril P I assume this is for coughing related to reduce airway inflammation or tracheal inflammation. If she is coughing related to heart disease other medications may be useful so it may be a good idea to schedule a follow up with your veterinarian or even a veterinary cardiologist. There are other supplements and herbal medicine that can be helpful when heart disease is present but they vary from case to case. If You are interested in treating using these therapies I suggest looking into an integrative veterinarian near you. Or I would be happy to set up a consultation.

I'm so very sorry to hear about Foofie. There is quite a bit that can be accomplished with holistic options including Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. I have had quite good luck with mouth tumors with Chinese herbal therapies. But you need to have someone trained in using them in order to get good results. I would see if there is anyone near you trained in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine here. http://www.tcvm.com/Resources/FindaTCVMPractitioner.aspx Another option would be to find a holistic practitioner here. https://www.ahvma.org/find-a-holistic-veterinarian/ Either type of practitioner should be able to help you with diet and herbal recommendations for Foofie. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to see that Boomer is in renal failure. What I typically recommend for renal failure in dogs are the following products: 1. Rehmannia 8 liquid or tablets 2. Epakitin (to help bind excessive phosphorus) 3. Renal support by Standard Process 4. Azodyl probiotic capsules (if you are not already giving these) 5. Prescription kidney diet such as Hills K/D 6. Renal K+ 7. Anti-nausea medications (Cerenia / Zofran) Some of these are more natural products and obviously the anti-nausea medications are prescription drugs but can help keep Boomer more comfortable. I also managed a kidney failure patient who also had lymphoma with all of the above including subcutaneous fluids and also treating him twice weekly in a hyperbaric chamber. His original prognosis was 3 months and that prognosis was given 15 months ago. If you have someone in your area that has a hyperbaric chamber, you can speak with them about treating Boomer with it. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Pako has a deficiency of Taurine and L-carnitine, then yes, he should be on a supplement. However, that being said, most commercial dog food diets have sufficient amounts of both and most dogs do not need supplementation. If your veterinarian thinks this will help, I would look at ordering the following product, which can be found online quite easily. Liver support medications such as Hepagen C as well as a low protein, low fat diet such as Purina NF, Hills L/D diet, or Royal Canin Hepatic Support diet can help as well. These diets are formulated especially for dogs that have liver problems such as liver shunts, and they make it easier for the liver to metabolize nutrients that are provided to the body. Pako will have a decreased live span without surgical treatment of this disease. He may live a few years without many problems, but the disease can become refractory, and the neurological signs may worsen over time. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm so glad to hear that Chelsea is doing better. Yes it is possible that this was the cure for her. Some Protein-loosing- enteropathies (PLE's) are related to severe inflammation related to diet allergy or sensitivity. Even if the diet does not stop it entirely, it sounds like it is at least a big part of the puzzle for Chelsea. My advice is, whatever you do, do NOT switch her diet or give her new treats - not even in 3 years after everything is settled down. Don't mess with what's working. Best of luck to you and Chelsea!

These two diseases are very frustrating to manage as the kidneys need fluid to help "flush" them but the heart cannot handle any additional fluid. Additionally many drugs used to treat CHF cause harm to the kidneys. With anemia and kidney disease there are synthetic hormone injections that stimulate red blood cell production. Your veterinarian has to administer these injections. Sometimes even a blood transfusion is given but this has to be balanced with the heart failure. I recommend discussing with your veterinarian which disease process is most critical right now and start treating that as aggressively as possible. This would likely mean hospitalization for Anthony.