elevated liver enzymes, kidney infection, enlarged prostate...... - Page 1

sorry for non-gsd topic, but i was wondering if anyone could offer suggestions.  my friend has a small dog, maltese mix we think, he is about 8 or 9 years old.  turns out he has elevated liver enzymes, a kidney infection, and an enlarged prostate...

what can we do?  he's been to the vet, i'm not sure if he's on antibiotics, and i don't have the test results in my posession yet.

i know cranberry powder helps urinary tract infections, and i think vit. c / ester c should help too, as well as omega 3, but i don't want to start mixing things and try to treat one problem and unknowingly make the other one worse.

any suggestions?

i might try to switch vets for this little guy.

thank you in advance

 Why would you switch vets just because the dog has some apparent problems, some of which could be serious. Yes, the dog should be on antibiotics if it has an infection. Whether cranberry juice will help in this case is unknown. A kidney infection is not the same as a urinary tract infection per se. The prostate problem may be part of the problem and this needs careful attention. I would suggest you suggest to your friend to have a competent vet make treatment suggestions and follow them. if there is a kidney issue, you may end up making things worse if you don't know what you are doing.

Excellent advice from Hodie.  The symptoms uvw described could be a lot of things and it seems like some information was left out, like why would you consider switching vets at this time? This dog needs blood work and perhaps some other tests as well and a diagnosis by a competent vet with a treatment plan for the owner to follow. Don't just go giving natural remedies unless and until you know exactly what you are dealing with. You could indeed make things worse.  If the problem is money, most vets accept credit cards.

thank you for the posts, please don't take offense, but other than stating the obvious, neither of you have given me any kind of helpful information. 

1.  obviously if i thought they had a competent vet, i wouldn't be posting messages on here for suggestions.

2.  i can't take the dog to my vet, because it's not my dog, so i posted here ....you guessed it.....looking for suggestions.

3.  sometimes you will not know 'exactly' what you're dealing with, so it's easier (and less harmful) to experiment with natural remedies, than with all sorts of prescriptions. 

Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's harmless. At best, a natural remedy won't do anything good or bad for an undiagnosed problem. It can cover up the symptoms of a serious problem and this seems like a good thing until the animal displays even worse symptoms. At worst, it can make the problem more severe and lead to life threatening complications. For a diagnosed problem you believe is treatable with natural remedies, you should consult a holistic vet who is familiar with natural remedies. They do exist nowdays. At least talk to the vet about any natural remedies you are giving an animal. Some remedies may have consequences you don't know about or may interfere with a medication the animal is taking. Vets have the medical knowledge and/or the texts to quickly look these things up and you don't. Lest it sound like I'm against natural remedies, I'm not. I just want to know that what I am giving won't harm my animal.

It sounds like your friend isn't comfortable with her vet. If that's the case, she should go to another vet (your vet perhaps if you like and trust your vet) for a second opinion. As far as I know, we have no vets on this board right now and in any case, no vet would diagnose over the Internet without examining the animal in person and having test results in front of her.

You can improve your knowledge of vet tests and animal diseases at http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp

The site has a good search function or you can use the table of contents and check under urinary system. If you or she are uncomfortable with this dog's care I strongly suggest getting another vet's opinion about the dog's problem, so suggest to your friend that she get a second opinion.

I also meant to add that the kidney infection, elevated liver enzymes and enlarged prostate that are the title of this thread lead me to believe that this dog is seriously ill. It's the kidney infection that's making people not want to suggest any home remedy. Kidney infections are serious and can be fatal if not treated by a vet. A kidney infection is different than a urinary tract infection.  Cranberry will alleviate but sometimes not cure a urinary tract infection. It won't do much of anything for a kidney infection. Elevated liver enzymes can be from a lot of things, but there are no good home remedies for this either - a vet needs to diagnose the cause and treat it. An enlarged prostate can be benign or cancerous; only a vet can tell for sure.

If you ask about home remedies for hot spots, calluses, fly bites, flaky skin or de-skunking you will get lots of replies. These things are not usually serious. The problems you listed are serious and most of us know it.

i know this is serious...i'm not looking for a home remedy miracle cure!  please don't read into things, it's really a simple question.  if the dog is being taken care of by the vet, antibiotics, or whatever, would he benefit from some extra vitamin c or cranberry powder?  or is there anything else that would help move along the 'getting better' process?  or maybe just make him feel better?  i'm not looking to cure cancer with herbal tea. 

And you have your "simple" answer.  Nobody wants to suggest anything that might cause further harm to the dog, especially not knowing the "whole story". 

Snarking at people here and adopting a shit attitude isn't going to get you a damn bit of help. 

You've been given advice.  Piss on you if you want to "poo-poo" it as "stating the obvious". 

 Not knowing the dog's medical history, what the enzyme levels are, whether or not he's on antibiotics or what those antibiotics are it would be incompetent and could be dangerous to the dog for anyone to suggest anything.

Does the term "drug interaction" ring a bell?  It applies to herbals and so-called "home remedies", too.

uvw,

Actually, there is a tea you can use to help cure cancer. It's called Essiac. Can be used as a tea or the groud herbs are consumed by the patient.

Cranberry is good for bladder infections but not really for the kidneys. There is an amino acid that is good though and it's called  D-Mannos good for kidneys and especially the bladder.

Be careful giving vitamin C as it can cause kidney stones.

I don't know if this is much help but at least I would share my information without being insulting as others are to you. Tell your firend good luck with their dog.

This is exactly why, OP, that if your friend does not feel they have a competent vet, they should find one. First of all, none of us have all the information. Secondly, it is dicey, at best, to take advice from the internet, especially when based on incomplete information. Even those who are very knowledgeable on this site would be hesitant to give you specifics because not enough is known about what is really going on here, including complete blood work, for example. Thirdly, not all "advice" you will get is sound. People believe what they want to believe regardless of whether their is an ounce of truth to it. No tea "cures" cancer. Period. But the good fairy might be able to do that. 

First of all, your friend must have a complete diagnosis and then a competent practitioner should advise on how to make things better.

No one is being insulting. You asked for advice providing incomplete information and no one in their right mind will give you specifics. When one follows advice given on incomplete information, one is taking a huge risk. But that is common sense.